Farmer Wants A Beer!

Farmer Wants A Beer!

Posted by Rosemary Lilburne on 13th Feb 2019

Farming, a cultural, economic and survival melting pot that has been at the cornerstone of civilisation for millennia. We as people have created farming methods to sustain, grow, develop and nourish our communities, while also innovating new practices, technologies and flavours.

What does this have to do with the subject we are talking about, not much really, but it just sets the scene of the lifestyle of the individuals who brewed these beers at the beginning could have been like.

We look back to a tradition where farmers would brew beers out of their own grains maybe once or twice a year (or for the lucky with a lot of grains, this was an everyday drink) in a time where the beers the farmers made to drink were safer than the water that they used to brew them.

Different parts of mainland Europe had their own styles, with Saison from Belgium being currently the most common, imparting a slightly cloudy, funky note to the beers which in modern times have almost completely lost their connection to the farmhouses and farmers of yesteryear.

But with that disconnection, it has allowed brewers all over the world to start taking influence from these traditions and create new and incredible riffs on these styles.

Eden Brewing ‘Wits End’ Series Bringing his experiences from his home state of Texas, Jacob Newman along with his wife Deb set about creating a brewery with a heart in 2017. Having spent many years abroad helping bring clean drinking water to those most in need, the Newman’s set about creating a brewery that focussed on community; not just in their locale, but across the world by supporting OxFam’s clean water projects around the world. 10% of all sales at the brewpub in Mittagong (Southern Highlands) as well as sales to pubs, bars and bottle shops will be donated to help where it is needed.

Eden’s first beer was their Birch Wit, a surprisingly Texan take on the Belgian style of ales. Incorporating the traditional wheat-heavy base along with its partners in crime Orange and Coriander Seeds, the Birch Wit take a slight turn by incorporating sunflower seeds into the mix. Reminding Jacob of his childhood, the addition of the sunflower seeds bring a slight nuttiness that breaks down the usually intense banana characteristics brought on by Belgian styled yeasts. Think light, fresh, fun and refreshing when you come here.

Saguaro Wit is an evolution to the birch, where we see the influence of Jacob and Deb’s time helping the needy in Mexico start to bring influence to their brews. Named after a tall cactus from the Sonaran Desert, the grain base remains the same as its predecessor, but incorporates the Mexican notes of lime paired with black pepper to replace the orange and coriander you would normally see in this style. This is an absolute smasher for the warmer months.

The final piece of the series is the Mandarin Wit , a play on elements and influence from China. Pairing mandarin and Sichuan pepper together to the grain base from the Birch Wit, a light salty and sweet characteristic is drawn from the additions. A little natural zip from the pepper, and sweet, bright and round citrus from the mandarin make the closing for this trilogy of brewed goodness punchy but light.

Wildflower Brewing & Blending Amber Blend#18

Take one ex-pat Texan and an Aussie, see them become brothers-in-law and insert an insane love of beer, brewing and good times, the results are always going to be incredible. Topher and Chris set up Wildflower to focus on mixed fermentations combining diverse brewers and wild yeasts with indigenous bacteria to bring together beers that have a true showing of flavours to their area. The other area where Topher really gets creative is in the blending of his beers; allowing for balance, intensity and the best flavours from the yeasts to be present in every batch.

Wildflower’s Amber Ale is a malt-forward, deep coloured Australian Wild ale, incorporating multiple grains and flavours from blending through multiple batches of barrel aged beers to form the flavour Topher believes best reflects himself and his creations. Blend #18 takes 5 beers aged in barrels from 5-10 months, blends them together and undergoes secondary ferment in bottle for 15 weeks. There are intense chocolate, red fruit and raisins with a long, malty finish meeting with some brett across the palate. One of the most unique farmhouse styled ales you’ll find produced here in Australia.

To Ol 3x Yeastus Triple Dry Hopped Farmhouse Brett IPA

Started in a semi-rebellious fashion in 2005, To Ol was founded by high school buddies Tore (current CEO and owner) and Tobias (no longer with the company) to bring flavour into the beers being produced in Denmark at the time. Where the brewing trends for Copenhagen at the time were based more around traditional forms, flavours and styles, Tore and Tobias were perplexed that the breweries were not finding ways to make their beers taste better to be in line with the developing culinary palates of their fellow Danes. Never really having a full-scale brewery to call home for all production has allowed To Ol to collaborate with many like-minded brewers throughout their years (like England’s Wild Beer Co.), but their brewpub space BRUS in Nørrebro allows for some cool one-off beers to be produced in front of their customers.

One such beer is their 3x Yeastus; a long-announced triple dry hopped farmhouse brett IPA. This is a mouthful to say and is an amazing mouthful to consume. Thick, with sour fruit notes throughout, this beer blends and balances through multiple hop additions, farmhouse-styled yes influence with a strain of Brett cultivated from a pear tree on Tore’s family farm outside of Copenhagen. Complexity and harmony are the best two words to describe this beer, as it literally represents the sum of its parts creating and a truly amazing beer. Not for those afraid of the surprising.

Two Metre Tall Cleansing Ale

Derwent Valley, Tasmania, one of the few areas in Australia where doing a true representation of a farmhouse ale could be possible. Ashley and Jane Huntington left the wine world of France behind to move to the fertile plains of Tasmania, in hope of not brewing beers, but continuing Ashley’s journey with winemaking. A small change of plan happened once the Huntington’s arrived in Derwent, where they realised that the 580ha farm they had purchased had a history steeped in the growing of hops as opposed to grapes, and who were they to change what had been happening well before that had made their first footsteps on the land.

Two Metre Tall’s Cleansing Ale is slightly hoppy, zippy and fresh beer constructed to be enjoyed at any moment in the beers life. This seems like a generic statement, but Ashely has used his in-depth and intimate knowledge on all things fermentation and ageing (remember; Winemaker) to allow this beer to depart on a journey the moment it enters the bottle. In its youth, the piney and green notes from the hops are very present, creating a slightly bitter-forward experience with a lightly soured finish to leave you wanting more. However, if you can be patient and wait some time, you will be rewarded greatly and be lucky to seed the initial hop characteristics subside and leave way for a beautifully gradual rise in acidity as the ale ages. If you ever need to know the finer details of your specific bottle/batch, look on the printed neck labelling to guide you to your new juice cleanse.\

Forest For The Trees Saison

After 10 years of being the name responsible for building and brewing the Stone & Wood brand, Brag Rogers moved his focus towards his love of Belgian ales to set up and launch the Forest For The Trees project in 2018. Although he didn’t get the chance to represent what had been bubbling away deep in his heart in his tenure with Stone & Wood, Brad is also credited for helping build the farmhouse style in Australia with creating the first commercially available Saison under the Barking Duck label with Matilda Bay Brewing.

Trying to follow the traditional Saison formula as closely as possible while being produced in modern times, Forest For The Trees has every cue you would want and expect from a high quality, well-brewed Saison. With additions of cinnamon, star anise and cardamom, the Saison brims with lightly spiced glee, accentuating the yeast aromatics and flavours to produce bright acidity and length on the finish. Refreshing, zingy and best drunk when it’s hot and you have some friends around for a barbie!