Annapurna, Nektr and COS'Bucha Join Forces to Launch the Refreshment Lab

From left: COS’Bucha’s Rich Lemesany, Annapurna Mead's Patrick Dobbins, Nektr’s Brooke Stewart and Austin Burt.

Local meadery Annapurna Mead is joining forces with Nektr Kombucha and COS’Bucha to bring Colorado Springs a brand new Refreshment Lab. While the space will serve as the public tasting room space for the three brands, it also provides a collaborative brewing space for the kombucha makers. Nektr Kombucha and COS’Bucha will soon be co-producing their two different lines of kombucha from the space..

The building itself is quite unassuming, but they’ve made the quaint tasting room feel intimately comfortable. WIth COVID restrictions, there won’t be too many people allowed in the small space, but that shouldn’t keep people from grabbing some delicious kombucha to go.

If you have been to Metric Brewing, you know about Nektr, as they started their kombucha brewing journey incubated in the brewhouse at Metric. Thanks to Chase and Morgan at Metric, the crew at Nektr has been able to test flavors and brewing styles in order to hone in for this expansion. I’ve always been a fan of their kombucha, but their latest flavors have truly been on point. In particular, their DDH Orange Hopsicle tastes eerily like a hazy IPA, with less of the vinegar character that normally comes with kombucha. Look for them to have 7 or 8 different rotating flagships on their two respective taps.

COS’Bucha has been a household name here in the Springs when it comes to Kombucha for the last few years, and we’re glad they’re part of this project. COS’Bucha started brewing out of Peak Place coffee shop, up by Lost Friend Brewing, and up until recently they’ve been brewing in a “small dark corner” of the roasting facility at Building 3 in the Lincoln Center. As they’re able to stretch their legs a bit, the new space will allow them to increase production as well as reach a different market thanks to the connection with Annapurna Mead. Rich brews a more acidic style of kombucha, and for those of us who don’t mind a little vinegar flavor, it helps differentiate COS’Bucha from Nektr. While they may overlap on some flavor profiles, they each have their own distinct taste, and it helps to be able to try them side-by-side.

We can’t talk about the space without touching on Annapurna Mead. For the past few years, they’ve been heavy hitters (and fan favorites) at Feast of Saint Arnold and other beer-centric festivals, but this space provides a new challenge. Flavor-wise, Annapurna is closer to a dry cider than a traditional mead, and that’s fine with me. Many of their flavors pair nicely with the offerings of the two kombucha makers, as fruits and spices take center stage. Thanks to owner/operator Patrick Dobbins’ previous tenure in the wine industry, each flavor has a multitude of elements providing depth and complexity that you might not expect from a product that starts out as water and honey.

As a meadery, Annapurna eschewed the normal taproom model at least in the beginning, going straight to wholesale and getting their product in front of consumers. At last count, Annapurna has 180-some odd accounts, and thanks to a newly-minted partnership with New Age Beverages, they will be expanding their reach even further.

So if you’re a fan of mead or kombucha, head to the Refreshment Lab. You can find it at 40 F Mount View Lane (Across Nevada from Atrevida), and they’ll be hosting a soft opening for the next few weeks, only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week, with a grand opening slated for September 3. Cheers!