As we approach the summer solstice, we edge closer to the energetic apogee of the year. These California summers, the same as summers everywhere, are glory days. The entire world is making hay, so to speak. All the living creatures are working hard, growing seeds, preparing tasty things to eat a...
The Hanabi Lager grain-forward approach has connected us to small family farms across America and the world. In turn, our beers are connecting us with bakers and chefs interested in special and heirloom grains, in our mutual pursuit of superior flavor. Bottles of Hanabi have been landing like spa...
As the days grow shorter and the air grows cooler, we are happy to introduce a new beer for the season. Our Autumn 2023 Hanabi Lager features a German heirloom barley variety named Isaria. While it has been grown there for a century, in recent decades it has become difficult to find, supplanted by modern varieties. The flavors of Isaria are distinct— aromatic hazelnut and conifer forest— and strike us as the perfect accompaniment to fall and wintertime table fare.
We are excited for the release of our latest Summer 2023 Hanabi Lager that features a rare heirloom barley called ‘Purple Egyptian’. It was originally discovered growing along the headwaters of the Nile River in the Fertile Crescent, and is named for the distinct purple-black color of its corns. ...
Our mission with Hanabi is to readdress beer’s primary ingredient, grain, by finding the rock-star varieties, growers, and terroirs, and putting them center-stage. Our Hanabi grain-forward style is a direct expression of this effort.
Admiral Maltings and the Concept of Grain-Forward Beer
This sea...
This season’s offering is dear to us because it features the first ‘heirloom’ barley variety that we ever had the opportunity to work with. Chevallier is an old English brewing variety that was revived from the John Innes Center national seedbank in Norwich by a small group of dedicated farmers a...
As we have been introducing our varietal beers (each one features a single variety of grain) to the broader world, we’ve noticed a curious dichotomy. Beer is made from the most ancient agricultural crop of them all: cereal grains, yet it is seldom perceived as a natural creation quite like wine ...
This story began back when I met Ian Ward, the President of Brewers Supply Group, in 2014. With a mutual love of both beer and wine, we decided to meet up in a vineyard to chat. Surrounded by grapevines, under the shade of a Napa Valley oak tree in springtime, the cover crops were blooming, fragr...
This season’s beer features a barley variety named Baronesse. Originally bred in Germany, Baronesse was largely abandoned there because it is less productive than other more modern barleys. When farmer Bill Myers was out tasting through his various test plots of grains 30 years ago, at the stage...
Here at Hanabi, we are interested in two things: grain exploration and history. Our beers are fashioned to showcase the delicious range of flavors that different grains can express, recognizing that after all, beer is a fermented barley tea. We want the flavors of the barley itself to shine. We...
The background story of our Autumn 2021 lager is a bit wild actually. So, we’ll give a concise version of the story here, followed by a longer account for those so inclined to post up for a while to dig in. Here at Hanabi, we are interested in grain exploration. Just like with grapes and wine, e...
Growing up in the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest, the blooming of the wild roses, one of nature’s many rituals, marked the transition from spring to the long, glorious, productive days of summer. They always grow around the perimeters of the forests and hayfields, untamed and a little ...
