During her presentation at The Crafty Pint-hosted debate that closed out BrewCon 2023, Jade Flavell from the Wheaty Brewing Corps wore a shirt that read: "Cerveza is the New Craft". It was a comment on how craft beer risked becoming what it had once rebelled against but, in typical Wheaty fashion, when they were designing a beer to christen the solar system that now powers the brewery, it had to be Sola, a 4.4 percent ABV cerveza.
The first noticeable feat of this beer is the mouthfeel and body, balancing a fine line between too light while keeping lower alcohol sessionability in play. There are some herbal, earthy and spice aromas, merging with a touch of honey and a little green apple. The medium body lets those clean lager elements shine, notably the herbal, earthiness, a little biscuit and honey, alongside a touch of spice. This sun-powered beer is very clean, crisp and very dry.
Side By Side Pils – another in their Foeder series – seems Jade reunited with old friends Bridge Road Brewers and Adelaide yeast producers Ferveo. As well as being foeder-fermented, this beer was hopped to the eyeballs: whirlpool additions of Wai-iti, dip-hopping with Motueka and Galaxy, dry-hopping with Spectrum Eclipse. Add in Ferveo’s Neutralager yeast strain and a side pour on the Lukr tap and you have a complex new world pilsener.
Considering it was brewed with 100 percent Gladfield German pilsener malt, it pours like dark honey, while the side pour adds creaminess and a little extra body, as well as boosting the (still subtle) oaky flavours. The NZ hops are dominant, punchy, yet clean: sweet blueberries, a little gooseberry and some rockmelon, while a firm bitterness and just a touch of woodiness rounds things off.
Sticking with hops, we have another version of the Wheaty’s fresh hop IPA, Ella High Water. The recipe list remains unchanged: super fresh Tasmanian Ella hop flowers flown to Adelaide straight off the bine, combined with the Lalbrew Verdant IPA yeast straing for a fresh, juicy, heavy-hitting, earthy-herbal notes meet orange citrus IPA, which could be their best fresh hop beer yet.
Matt King
Published April 29, 2024 2024-04-29 00:00:00
