Wildflower x Mountain Culture Village 2023
REGION: Marrickville, NSW
SIZE: 750ml / ABV: 5.5%
It's no secret that Topher has poured countless hours and endless energy into the pursuit of a true understanding of Belgian lambic tradition. Numerous trips to Belgium, meeting with the iconic and all-powerful Jean Van Roy of Cantillon, Pierre Tilquin and the late Armand Debelder of 3 Fonteinen (RIP), alongside an internship with Texan farmhouse icon Jester King and a bunch of time in Jerez immersing himself in all things sherry. Very few take their craft this seriously.
I, for one, have been (somewhat) patiently waiting for this since visiting Marrickville some time ago and seeing their magnificent copper coolship in all its glory. This joint project, 'brewed in friendship with Mountain Culture', explores all things wild fermentation and blending, something very close to our hearts. An hommage to Belgian Gueuze. | A blend of three years, three unique brewing seasons (2020, 2021 and 2022), made entirely with certified organic Australian grain and aged hops. Brewed in Katoomba and cooled down in coolship (get it?) overnight, exposed to the elements of the pristine Blue Mountains for a truly spontaneous fermentation, before resting in 500L puncheons back in Marrickville, and finally blended.
"The 2023 blend opens with a wonderfully fruity and aged-hop aroma and shows its age with a complex oak structure and round palate with gentle acidity and bitterness to finish." - Topher
It's difficult to overstate the impact of Wildflower since its inception only a few years ago in 2017. Hailing from Texas, Topher Boehm has an impressive resume - from Brasserie Thiriez to Jester King to his background in astrophysics - not to mention his unique house yeast. Cultivated from foraged wildflowers native to NSW, think wattle blossoms and banksia, blended with a Belgian saison strain, creating something truly individual which speaks of place. Topher even sprayed the entire brewery with inoculated wort when he moved in, just to make sure everything was literally covered in the house culture.