W
henyoupickupa coldbeer
at theendofa longday,do
youthinkaboutthepeople
whobrewedit?Thepeople
whogrewthehops?Maltedthebarley,
harvestedthebarley?TopherBoehm
ofWildflowerBrewing&Blendingin
Sydneybelievesweshouldthinkabout
thesethings,andalltheotherfactorsthat
wentintomakingyourfavouritebeer.
EveryNovember,Boehmhostsa
publiceventcalledWaratahDayat his
Marrickvillebarrelhallandcellardoor,
inanatmospheric1890swarehouse,to
discusstheseissues.Theeventcoincides
with the launch of his Waratah beer.Anewwaveofcraftbrewersengagetheirlocalsto
foster a sense of community, writesMAX ALLEN.
Wild child
LastNovember,Boehminviteda
diversecrowdtospeak,frompeople
whosupplyhimwithsomeofthose
rawingredients,tobrewerfriends,and
yourcorrespondent.Toemphasisethe
community-buildingangleoftheevent,
allmoneyraisedontheday,fromticket
salestobeersales,wenttoorganisations
workinginruralmentalhealth.
ChrisandSamanthaGreenwood
andtheirthreechildrenliveonan
organicfarmnorthofJerilderieinthe
Riverina,NSW,andgrowanoldvariety
ofbarley.ChrisGreenwoodspokeabout
whatit’sliketogrowunconventional
grains using unconventional, regenerativefarmingmethods,inoneoftheworst
droughtshe’severseen.
“Everyonetoldusgrowingbarley
organicallycouldn’tbedone,”hesays.
“Butwe’vespentthelastfouryearsbuilding
thesoilup,andwhatwe’veseenis nothing
shortofextraordinary.We’veseenthe
soilcometolife,seentheplantsgrow
healthier,seenthemfendoffdisease,seen
thecropshangonlongerinthedrought.”
Buildingrelationshipswithother
peopleinthesupplychain,suchas Stu
WhytcrossandBradWoolnerofVoyager
CraftMaltledtotheGreenwoodsplanting
theSchoonervarietyofbarley,firstbred
inthe1980sspecificallyformalting.Long
overlookedbythefarmingcommunity
infavourofmoremodern,high-yielding
foddervarietiesofbarley,Schoonerhas
theflavourqualitiesthatcraftbrewers
likeTopherBoehmarelookingfor.
“We’vefoundonceyoubringthe
communitytogether,onceyoubringthat
link,it works,”saysChrisGreenwood.
“Ifwedon’thavethatkindofsupport
frombrewerswecan’tkeepgoing.”
JadeMcManusco-foundedRyefield
HopsinBemboka,southernNSW
fouryearsagowithhersisterand
brother-in-lawontheirfamilyfarm.
Shespokeabouthowthehistoryofan
Aboriginalcommunitygrowinghops
forthefirsttimeat Coranderrkinthe
YarraValleyinthe1870sinspiredher
approachtoregenerativefarming.
“Sometimesyouneedtogobackin
timetogoforward,”saysMcManus.“The
Aboriginal people harvested eight tonnes42 GOURMET TRAVELLER