Imagine moving to the other side of the world, to a whole different hemisphere, and, with your life partner in tow, you take up your dream job. For American brewer Chase Saraiva (pictured above centre), this is just what happened when he moved from Arizona to Sydney in 2020: a weird chapter in his life during which COVID sort of forced his hand into becoming the head brewer at Wildflower Brewing & Blending, one of Sydney’s most revered breweries.
Some brewers in Chase’s position would have beeb inclined to put their feet up and enjoy being a Marrickville celebrity. And yet Chase, who had created Lora Brewing in the meantime, would instead find his next big thing was five hours south of Sydney.
To be precise, it would be found in the coastal haven of Narooma, the cosy home of the Yuin Nation where fresh oysters are readily shucked under the towering shadow of Mount Gulaga. In a town that wouldn’t be without a brewery for much longer.
Just a smidge out of the town centre, the suitably nautical Breakwall Brewing Co features 16 taps of Chase-brewed beer alongside guest brews and cocktails. Highly recommended is the Hazy Sessions – a full bodied mid with velvety notes of peach and mango – which pours alongside an especially malty pale ale with a bitter foundation. If you can try only one Breakwall beer, however, I’d recommend the hazy IPA, a red hot ripper with a quad hop combo that dominates your taste buds in a well concealed 6 percent ABV.
To find out more, we were able to hold a busy Chase down for just long enough to answer these questions in another instalment of our long-running Who Brews...? series.
Breakwall Brewing
Who are you?
There are a few people from a variety of different backgrounds who make it all happen here. Cate, Nick, and Mike sort out most of the business and beer pouring duties while I (Chase) take care of all the beer making.
Where do you brew?
We make our beer on the far south coast of NSW in a town called Narooma.
Why do you brew?
Brewing encompasses a lot of my personal interests: creating with my hands, making flavours, fermentation, preservation techniques, agriculture, continual learning and building community. It’s an extremely multidisciplinary career.
Was there a beer or a moment that set you on the path to becoming a brewer?
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, a 12 percent ABV brown ale aged in a foeder made from Palo Santo wood.
Needless to say, this beer really opened my eyes as to what beer could be beyond what I was drinking at the time.
What’s the inspiration behind the brewery name?
If anyone has been to Narooma, or at least looked it up, one of the first, and generally most visually striking, parts of town is the breakwall and the surrounding waters of the Wagonga Inlet.
It felt like a great name to tie ourselves into the town and community.
What beer in your lineup best represents you and why?
Currently, I’d say our Pale Lager. I’m not one who likes to be rushed and the same goes for the lager we make here.
If you could have any person in the world join you on a brew day, who would it be, and why?
Right now, Rick Rubin probably tops the list. I’m currently a bit through his book, The Creative Act, and even though he is mainly a music professional, I think his thoughts on the creative process and life journey would be insightful in opening up new ways of thinking about the way I make beer.
If anyone drops in on brew day, what are they most likely to hear blasting from the speakers?
Hmmmm, I’d say indie, jazz and world groove are probably the leading candidates, but it’s hard to say that there’s any one band/artist or even genre I play more than others. A lot of times there isn’t any music on at all.
What beers are in your fridge right now?
Some Lora, Coopers, Breakwall and Wildflower… I try to keep a bit of variety on hand.
What would be your desert island beer of choice?
Right now I can’t get enough Coopers Pale.
To me, it’s a beautiful intersection of some of my favourite styles. It kind of feels like it’s a little pale ale, a little saison, and a little lager all at the same time.
Which local beers have blown your mind in recent weeks?
I had a few intriguing beers from Sailors Grave at the Narooma Oyster Festival not too long ago. The Bloody Caesar reminded me of a Michelada-inspired beer I made back in Arizona, which was a fun little flashback, and Signals, their beer with cinnamon myrtle gave me a bit more inspiration to work with a plant of a similar sensory profile I found while on a walk in the national forest around town.
Is there a particular style, ingredient, or trend in beer you'd like to explore further?
Working more with the organic and regenerative grains from Chris and Sam Greenwood is at the top of the list for ingredients.
Some process/production areas I’m keen on exploring more in the near future are decoction and can-conditioned pales.
Where can people find your beers?
For the time being, we’re very much focusing on our local market, so the best bet is at the brewery and some of the bottleshops and restaurants in/around Narooma.
That being said, we're slowly and methodically expanding our distribution radius a little here and there and are most notably increasing our footprint in the Canberra area.
Where do you hope your brewery will be ten years from now?
I hope we’re recognised as making some of the best beers and having one of the best brewery cultures and atmospheres in Australia.
You'll find Breakwall Brewing at 60b Glasshouse Rocks Road, Narooma, as well as in the free Crafty Pint app, alongside hundreds of other breweries and good beer venues across Australia.
Benedict "Benny" Kennedy-Cox is a comedy/travel writer and craft beer enthusiast from a lovely little harbour village called Sydney. His dreams include opening his own taproom, hosting his own travel beer show, and to one day be able to pay someone to write these for him instead of doing it himself in third person.
The beer(s) or moment (s) that turned you onto good beer:
One two punch of receiving a Beer Book for Christmas when I was just about to be 18 and getting a mixed set of international beers from my aunt for my 19th birthday.
You've got three beers to turn someone else on to good beer; what are they and why?
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Serpents Kiss by Grifter – This will help me figure out if they like sweet. A pilsner with a bit of watermelon, lovely, perfect one to start off an arvo at the pub, refreshing and tasty.
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Pale Ale by Mountain Culture – Lots of big juicy and floral flavours. If they don't like this we might be out of luck!
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Roast Pear Sour and Salted Caramel IPA Beer Blender by Urbanaut – Some people don't like these but, in my opinion, even non-beer drinkers can have the time of their life with a beer blender, and I reckon this one is the best.
The last beer you enjoyed:
RocknRoada Imperial Pastry Stout (14.6%) by Bacchus.
Three things that represent you:
- Being a smartarse and answering questions incorrectly
