Wolf of the Willows

When launching a brewery, sometimes staring down the barrel of brewing history at the great names that have come before you can be an intimidating task. How to reach those heights when you’re only just stepping away from brewing in your own back yard?

But Wolf of the Willows founders Scott and Renae McKinnon saw this not as a conundrum, but as an inspiration. Drawing upon the history of Californian brewery Russian River’s infamous double IPA, Pliny the Elder, a seed was planted that would give their new brewing venture a name.

Roman naturalist and military man Pliny the Elder, or Gaius Minor Plinius Caecilius Secundus to give him his full name, has been credited as the first to name the hop vine in his writings, using the term lupus salictarius, or ‘wolf among the willows’, to describe a plant believed to be wild hops. To Scott’s history-loving mind, that proved romantic enough to bestow the name upon the new brewing company.

But brewing had been in the blood long before Pliny the Elder was even a concept in Scott’s mind. His interest in fermentation began with brewing ginger beer with his dad while he was still too young to drink it. That interest was later reinvigorated in his early 20s as he spent a couple of years exploring the ski slopes and craft beer bars of Colorado.

On his return to Australia, home brewing became a regular hobby and his future wife Renae came into the picture. After a few more years of brewing ‘barbecue beers’ for friends and family, going out on their own in the beer industry soon became the next logical step for the pair, especially considering Renae’s background in wine and beverage marketing.

In developing their own vision for Wolf of the Willows, Scott was determined that their beers would be balanced brews from classic styles, with their own signature touch – much like finding a wolf among the willows.

Starting out brewing on other's equipment, their first beer was the XPA – or Extra Pale Ale – released in November 2014 and was one of the first in a then-fledgling beer category that has since taken off. That beer remains the brewery's flagship and has since been joined by an IPA and PILS while the selection of beers continues to get broader and broader over time; from a range of sours to cocktail-inspired beers, and partnerships with distillers that commenced when they launched The Barrel Exchange Program with Lark Distillery.

A big change came in late 2015 when the McKinnons secured brewery space with Bad Shepherd but over time, they soon started to outgrow that space as demand for their beer grew.

In 2020, they opened their own brewery and taproom, taking over the former Albatross Brewery site in Mordialloc to allow for continued expansion and the creation of a home to call their own. It's a place that has quickly garnered the love of locals, with arcade machines, food trucks and an impressive outdoor mural all making the Wolf of the Willows taproom one you want to bring your family to. It's also the best place to enjoy the brewery's beers, where 18 taps showcase an impressive mix of beers, plus hard seltzer and cold drop coffee, while local wines and spirits also feature.

Name
Wolf of the Willows
Address

39 De Havilland Road
Mordialloc
VIC 3195

Phone
For orders, please email orders@wolfofthewillows.com.au
Open Hours

Thursday: 4pm to 10pm
Friday: 3pm to 10pm Saturday: midday to 10pm
Sunday: midday to 6pm


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

The Specials

Wolf of the Willows The Haze Has Spoken & West Coast Is The Way
Wolf of the Willows x Original Pattern Latitude 37.8
Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision Strata & Double Vision Microdosed
Wolf of the Willows Lark Imperial JSP V
Wolf of the Willows x The Gospel Persistence III
Wolf of the Willows First Chair
Wolf of the Willows Hawaiian Sour
Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision III & Double Vision III
Wolf Of The Willows Nitro Twins
Wolf of the Willows Disco of the Dead II
Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision II & Double Vision II
Show 31 more

Wolf of the Willows Regulars

Wolf of the Willows PUP Mid: Mango Pale Ale

Published March 2, 2023
Midstrengths have long been a big part of the Australian beer market and as the country’s smaller brewers have looked to keep their booze levels low, the innovation has been kept high. Wolf of the Willows’ second “PUP” beer is a midstrength pale ale with a whole lot of flavours thanks to mango, summer’s greatest fruit (this is not up for debate). The 3.2 percent pale features Mosaic hops too so as well as the distinct and fresh mango flavours and a soft juicy tartness, there is a further… Read more
Style
Mango Pale Ale
ABV
3.2%

Wolf of the Willows Crisp Lager

Published December 2, 2022
The Wolf of the Willows team have released a beer for life's lighter moments as 2022 starts winding down: Crisp Lager is a low-calorie, low-carb beer they say is built for moments such as a post-hike refreshment or when washing down the bowl of chips you’ve ordered in a sunny beer garden. Pouring a particularly pale gold, the beer is certainly true to its name, with a light body, crisp finish, little-to-no bitterness, and the softest of citrus touches. But, while the beer might be better for the… Read more
Style
Lager
ABV
4.2%

Wolf of the Willows Aqua Boogie

Published November 23, 2021
The Aqua Boogie range of seltzers from Wolf of the Willows might be a new entry into Australia’s seltzer market for summer 2021 but strictly speaking, the range isn't quite brand new. Instead, the brewery has been quietly making and releasing them since 2020 under the wider Wolf banner, slowly refining their recipes and developing a personality for the seltzer to sit under. It turns out that personality is one of a wave of nostalgia that Sergeant Pepper himself would approve of, with Aqua Boogie… Read more
Style
Seltzer
ABV
All 4.0%

Wolf of the Willows Wolf Pup

Published May 7, 2020
Had the past few weeks gone to plan, Wolf of the Willows would be welcoming guests to their new Mordialloc brewery venue right now. And awaiting them would have been a house beer, Wolf Pup. Given things haven't gone quite to plan – you can read about how owners Scott and Renae have been adapting here – you can now enjoy the supposedly taproom only release at home. As the name suggests, it's a beer that's relatively small in stature: a 4 percent ABV Aussie pale ale. Built with a pale malt and… Read more
Style
Aussie Pale Ale
ABV
4.0%
Stockists

Find Pup here

Wolf of the Willows PILS

Published October 19, 2018
Wolf of the Willows' green tinnie is tagged as an Australian pilsner. With good reason too. It's brewed with all Aussie malts and locally grown Enigma hops too. Yet were you presented with the liquid in a glass and given no prior briefing you could just as easily believe you'd been given a pilsner from the other side of the planet. Indeed, a well travelled brewer we shared a beer with felt it wouldn't be out of place in a North German beer garden, the sort of setting in which you find some damn fine… Read more
Style
Pilsner
ABV
4.5%

Wolf Of The Willows XPA (Cans)

Published November 3, 2017
Melbourne's Wolf of the Willows was one of the first Australian breweries to release an XPA. Indeed, they launched with the XPA, explaining that for them the style meant: "extra pale in colour with extra hop aroma and flavour". It went on to take top spot in an XPA/session IPA Getting Blind With Crafty tasting soon afterwards too. Since then, as you may well have noticed, plenty of other brewers have released XPAs, some similar in conception, others with different interpretations as to… Read more
Style
XPA
ABV
4.7%
Stockists

Find the beer via the WOTW Beer Locator

Wolf of the Willows "Homage" IPA

Published April 27, 2016
Given their fondness for giving beers a three letter name, it was surely only a matter of time before Wolf the Willows released an IPA (or an ESB, perhaps). And this has now come to pass, with the beer subtitled "Homage" joining their XPA, ISA (India Saison) and JSP (Johnny Smoked Porter). Why "Homage"? Because it's a nod to the West Coast style of IPA that Scott and Renae love, that has laid waste to American drinkers' palates (and thus much of the country's hop industry) and… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
6.2%
Bitterness
66 IBU
Stockists

Available year round wherever Wolf of the Willows is stocked

Wolf of the Willows JSP

In the earliest days of the porter – and the brown ales from which it was born in London in the 18th century – there would be occasions when the beers would be smoky. The cheapest form of brown malt available at the time was smoked so, while many brewers avoided it and used "cleaner", more expensive malts, there were smoked porters. It's a style within a style that has gained some popularity since American craft brewers brought the porter back from near extinction. For Wolf of the Willows'… Read more
Style
Smoked Porter
ABV
5.2%

Wolf of the Willows Specials

Wolf of the Willows The Haze Has Spoken & West Coast Is The Way

Published May 2, 2023
Despite embarking on several evenings of back-to-back Star Wars viewing with my youngest during our most recent bout of COVID, we're yet to make it to The Mandalorian. But if this pair of IPAs name-checking the series are any guide, perhaps it should be added to the watch list. It's not the first time Wolf of the Willows have put out twin IPAs, but here you have one hazy and one West Coast clocking in at the same ABV rather than the Inner and Double Vision series' more disparate offerings. There's… Read more
Style
Hazy & West Coast IPAs
ABV
Both 6.5%
Stockists

Launching at their taproom for the Revenge of the 5th

Wolf of the Willows x Original Pattern Latitude 37.8

Published February 8, 2023
You may not know it but it pays to be aware of your latitude. Without it, how can you possibly work out how short your winter days are? Or what vegetables stand the best chance to flourish in your backyard? As it turns out, Melbourne and Oakland, California are both as far from the equator as one another, with the former Latitude 37.8 South and the latter 37.8 North, which might explain the two cities' shared love of West Coast IPAs. Well, Wolf of the Willows and Original Pattern certainly share… Read more
Style
West Coast IPA
ABV
6.2%

Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision Strata & Double Vision Microdosed

Published October 15, 2022
You can't accuse anyone involved in hops of standing still. Whether it's breeders developing new varieties, growers planting ever more acreage, manufacturers finding new ways to deliver the best bits of the little green cones to brewers, or brewers using them in new and different manners, it's a fast-moving world. And here, via their Inner / Double Vision series, Wolf of the Willows get to play around too. With Inner Vision Strata, the new comes in the form of using nothing but relatively new, and… Read more
Style
Single Hop Hazy IPA & Microdosed Hazy DIPA
ABV
6.0% & 8.0%
Stockists

Melburnians can join the team for a launch party and masterclass on October 21

Wolf of the Willows Lark Imperial JSP V

Published August 12, 2022
Given how much we've written about the ongoing partnership between Wolf and Lark as the launch of this beer has approached – you can take a deep dive here – let's cut straight to the chase when it comes to talking about the liquid itself. At 12.4 percent ABV, it's taken another step up from last year's release, and were you to divide its key characteristics into two columns – the gnarlier elements (drying dark malts, peat smokiness, tannins, bitterness) and the more dessert like ones (fudgy… Read more
Style
Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Porter
ABV
12.4%

Wolf of the Willows x The Gospel Persistence III

Published July 14, 2022
Persistence is a beer that was born in lockdown and, while they might be a thing of the past, fortunately the beer isn’t. The barrel-aged imperial stout is a collaboration between Wolf of the Willows and The Gospel distillery, that forms part of the brewery’s Barrel Exchange Project. It sees the Wolf brew crew make an imperial stout with a high proportion of rye malt then get together with the team at the Melbourne distillery to hand-pick some barrels with unique characteristics. The name and… Read more
Style
Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
12.0%

Wolf of the Willows First Chair

Published June 3, 2022
If the chilly temperatures greeting many Australians in the early days of winter 2022 get any chillier, anyone wanting to don skis or snowboard this season might not have to bother heading to the mountains – your local park may well work. At least the plummeting mercury is being accompanied by suitably hearty beers, including this one from Wolf of the Willows: their follow up to last year's Steep & Deep IIPA continues to take the piste but this time in the shape of a coffee-laced breakfast… Read more
Style
Coffee Breakfast Stout
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

On tap in Victoria from June 3

In VIC bottleshops from June 6

Interstate from June 10

And appearing at the Outlaw Winter Wonderland event June 12 at The High Plains Hotel, Dinner Plain

More stockists...

Wolf of the Willows Hawaiian Sour

Published April 8, 2022
Following some time spent in Thailand and LA during the second half of 2021, Wolf of the Willows have again popped down to the beach with their Hawaiian Sour. The tropical fruit cream sour features pineapple juice, key lime, coconut and vanilla with further tropical fruits being teased out of Vic Secret and Citra hops. Rolled oats and wheat in the malt makeup help ensure Hawaiian Sour has quite a soft and fluffy body, which provides a creamy base for those tropical flavours to leap from. Of those,… Read more
Style
Tropcial Fruit Cream Sour
ABV
6.2%

Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision III & Double Vision III

Published March 10, 2022
Where does the time go? It feels like barely weeks have gone by since the second instalment of Wolf of the Willow’s Visions series but it turns out, it’s much closer to six months. The series arrived with its heavy-hopping rates and colourful, cartoon cans in 2020 and here we are in March 2022 with version three, which almost seems to rival Marvel's film release schedule. If you made it along to our Crafty Cabal Ping Pong Party at Wolf of the Willow's home, then there’s a good chance you would… Read more
Style
Hazy IPA & Double Hazy IPA
ABV
6.2% & 8.0%

Wolf Of The Willows Nitro Twins

Published November 25, 2021
Well, they're not really twins at all, other than in the sense that Arnie and Danny were in the film of the same name. One's a monster of a cocktail-inspired beer, the other a spice festive treat. One's in big cans, the other in normal ones. But they both come with a charge of nitro so that's what I'm going with. The monster is their second Lark Barrel Aged Whisky Sour, in which the nitro is just one part of many. Also bringing this 9 percenter together are smoked malt, lactose, fresh lemon juice… Read more
Style
Nitro Whisky Sour & Nitro Spiced Amber Ale
ABV
9.0% & 6.2%

Wolf of the Willows Disco of the Dead II

Published October 15, 2021
Melburnians hopefully only have a short while long where most of their partying has to be in the loungeroom (although if I may: the kitchen and a balcony are welcome spots too) and Wolf of the Willows have the right release for these final days of lockdown. To help people shake up the monotony of 2021, Wolf of the Willows have once again partnered with their pals at Tequila Tromba to celebrate the Day of the Dead with a Disco De Los Muertos - AKA Disco of the Dead. Disco of the Dead II is inspired… Read more
Style
Orange Sangrita Sour
ABV
6.0%

Wolf of the Willows Inner Vision II & Double Vision II

Published October 8, 2021
A week on from one series looking for an escape from 2021, Wolf of the Willows have looked back to 2020 with the return of their Vision Series. You can read about the first of those beers here and here but the key point to know is that both feature heavy hopping rates and some rather whimsical artwork. Inner Vision II is a DDH Hazy IPA that’s been hopped with Azacca, Citra, and Galaxy to create a tropical juice bomb while heavy additions of rolled outs and wheat send forth a creamy and thick mouthfeel.… Read more
Style
DDH Hazy IPA & DDH Hazy DIPA
ABV
6.2% & 8.0%

Wolf of the Willows Full Moon Party & Golden Hour In LA

Published October 1, 2021
Just as many of us are looking forward to booking a long haul flight, Wolf of the Willows have unveiled the Escape Series, beers designed to whisk us away. First up is Full Moon Party, which aims to transport you to Thailand and, while it might be the smaller of the two in terms of ABV, there’s a broad mix of flavours at play in a beer that’s ready to be enjoyed from a bucket on the beach. The 3.8 percent ABV mango pale ale doesn’t just contain the named tropical fruit but also salt and, given… Read more
Style
Mango Pale Ale & Lo-Cal Lager
ABV
3.8% & 5.0%

Wolf of the Willows Lark Barrel Aged Imperial JSP IV

Published August 20, 2021
As those who have visited the Wolf of the Willows taproom in Mordialloc would know, the brewery is serious about barrels. But while the oak from Lark and other local operations that lines the back of the brewery may provide a visual cue, the partnership between spirit makers and Wolf goes back to before they even had a taproom of their own. The Barrel Exchange Project with Lark launched in 2018 and, while it has since expanded and brought in other distilleries, Wolf's partnership with Lark remains… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Smoked Porter
ABV
11.8%

Wolf Of The Willows & The Gospel Persistence II

Published July 16, 2021
With Melbourne back in lockdown and Sydney facing the same fate until at least the end of July, many of us could use a bit of persistence right now. Fortunately, Wolf of the Willows have delivered some just in time, with their collaboration with The Gospel Distillery making its return as Persistence II. The beer was first released in November 2020, just as Melbourne was finishing up another lockdown and is part of the brewery’s wider Barrel Exchange Project, which has also featured releases made… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
12.2%

Wolf Of The Willows Steep 'N Deep IIPA

Published June 11, 2021
As hazies and NEIPAs continued to take over the world of IPA (and, to a growing extent, pale ales too), the clamour from those drinkers after the more traditional India pale ale† pleasures – those of a clear, lean and unencumbered form – only grew louder. And, while 2021 has proven to be its own peculiar sort of shitstorm after the relatively one-dimensional shitstorm of 2020, it does appear those people's prayers are being answered. Joining the ranks of clearest of clear IPAs is Wolf of the… Read more
Style
West Coast IIPA
ABV
8.5%

Wolf of the Willows West Coast Lager

Published April 29, 2021
“Lagers require bottom-fermenting yeast and cooler temperatures and ales use top-fermenting yeasts and warmer temperatures.” It’s often one of the first lessons someone wading into the wide world of beer learns but of course, the more you learn, the more complex that world becomes. Some ales can be fermented cold, some brewers use yeast gathered from their surroundings and some beers are made with marshmallows.* Helping muddy the waters even further are Wolf of the Willows, Bintani and Fermentis… Read more
Style
West Coast Lager
ABV
5.5%
Bitterness
28 IBU

Wolf Of The Willows Inner Vision

Published February 22, 2021
When all of Victoria was forced into its third, albeit just five-day, lockdown, there was a pretty glum feeling of déjà vu circulating in the air. We’d seen all this before haven’t we? How long’s this one going to go for? Fortunately, it was as short as promised and, for some, the five days at home were a good time to look inside, reflect, and maybe return to one of those favourite isolation projects of 2020. For Wolf of the Willows, their first release of 2021 was already set to be a return… Read more
Style
DDH Hazy IPA
ABV
6.6%

Wolf of the Willows Lark Barrel Aged Whisky Sour

Published December 11, 2020
Now, I've had a fair few beers featuring whisky and sourness in some form. But I've not had one quite like this entry into Wolf of the Willows' ever-evolving collab series with Lark Distillery. It's fair to say, however, I'd happily have more of 'em. After all, when you check the label and background info upon completing your tasting notes, discover the beer is 9 percent ABV, and feel compelled to end said notes with: "Blimey!", you know you're onto a good thing. Firstly, the background… Read more
Style
Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Sour
ABV
9.0%
Stockists

Wolf of the Willows Taproom

And other stockists here

Wolf of the Willows & The Gospel Persistence

Published November 13, 2020
Resilience is a word that's been bandied about a lot in 2020, along with pivot, unprecedented and oh, for fuck's sake (OK, that last one is a phrase rather than a word, but you catch my drift). You have to feel that, as we in Australia look to be coming out of the darkness and into the light, persistence deserves a guernsey too. Particularly for people and businesses in Melbourne, where they've endured two lockdowns like champions (well, aside from Murdoch's goons and their ilk) and can now look… Read more
Style
Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
12.2%
Stockists

Wolf of the Willows online

And other stockists here

Wolf of the Willows Disco Of The Dead

Published October 23, 2020
Looks like it's disco season in the Melbourne craft beer scene (you'll see what we're on about next month...) as Wolf of the Willows return to territory they've had fun in before: taking inspiration from the cocktail world when creating a new sour. We're told Disco Of The Dead celebrates Mexican bar El Gallo Altanero in Guadalajara and Tequila Tromba, and has been created remotely with bartender Alejandra De Aguinaga. They've gone for a "Pink Guava Atole Sour", which has seen them use corn… Read more
Style
Pink Guava Atole Sour
ABV
5.7%

Wolf of the Willows Double Vision

Published October 9, 2020
I'm not sure 2020 has been characterised by double vision as much as it has the one single vision over and over again, at least for those living in Melbourne. It's been as challenging a year as you could imagine, and among those for whom the roller coaster has thrown up some serious twists, turns and nosedives is the team at Wolf of the Willows. As March approached, they were all set to open their brewery venue and were busy signing up staff; here we are in October and they're still awaiting the… Read more
Style
Hazy Double IPA
ABV
8.1%
Stockists

Find the beer here

Wolf of the Willows & Mörk Chocolate Kanelbulle

Published August 21, 2020
Not only have we got so many breweries releasing so many beers that even the unlikeliest of styles can land on one's doorstep twice in quick succession, we've even got beers with names that require guidance as to their proper pronunciation. Yes, just a few weeks after Two Birds released their twin Kalsarikännit beers, Wolf of the Willows tell us their latest nitro beer is to be annunciated "ka-kneel-bull-a". More importantly, however, what is it? Other than an excuse to pop the chef from… Read more
Style
Spiced Nitro Pastry Brown Ale
ABV
6.2%

Wolf of the Willows & Lark Distillery Barrel-Aged JSP III

Published July 30, 2020
They've got quite the thing going on with Aussie spirits producers, have Wolf of the Willows. They've brewed beers with Tequila Tromba and Patient Wolf Gin and here comes their third collab with the godfather of Tasmania's whisky community, Lark Distillery. This instalment follows the same traditions as the previous two in their ongoing Barrel Exchange Project: barrels from Lark make their way to Melbourne to be filled with an imperial version fo Wolf of the Willows' JSP (Johnny Smoked Porter); after… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Porter
ABV
12.8%
Stockists

Find the launch events here

Wolf of the Willows Enigma Pillows

Published July 10, 2020
Enigma Pillows is the first in Wolf of the Willows' new Nitro Hazy Series and it certainly manages to tick some boxes. Hazy? Tick. DDH? Tick. Lactose? Tick. Nitro? Big ol’ tick. The DDH Hazy Nitro DIPA cans aren’t just fun to pour either, they’re pretty nice to look at too thanks to Melbourne illustrator Digable Goods having some fun with the Wolf on the can. Clouds and pillows are definitely fitting motifs for a beer that’s incredibly soft and smooth where a heavy hopping rate of Enigma… Read more
Style
DDH Hazy Nitro DIPA
ABV
8.1%
Stockists

Full list of stockists can be found here

Wolf of the Willows ISO GABS Collection

Published May 29, 2020
Just because there was no GABS this May / June doesn't mean breweries haven't been putting out GABS beers. In the case of Wolf of the Willows, three of them, all of which are collabs with local producers too. The newcomer is The S'Mores Man, a nitro amber ale with a marshmallow twist (and man on the label) featuring organic cacao from longstanding Wolf mates Essential Wholefoods. For much of the experience, you're very much in traditional amber territory, like their Woodsman - some toasty dryness,… Read more
Style
Nitro Amber & Gin Sour & Nitro Milk Porter
ABV
6.2% & 5.7% & 6.2%
Stockists

Find Wolf stockists on their website

Or order direct here

Wolf Of The Willows XXXPA

Published November 17, 2019
It's been a big few weeks for Scott and Renae from Wolf Of The Willows, what with securing their own brewery site that's set to open in 2020 and marking a half decade of beers. And they've celebrated the latter with a suitably big beer, one that takes their debut XPA and ratchets it up to double the size and throws in a triple dry-hop with Mosaic, Galaxy, Kahatu and Nelson Sauvin for good measure. Oh, and it's in big black cans too, complete with bold red lettering, the XXX perhaps intended as a… Read more
Style
Imperial XPA
ABV
9.2%

Wolf of the Willows Lark Barrel Aged Imperial JSP 2019

Published July 29, 2019
In 2018, Wolf of the Willows teamed up with Tasmania’s Lark Distillery to create a barrel-aged beer with a difference. The Cheltenham-based brewers headed to Tasmania, chose some barrels, had them shipped over as soon as they were emptied, then filled those barrels with an imperial version of their JSP (Johnny Smoked Porter). Once the whisky and oak had done their thing, the barrels were emptied, sent back to Lark and filled with a whisky to finish off the spirit. To find out more about the process,… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Smoked Porter
ABV
13.9%

Wolf of the Willows & Tequila Tromba Jalisco Sour

Published May 31, 2019
Wolf of the Willows enjoyed success with their 2018 GABS beer, a delicate and subtly complex spin on the Tom Collins cocktail. So they decided to follow a similar route in 2019; well, similar in that they hooked up with a spirit company when concocting their festival beer. In most other respects, it's a different beast altogether: if Tom Collins was subtle, this is the sledgehammer, the yin to its yang. In making it, they combined agave, the base ingredient of tequila, with chargrilled pineapples,… Read more
Style
Spiced Sour
ABV
4.2%

Wolf Of The Willows Pacific Sour

Published November 30, 2018
At the sours blind tasting we held as part of WA Beer Week in 2018, it was fascinating to see where different attendees' preferences lay, from those who enjoyed those of a hoppy and low acidity bent to those who were all over the fruit and others that were looking for the funk. And, with this new "tropical sour", the Wolf Of The Willows team almost appear to be attempting to cover all bases, melding the yeast they feature in their Acidulus range with pineapple, guava and mango juices as… Read more
Style
Tropical Fruit Sour
ABV
4.2%
Stockists

Hitting taps across Victoria and out in 355ml cans too

Wolf of the Willows & Lark Distillery Imperial JSP

Published October 10, 2018
In a world in which the release of barrel aged beers seems to be a weekly occurrence, The Barrel Exchange Project is a meeting of malts with a difference. The collaboration between Wolf of the Willows and Lark Distillery saw the Wolf brewers head to Tasmania to select six Lark barrels to be shipped across Bass Strait. Once they arrived in Cheltenham, within seven days the freshly emptied barrels were filled with an imperial version of the brewery's JSP and left to mature. When the beer was ready,… Read more
Style
Whisky Barrel Aged Imperial Smoked Porter
ABV
11.2%

Wolf Of The Willows & Ale Of A Time Southern Brut IPA

Published June 23, 2018
They've been busy, um, wolves down at their Bayside brewery in recent weeks. This is the third new can we've had from Wolf Of The Willows in a month, all featuring artwork by their illustrator buddies BySequence and Studio Worldwide, and the second of them to involve collaborators. This time around, Southern Brut was conceived in conjunction with Ale Of A Time and the Patreon supporters of their podcast. It's one of the first (although certainly far from the last) of a new style of IPA to be brewed… Read more
Style
Brut IPA
ABV
6.2%
Stockists

Catch the collaborators for its launch here

Other stockists to follow

Wolf Of The Willows The Woodsman Amber Ale

Published June 13, 2018
In this day and age, when most beers are supercharged versions of what they would have been in the past (and by past we mean any time up to the last decade), it can be easy to forget how things used to be. How beers like amber ales used to be, as the name would suggest, predominantly about the malts that lend them their colour and, thus, name. For the most part, led by the craft beer revolution in the States, the supercharging has come by the way of hops – more and more of them – to the point… Read more
Style
Amber Ale
ABV
4.5%
Stockists

Bad Shepherd Brewpub

You can also find the beer here

Wolf Of The Willows & Patient Wolf Tom Collins Sour

Published May 27, 2018
The worlds of beer and gin have found much common ground in recent years, and not just because the latter industry is enjoying the sort of time in the spotlight increasingly enjoyed by craft brewers. Whether it's been Young Henrys using hops in its Noble Cut Gin or Hargreaves Hill teaming up with Four Pillars for the excellent annual Gin Barrel Gose, there's been plenty of crossover. And now Wolf Of The Willows is getting in on the game in partnership with Patient Wolf, a Brunswick based distiller. The… Read more
Style
Spiced Sour Ale
ABV
5.7%
Stockists

And other stockists here

Wolf Of The Willows Acidulus III

Published March 5, 2018
Wolf Of The Willows' love of language continues into the third beer in their Acidulus series. The beer's star ingredients are newly developed hop varieties out of Germany – Herkules, Hüll Melon and Hallertau Blanc – so, with the beer soured with lactobacillus, it's been tagged a "Neu Hallertauer Sauer". What's more, even the collaborative aspect of the beer – it was brewed with input from Berlin based, Aussie-American brewing couple Cristal Peck and Richie Hodges – is described… Read more
Style
New England Sour
ABV
5.7%
Stockists

Find the beer here

Wolf Of The Willows Acidulus II

Published December 1, 2017
Given they were one of the earliest adopters of the now ubiquitous XPA title for one of their beers (their first, no less), we shouldn't be surprised to find Wolf of the Willows potentially angering traditionalists by being one of the first locals* to bring another new "style" to the Aussie beer scene. This time it's the subtitle given to the returning Acidulus II: New England Sour. So what does it mean? Firstly, it continues their fondness for a dead language: Wolf of the Willows is derived… Read more
Style
New England Sour
ABV
5.7%
Stockists

You can find Acidulus II here

Wolf of the Willows Raisin' Kilts

Published June 7, 2017
Scottish culture can be divisive. Mrs Pint's family still like to say she got married to a man wearing a skirt. And, while the arrival of bagpipes on a couple of occasions during King Creosote's most recent album sets hearts a-racing at Crafty Towers, there are many who just hear a droning annoyance whenever they are squeezed into life. Still, one thing we imagine most of our readers can agree upon is that a well made Scotch ale is a treat, especially as we head into the colder months. And there… Read more
Style
Barrel Aged Scotch Ale
ABV
7.2%
Stockists

Bad Shepherd Brewpub

Wolf of the Willows & Bloodhound Wolf Blood 2017

Published March 24, 2017
There are red IPAs. And then there's Wolf of the Willows' Wolf Blood. The beer originally brewed as a collaboration with Brisbane's fine Bloodhound Bar for its Hopfields event in 2016 returns a year later, this time bottled too so more people can get their hands on it. So, why did we open this piece as we did? Well, brewer Scott McKinnon has done so marvellous a job combining specialty malts that the beer pours such a bright red we went rushing straight to the notes sent by the Wolves to check they… Read more
Style
Red IPA
ABV
7.1%
Bitterness
66 IBU
Stockists

In good beer outlets in Melbourne and Brisbane

And a small number of venues in NSW, SA and WA

Wolf of the Willows Acidulus I

Published December 6, 2016
If you know Melbourne based Wolf of the Willows from their core range of beers, you only know part of the story. Over their two years as a commercial operation, they've broadened their palette via various keg-only releases, from relatively straight-down-the-line hops and malt led affairs to more esoteric drops, such as the Paradisi fruit saison. And now, given this beer comes with the suffix I, it appears there's a new line on the way that will allow Scott and Renae to explore the world of acid a… Read more
Style
Sour Blonde
ABV
5.1%
Stockists

Bad Shepherd Brewpub

Saccharomyces

The Oxford Tap House

More stockists...

Wolf of the Willows Stray Wolf

Published July 13, 2016
Stray Wolf is a coming together of two of the newer operations doing good things for beer in Melbourne. On the one hand you've got Wolf of the Willows, the former brewing gypsies who are now housemates at Bad Shepherd. On the other is Stray Neighbour, the top notch Preston restaurant with a fine line in craft beer on tap. They're not only doing good things for beer either; with this collaboration they're doing good things with beer as a percentage of profits is going to a couple of dog shelters.… Read more
Style
Red Ale
ABV
5.0%
Bitterness
34 IBU
Stockists

On tap in Victoria and Queensland

Wolf Of The Willows & Bloodhound Bar Wolf Blood

Published March 17, 2016
Now happily ensconced at the brewery they share with Bad Shepherd in Cheltenham, we can expect to see more beer and beers from Wolf of the Willows, including one-offs such as this. Scott and Renae McKinnon has collaborated with the team at Bloodhound Bar in Brisbane for the Hopfields event it's hosting as part of Brewsvegas. Wolf Blood is one of the collaborations to be launched on the night and is a punchy West Coast style red IPA. The brewers tell us it's all about "hops, hops and more hops… Read more
Style
Red IPA
ABV
7.1%
Stockists

More stockists to follow

Wolf of the Willows XPA

As ways to announce yourself to the beer world, they don't come much better than Wolf of the Willows' XPA. Their first release appeared in bottles in 2014 with some of the most stylish packaging yet seen from an Aussie brewery, and what was inside was just as impressive, quickly building a buzz around town as a beer to hunt down. XPA stands for Extra Pale Ale and, in the case here, that means an American style pale ale that's "extra pale in colour with extra hop aroma and flavour". It delivers… Read more
Style
American Pale Ale
ABV
4.7%

Wolf of the Willows ISA

For their second release, Scott and Renae of Wolf of the Willows opted to play around with a historic beer style. They took a saison, a style becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and gave it a contemporary twist in the form of a heap of hops. They come in the tri-nation form of Mosaic and Citra (both US), Ella (Aus) and Nelson Sauvin (NZ) and create a tropical hit atop the spiciness provided by the Belgian yeast as well as the rye malt. Yes, it's not just the use of lashings of New World hops… Read more
Style
Hoppy Saison
ABV
5.2%