With a mind to sustainability, Young Masters and Michelin-starred Amber have crafted a rather special ale from surplus organic lychees.
It’s always a shame when good things go to waste, especially when they can easily be enjoyed by simply applying a little ingenuity. Amber at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, local brewery Young Master and regenerative organic farming co-op Farmhouse Productions have done just that, saving surplus organic lychees to create the Amber Lychee Wild Ale.
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Rescuing a 250kg surplus harvest of Hong Kong organic lychee from the fate of rotting into nothingness in landfills, the three partners have leveraged their expertise and joined hands to upcycle Hong Kong’s overwhelming lychee harvest into this meaningful and fruity brew.
Hand-peeled by the Young Masters and Farmhouse Productions teams, the locally grown, premium lychees are now the stars of an ale underpinned by Young Master’s signature wild ale – fermented with a mix of wild yeast and bacteria strains from their foeders – then further blended with whisky barrel-aged sour ale.
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For a complete circular solution, the lychee shells were then collected by Farmhouse Productions for composting, which is the core of regenerative farming as the process breaks down organic materials into nutrient-rich soil.
The resulting beer expresses a strong fragrance of lychee and delicate stone fruit notes, along with a rustic funk and energetic tartness that harmonises gracefully with vinous characters from its extensive maturation.
Elegantly complex with a crisp mouthfeel, this craft ale is a rarely seen expression of Hong Kong’s terroir and an example of a collaborative innovation that shines a spotlight on the significance of sustainable practices.
Produced in a limited batch, Amber Lychee Wild Ale is available at both Amber, the MO Bar and Please Don’t Tell, as well as on Young Master’s online store.
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