Wildflower Straight to the Poolroom
REGION: Marrickville, NSW
SIZE: 750ml / ABV: 5.6%
"This is a bit of a fun beer that was conceptualised and brewed by Chase before he finished up at Wildflower. It's also a name I've been saving for a good while. The use of both chit malt, essentially severely under-modified malt, and aged hops, makes for a full and funky 5.6% beer.
Another edition in our #greenbottle offerings (essentially beers that focus more on hops and yeast rather than age and acid) and likely the last Castle reference for a while too. This beer is made with organic grains: malted barley, chit malt, malted wheat and malted oats. It was well hopped with aged Summer hop flowers (AUS), fresh Pride of Ringwood (AUS) and Motueka (NZ). After four months in bottle, it's a funky bitter number that reminds us a ton of the ales that got us into this style originating from southern Belgium.
Brewed in August 2021, Poolroom saw a sizeable addition of aged hops at the start of boil alongside the Pride of Ringwood... both really leaning in towards an earthy bitterness. We fermented it in stainless for three months before bottling. It was always a little tough to pin down, this ferment, and until it had three to four months to condition in bottle, I don't think it really knew what it was. It's come together in a wonderful way that reminds me of the balance I see in Wallonian saison.
At release this beer has an extremely funky, earthy nose with a broody herbal depth finally leading to lime, melon and fresh aromatic pineapple on the nose. The palate is broad. There’s real weight and substance. Earthy and grassy, gentle lemon and grapefruit nuances. An aged hop punch adds a lengthening bitterness to the back. It’s complex but has an air of delicious simplicity."
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.