BORN IN AMERICA, RAISED IN ENGLAND
Brew Loka was founded in 2013 in Bend, Oregon – a small and remote town nestled below the mighty Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest. Bend is a beer town – the water flowing through town from the Deschutes River is prized by brewers and said to be almost as good for making ale as the River Trent in England. Brew Loka founder Mark Young was so fond of kombucha he started brewing it himself in 2008 and after many requests from friends to buy his kombucha Mark built a small brewery and began selling kombucha in bottles and on tap to local yoga studios, cafes and restaurants. After brewing kombucha for several years Mark heard about a “new” fermented drink called Jun – a distant cousin to kombucha which is made from green tea and honey and fermented at a much lower temperature. Brew Loka soon became one of the first breweries in the United States to produce and sell Jun. In 2018, after many years away from home, Mark returned to England and brought with him some of his prized kombucha and jun cultures – “mothers” as they’re known – and began to rebuild the Brew Loka brewery in Manchester.
MARK YOUNG - BREW LOKA FOUNDER
Mark was born raised in a small town not far from Newcastle in the north east of England. Like many young lads he grew up with a burning passion for music and at an early age began playing the bass guitar. He went to Sunderland University and earned a Bachelors degree with Honors and then a week after graduating he boarded a plane to Los Angeles with a bass, $400, and a plan of becoming a rock star. After a few years in the states Mark’s band signed a record detail and he went on to record thirteen albums and perform over three thousand shows around the world. Somewhere along the way he tried an obscure drink called kombucha and was hooked from the first bottle. In 2008, with some time off between tours, he decided to try brewing his own kombucha and over the next few years he brewed several hundred gallons and drank most of it himself. Eventually, after many requests from friends for bottles of ‘booch’, he decided to start a brewery and in 2013 Brew Loka came into existence. Brew Loka kombucha and jun was soon available in yoga studios, bars, and restaurants throughout Oregon. In 2018, after 28 years of travel in distant lands, Mark moved back to England to be closer to his family. He brought with him a bass guitar and a single kombucha mother.