When the Five Barrel crew headed to Bemboka to see Ryefield Hops’ regenerative farming at work, and to Griffith to see how Voyager Craft Malt puts sustainability into action, they got excited. And you can taste that excitement in Organic Hazy.
This beer brings together a bunch of sustainability measures, so I’m just going to dump the credentials on you in one dense paragraph. It uses ingredients from all NSW suppliers – Voyager Craft Malts, Whispering Pines Organics, Ryefield Hops and Mogwai Labs – to keep the beer miles low. All the ingredients are organic. The malt and hops are both the product of regenerative farming, which means the farmers aren’t just trying to minimise their negative impact on the land but are actively working to improve the soil over time. There’s no new plastic used for this beer, from production to packaging. And a result of all of this, unsurprisingly, is a lower CO2 footprint than most beers.
That may all fit into one paragraph, but it’s a snapshot of lot of people working hard making a big difference. I don’t know about you, but that all makes me feel warm and fuzzy.
Oh, and the beer’s lovely: a midstrength hazy pale with a fluffy white head, showing off citrus, tart apple and rockmelon with a soft malt finish. Between the dryness and the carbonation, the first sip felt like a mouthful of champagne, which is perhaps fitting since this beer’s achievements are worth celebrating.
Mick Wüst
Published February 27, 2024 2024-02-27 00:00:00
