Lake Louie Brewing
Lake Louie's initial hard kombucha flavors.
Tom Porter, who created the Lake Louie Brewing Company in his Arena, Wisconsin, garage in 2000, is known for his Scotch ales, porters and IPAs. But now he’s making kombucha — hard kombucha.
Kombucha is tea fermented with bacteria and yeast. It’s slightly fizzy and naturally has a low alcohol content, usually less than 0.5 percent ABV. The drink has been growing in popularity in the U.S. and it is often touted as a probiotic beneficial to gastrointestinal health.
Porter wasn’t immediately keen on the idea when his distributor approached him and asked what he thought about hard kombucha.
“I said what? Are you nuts? But then I looked into it and saw how much people love it,” says Porter.
Porter teamed up with Forage Kombucha in Fitchburg to make two versions of hard kombucha. Berry flavor is made with green and black teas blended with raspberry, blackberry, currant, hibiscus and grape. Wild Tropic features oolong tea with coconut, pineapple, mango and passion fruit. The teas are sourced from another Wisconsin company, Rishi Tea and Botanicals of Milwaukee.
The choice of tea is as important as the added flavors, says Forage co-owner Henry Aschauer. “The tea to the kombucha is like malt or hops are to brewing beer, or the choice of grape if you are making wine,” he says.
Rishi provides Aschauer with access to a wide range of tea options from around the world. Aschauer, Porter and Wisconsin Brewing’s Kirby Nelson worked together for three months to develop the recipes.
Aschauer has been making kombucha for a while, beginning with homebrewing. He started working on a commercial version for his Forage Kitchens restaurants, which he launched in 2017. Demand grew and in 2018 he installed a canning line at his Fitchburg location where he’s currently making five different varieties of kombucha, now also sold at several Madison area grocery stores in 12-ounce cans.
As kombucha appeals to those looking for an alternative to soda, hard kombucha appeals (much like hard seltzers do) to drinkers looking for something light and effervescent, says Aschauer. Hard kombucha, however, has a stronger flavor than hard seltzer.
Since 2019, Porter’s Lake Louie brands have been jointly owned by the Wisconsin Brewing Company of Verona. That’s also where all Lake Louie beers are now packaged. In making the Lake Louie hard kombucha, Forage produces the kombucha, which is finished with additional flavors and carbonation into a higher alcohol version at Wisconsin Brewing — approximately 4.5 percent ABV.
The hard kombucha is packaged in 12-ounce cans and sold in six-packs for $12-$13.
Unlike regular kombucha that may have active cultures of bacteria and yeast, Lake Louie’s hard kombucha is pasteurized to stabilize it and give it a longer shelf-life; it doesn’t require refrigeration until you’re ready to drink it.
Hard kombucha is still somewhat new. Craft brewer Sierra Nevada of Chico, California, was one of the early players with its Strange Beast brand it started canning and distributing last summer.
Another major maker is California’s Flying Embers, which distributes through stores like Whole Foods and Total Wine. Flying Embers has several varieties and flavors that finish from 4.5 to 7 percent ABV.
These national brands have caused other breweries to take notice, as they have with the market for hard seltzer.
“We’re seeing more brands coming into the local market and we want to be among the first Wisconsin breweries to package and distribute hard kombucha,” says Ellen Weiler, sales manager for Lake Louie and Wisconsin Brewing Company.
Weiler says the brewery is planning for hard kombucha to be a year-round offering with more flavors coming in 2022.
Lake Louie’s initial flavors should be available in local stores by Memorial Day weekend.
