Wildflower Solera #1

Style
Foudre Beer
ABV
5.0%

At some point towards the end of 2017, Wildflower rolled in a couple of foudres – essentially oversized oak barrels that hold somewhere in the region of two and a half thousand litres of liquid. Into one of them they poured a base beer not too dissimilar to their signature Gold blend, with the notable difference being to switch raw wheat with raw spelt. It then sat around for about three months before half the liquid was packaged. The beer that was pulled from the foudre has now been opened up to the public as the first of what will be a quarterly (or thereabouts) release called Solera.

Unlike Wildflower’s Gold and Amber series, which are carefully blended – a bit of this barrel, a bit of that barrel – towards a specific end, Solera is a beer that effectively blends itself. When half the liquid is taken out to be packaged, the empty portion of the foudre is filled again with a fresh batch of the same beer. Then the same half out, half in, process happens a few months later, so it’s a creature that’s being constantly reinvigorated while simultaneously getting older and increasingly mixed. This method means they have less control over how the final beer will present itself and this first one has duly presented quite differently to the beers for which Wildflower is best known.

On a basic level the citrus and peppery aromas and characters aren’t actually too dissimilar, but the sourness is considerably more pronounced. It has a little more of what you might call an earthy or grainy character, though that takes a back seat to a clean lemon character which seems all the more refreshing thanks to the acidity and the fact it's topped of by the most perfectly fluffy white head.

Because of what it is and where it is in its life cycle, the first pull of Solera doesn’t feel like a beer that yet has the same polish as its siblings – after all, those have had at least a year’s head start. And for Solera this really is just the start; at no other point will you get the opportunity to try this beer in what is effectively its unblended form – pure Solera, if you will. So if you’re keen to follow the full journey of what flows from the foudre, get in on the ground floor while you have the chance.

Nick Oscilowski

Published June 4, 2018

Name
Wildflower
Address

11-13 Brompton Street
Marrickville
NSW 2204

Open Hours

Tuesday to Thursday: 10am to 4pm (for takeaway sales only)
Friday & Saturday: 2pm to 6pm

Tours

Saturdays: 12pm to 1.30pm. Includes a tour, tasting and barrel samples. $25. Bookings via the website.

CBCo Goldy
Pickled OnMarket

More from Wildflower

Mountain Culture x Wildflower Mirror Image
Rustic Lager
4.5%
Wildflower Besk Bitter
Australian Wild Ale
4.8%
Wildflower X Mountain Culture Village 2022
Australian Wild Ale
5.5%
Wildflower & Mountain Culture Village 2021
Australian Wild Ale
5.5%
Wildflower & Ravensworth Wines Bright Side Series
Wild Ales
All 6.7%
Wildflower & Malfroy's Gold Hive: Post Brood
Australian Wild Ale
7.0%
Wildflower & Balter Dime A Dozen
Fruited Barrel-Aged Lager
5.0%
Wildflower & Jester King Nothing Fancy
Wild Ale
5.0%
Wildflower St Henry 2019 – White Peach
Australian Wild Ale with Peaches
5.6%
Wildflower St Florence 2019 – Black Muscat & Semillon
Australian Wild Ales with grapes
Wildflower St Phoebe 2019
Australian Wild Ale with Raspberries
5.0%
Wildflower St Thomas 2019
Australian Wild Ale with Cherries
5.0%
Wildflower Noel 2018
Christmas Ale
8.0%
Wildflower Waratah 2018
Australian Wild Ale
5.0%
Wildflower Year Old 'Tah (2017)
Australian Wild Ale
5.5%
Wildflower Slip Slop Slap
Australian Wild Ale
5.0%
Wildflower & Mike Bennie Foudre #1
Foudre Beer
5.2%
Wildflower As It Were
Saison
5.0%
Wildflower Good As Gold Blend #1
Australian Wild Ale
5.0%
Wildflower Solera – Pull #2
Foudre Beer