BOUCHE began to take shape back in 2019, in a Berlin studio shared by Walker Brengel, Felix Rank and Yannic Pöpperling. What started as a love of experimentation and fascination with flavour has since evolved into a fully-operational kombucha brewery, housed in an old factory in the Marzahn district of Germany’s capital. With an artistic background, the three were drawn to fermentation; a process with huge scope that fed their natural creativity. After several months of trial and error, re-imagining flavour profiles and fermenting in the downtime between exhibitions, they began bottling and distributing professionally. With a business plan and a bank loan for a new space in Marzahn, this was no longer a side project. The brewery construction began in early 2020, shortly followed by COVID and the closure of numerous restaurants and cafés that BOUCHE supplied. Thankfully, take-away options swelled and the ‘buy local’ spirit in Berlin gave the support the newly-founded company needed to weather the storm. From brewing in 30 litre vessels, the production has grown to 5000 litre steel tanks, but it remains a microbrewery with all work done in house, from fermentation and quality control to design, communication, sales and logistics. They use a liquid culture to create a range of kombuchas, including a Pét-Nat style. Proxy is the latest project, a sparkling series that offers an alcohol-free alternative to wine, made with a kombucha base. Cold fermentation gives distinct, refreshing acidity, with a satisfying depth and layers of flavour from infused botanicals. Keen to work with local producers, BOUCHE uses seasonal ingredients — quince, meadowsweet, sea buckthorn, tarragon — each release an ephemeral, and unrepeatable, snapshot of nature.
Proxy E is the latest edition, carbonated, full of character, and made with a unifying base of Snow Bud white tea that gives notes of stone-fruit. Three year fermented honeycomb was sourced from Ulrich Beckmann, a local beekeeper who gathers honey from post-brood combs, with minimal intervention and a slow pressing method. Sage was vacuum distilled for a clear, woody-aromatic structure and a herbal touch. Silverberry from Gut & Bösel, a regenerative farm in Brandenburg, offered the chance to experiment with an ingredient new to the BOUCHE team, giving all the taught acidity and fine tannins they were looking for. A great alternative to white wine, Proxy E is delicate, tart, and made decisively for the table. Serve chilled with seafood, young goat’s cheese or grilled fennel.