Known for great wine, fine food and local produce, Clare Valley is the perfect region for a growing beer and brewing scene. The newest brewery in the region is the Clare Valley Brewing Company (CVBC), and is culmination of many beers consumed by business partners Craig Harnett and Ben Jeanneret. Impressed by just how good a good beer can be, they decided to make the best and tastiest beer they could by building a brewery on the site of Jeanneret Wines.
âWe purchased the brewery in 2011,“ says Ben. "Craig and I literally dismantled it ourselves. It took two weeks to pull it apart and move the components to Clare, and I thought [it would take] about four to six weeks to reassemble.â
It took rather longer; in fact, it was two years later by the time CVBC was finally up and running.
"Although we had purchased an almost complete brew system, it was in such a mess that almost everything needed to be reconditioned or replaced,“ he says. "Also, we wanted a nice brewery and the guy putting it together [from Hucko Built] is a perfectionist with a meticulous eye for detail."
It was worth doing well as from the minute they fired it up the brewhouse has worked beautifully with almost no teething problems at all. The pair is now working on the aesthetics of the remainder of the brew shed, with plans for a bar and brew pub floor area to go in early in 2014.
They ran their first brew through the brewhouse in June 2013 and over the past six months have made such a strong start in the South Australian market that they are already struggling to keep up with demand and require more capacity and brewing staff*.
"We are expecting delivery of our new 16 head filler in March 2014, along with a keg filler, keg washer and a good sized CIP unit," says Ben.
“There are some new tanks on the horizon too [so] it would be nice to think we could crank up to four brew days a week in 2014."
Locals and visitors can enjoy the comfort and retreat of their ’Hop & Vine’ Cellar Door. Located in the Main St of Auburn in the Clare Valley, the site was once the local jewellery store and has had a long and delightful history. It’s an idyllic setting for the beer and wine enthusiast to tuck into their range, which features the Ranga Tang Red Ale, Bulls Eye Australian Pale Ale, King Kong Stout and Miss Molly Grape Cider, amid the delightfully calm pace and cheer of Auburn.
The CVBC setup at Jeanneret Wines
Another newcomer to the Clare Valley region is a release from Paulett Winery. Paulett’s Last Minute ESB was brewed locally at Clare Valley Brewing Company with the recipe for the beer based on a blend of two English pale ales that Neil Paulett had blended at their winery to strike a flavour and bitter balance that they liked.
"We were extremely pleased and grateful that we were able to use the amazing expertise and knowledge of [brewing lecturer and consultant] Stephen Nelsen show us how our blend would come together and to utilise the right ingredients and yeast to achieve our goal," he says.
Last Minute, which was released to coincide with the celebration of 30 years of Pauletts in the Clare Valley in November of 2013, sits nicely alongside the Paulett range of wines as they used the same basic principles of blending to develop it.
"We feel it will be truly complementary in years to come as our business evolves and we will continue brewing and see where the market and interest directs us."
A well known label based in the Clare Valley region, and another great family owned business, Pikes is also in the planning stages of setting up its own brewery facilities, something about which Alister Pike is excited.
"We are hoping to have our own brewery up and running at our Clare Valley based winery within the next two to three years," he says.
Pikes currently have three beers in their core range: the Pilsner, Stout and their latest addition, a Sparkling Ale. The Sparkling Ale and Stout are both brewed at Hargreaves Hill while the Pilsner is brewed at BrewPack in NSW.
“The current styles are all from our own recipes and we engage Bruce Peachey, formerly of Toohey’s and Bluetongue Brewery as our Consultant Brewer,” says Alister. “However it is a strategic objective of the business to ultimately take control of its own beer production. We just need to get to a certain distribution and sales base to justify the investment of establishing our own brewery."
The Pike’s Oakbank Pilsener has gone through many incarnations since 1996 and they are really happy with where the flavour profile is sitting now: "With more of a citrus and fruity aroma than some other pilseners out there, we think we have a top notch, crisp and clean lager.
"The Stout is a currently brewed in very small batches, and is a lighter bodied stout, almost venturing into Porter territory. A lovely deep mahogany colour, a very nicely balanced roasty flavour with some cocoa sweetness on the finish,“ he adds.
"Our new addition to the beer family is the Pikes Sparkling Ale. The name ‘Sparkling Ale’ is actually a bit of a nod to one of the original brews, which was made in the historic brewery in Oakbank all those years ago. It is a very light and refreshing India Pale Ale, in comparison to some of the big ‘hop monsters’ that get around in that category. In saying that, it still packs a great tropical fruit aroma with some lovely floral hop notes."
The longest running brewery in Clare Valley is Knappstein Enterprise Winery & Brewery. Brewhouse founder, business woman extraordinaire and eldest daughter of the founding father of Clare, Mrs Fanny Eliza Filgate established the Enterprise Brewery in 1878 to satisfy thirsty local miners. Today this building, a landmark of the Clare township, is the home of the Knappstein Enterprise Winery & Brewery.
In 2006, Knappstein opened a full microbrewery onsite, restoring its brewing heritage with the release of the Knappstein Reserve Lager. Crafted by both the winemaker and brewer, the Reserve Lager is a Bavarian-style lager created to reflect wine characteristics in style, structure and complexity. Golden straw in colour, it is crisp and aromatic with intense citrus flavours and striking bitter finish.
Knappstein Enterprise Winery & Brewery has recently had a new brewer start. Melissa Fettke has joined the team and taken over the reins from Damian Trounce who has moved to WA. Melissa is SA born and bred and is very happy to be back in her home state and brewing the Reserve Lager.
"It’s a really good beer, clean and refreshing and just full of flavour,“ she says. "My dad has been buying the Reserve Lager for years, so as a family favourite we are all happy I’m now the brewer behind it.”
South Australia looks to be at the start of a new wave for craft beer, with new breweries starting up with regularity. And regions such as the Clare Valley that are already known for their focus on high quality local produce should prove to be perfect locations for a quality beer and brewing focused industry.
Matt Carty is a press photographer turned brewer and writes the SOBS Blog as well as handling The Crafty Pint SA Twitter account.
*Full disclosure: since starting this article, Matt has secured a full time brewer position at Clare Valley starting later this year. Congratulations, Matt!
