On Saturday the 14th of October I visited Wildflower Brewing & Blending in Marrickville, New South Wales. This brewery was opened in June this year by Topher, who had been the head brewer for Batch prior to going out on his own. The brewery specialises in fermenting beers with a mixed house culture of brewers yeast mixed with wild yeast and bacteria foraged from New South Wales. Their goal is to balance the tart, funky characteristics of their house culture to deliver a beer with length, nuance and subtlety.
They are only open on Saturday afternoons but seem to have a good following.
They will be holding a Sydney Beer Week Event on October 21st between 8am and 2pm where they will release Waratah, the first modern day beer made with 100% NSW ingredients. The day will include learning and tech talks geared towards home brewers about brewing and being local. The event is free with no bookings being necessary.
The beers that I sampled were:
Table Beer Batch #2, 3.0% abv, this has a golden straw colour and a yeasty taste with a slightly sour finish.
Gold Australian Wild Ale Blend #7, 5.0% abv, this beer is bottle conditioned for two months. It has a hazy straw colour and a spicy yeast aroma. It has a sweet, spicy Saison like flavour and a slightly sour finish.
St Florence, 7.0% abv, this is an ale that is refermented with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. It is a hazy golden colour and a spicy sour aroma. It has a strong but enjoyable sour flavour.
Amber Australian Wild Ale Blend #5 #6, 6.0% abv, this is an amber colour with a thick creamy head and an aroma of spicy smoke. It has a sour cherry and cranberry taste on a tart finish.
The beers being produced by Wildflower Brewing and Blending are quite unusual but very enjoyable. If you like Lambic style beers then they would definitely suit you.
I would like to thank Topher and Luke for their hospitality when I visited.