Yardley Brothers and Taboocha release Barrel-Aged Kombucha made with Former Noma Director of Fermentation

The Hong Kong residency with Yardley Brothers Craft Brewery of Jason Ignacio White, fermentation expert, multidisciplinary scientist and former Director of Fermentation at Noma (2017-2022) produced a range of outcomes, a number of which remain in development and forthcoming. On 1 March from 8-11:15 pm, Yardley Brothers and local kombucha brand Taboocha will be launching a unique Barrel-Aged Black Tea kombucha, made collaboratively between the two local brands and White during his residency.

The teams selected and brewed a single batch Black Tea Kombucha with Golden Honey, which they put in an American Oak Bourbon barrel and aged for 9 months to produce an extremely limited batch unique expression. After having been used for Bourbon, Yardley Brothers used the 200-litre barrel to age a single batch of sour beer, after which it was used to aged this kombucha, lending soft oak and vanilla notes and a smooth balance, with an easy funky character to the complex tea tannins.

The launch will be held at Yardleys Taproom at 62 Upper Peel Street, Central, Hong Kong on Saturday 1 March from 8:00pm-11:15pm. Along with the teams from Yardley Brothers and Taboocha, we’ve invited our friends from Dead Poets, the noted Soho cocktail bar for a guest shift that night, where they’ll be using this kombucha as the base for a range of one-off cocktails available on the night only. The taproom also offers a range of food from Chef Ken’s new Spring 2025 menu, which marries Western Gastropub classics with Hong Kong flavours, all with a focus on smoke and fermentation. Chef Ken is promising some specials for the night conceived specifically to pair with the kombucha.

Yardley Brothers Founder Luke Yardley says of the project, “Having moved into our larger brewery, as well as continuing to develop our public venues, it was great to be able to work with Jason to build on conversations in Hong Kong that advance gustatory landscapes. Working with our friends and former neighbours at Taboocha on barrel aging kombucha was fascinating both as a one-off project and for what we can learn from it going forward. I’m really proud of how this came out as well as starting to think about how this might impact future plans and ideas.”

About Yardley Brothers Craft Brewery

Yardley Brothers Craft Brewery is dedicated to pushing the craft beer industry forward by producing creative unusual, quality beer. We combine the care and craftsmanship of traditional methods with forward-thinking innovation, forging a unique path for craft beer and setting trends in flavour and production.

First brewed in Luke Yardley’s Lamma Island living room, Yardley Brothers has grown alongside the Hong Kong craft beer scene, opening a 7 hectolitre Kwai Hing brewery in 2016 and expanding into new 40hL facilities in 2023. The brand has become synonymous with excellence and creativity, with a strong focus on sour and barrel-aged beers, including both core and single batch brews, experimenting with ideas, Asian and Western fusion, historical techniques and new taste combinations to excite and arouse the senses, combining the science and art of brewing to make pure craft. We work with Hong Kong’s best chefs and bars for innovative food and beer pairings that highlight and complement one another.

Beers are available in the company’s two taprooms, Yardley’s Taproom on Peel Street and The Beer Shack on Lamma Island, as well as widely available in bottle shops, fine restaurants and bars throughout Hong Kong. Yardley Brothers’ beers have won many awards at a range of local, regional and global competitions. www.yardleybrothers.hk

Facebook: @YardleyBrothersBeer | IG: @YardleyBrothers

About Taboocha Kombucha

TABOOCHA is the first handcrafted kombucha brewery in Hong Kong. Founded in 2014 by sisters Lisa and Patricia Lam, the brewery has produced an imaginative repertoire of raw and alive kombucha full of active probiotics.

All brews are made to order and bottled by hand in Kwai Hing using:

•⁠ ⁠organic and fair trade tea leaves,

•⁠ ⁠organic raw cane sugar,

•⁠ ⁠100% fresh and, whenever possible, seasonal, local, and upcycled ingredients – always without preservatives, additives, and pasteurisation.

Fermented with SCOBY from 1-4 weeks, Taboocha’s gently bubbly formulations amplify and uncover surprising layers of flavor in single-origin teas and signature infusions.

Taboocha supports local creative communities; each flavor features a unique label and story created by Hong Kong artists and designers. www.taboocha.com