A Salt Lake City brewery that was the first in the United States to make a certain rare beer is currently sold out of the beverage, but don’t worry: More is being brewed.
Kiitos Brewing, at 608 W. 700 South in the city’s Granary District, released a beer in January that was made with 100% fonio, an ancient grain native to West Africa. The brew is entirely clear when poured into a glass, and is naturally gluten free.
While Brooklyn Brewery in New York City has been adding fonio to its beers since 2019, Kiitos says it was the first brewery in the United States to make a beer made entirely out of the grain.
Kiitos production manager Patrick Borque, who spearheaded the project and brewed the beer, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday that he is running a new batch of fonio beer through the brewhouse “at this exact moment.” He added that the batch should be ready in about two weeks “if fermentation goes according to plan,” and will be available on draft and in cans.
Since the fonio beer came out, Borque said Kiitos has been having a lot of people calling about the beer and coming in to try it.
Stephanie Biesecker, executive director of the Utah Brewers Guild, said the fonio beer has a fruity flavor but isn’t too sweet, and is “really light, very, very refreshing.”
Borque said the beer has notes of passionfruit, lychee and white peach that come directly from the grain. No hops were used in the making of this beer.
