Wildflower St Edward 2023: Montepulciano is an amber barrel aged ale wholly fermented by a diversity of yeasts and bacteria collected from native fowers in NSW refermented with red wine grapes. It is named for Topher and Bernadette’s second son. Saint Edward was an 11 century king of England and is the patron saint of kings and marriages.
Topher's production notes
In 2023, St Edward: Montepulciano was made by blending barrel aged amber mixed culture fermentation ale with 225kg of Montepulciano from Grove Estate in Young, NSW. After a four month maceration and refermentation of fruit and beer, it was bottled and allowed to naturally carbonate and mature before release.
Edward, my son, was born in May of 2022 just following the harvest season, making this 2023 cuvee the first in his series. He is a rambunctious little boy, with a cherub face allowing him to get away with a bit more than he should. The youngest of three kids, he is pressed to make himself heard and seen, which he does with no issues. The idea for his beer came from Luke Hipper, actually, to marry our Amber ale with a destemmed fleshy red grape. While Shiraz would have (and may in the future) be an option, the crop of Montepulciano also fit this bill. With the departure of Thomas using our Amber as it's base in 2023, it is nice to introduce a different St beer using that base. The flavours of the grapes and the ale marry in this just beautifully. It is truly a triumph on its inaugural release and we are besotted.
Poor little Eddie has had to wait until after his second birthday for his first beer. I am overjoyed with the maturity of the drink that has come from this wait and we will likely hold this beer to release each winter as it is drinking so exceptionally in this weather with its bottle age.
The base beer is brewed entirely with certified organic cereals from Chris and Sam Greenwood's farm in Coleambally NSW. Organic raw red wheat with organic Schooner barley malted to a pale roast by Voyager Craft Malt. It is made with filtered Sydney water and Motueka (NZ) hops. Finally, it was fermented with our house culture of microflora wholly foraged from native flowers in NSW. It was bottled on 1 August 2023 and naturally conditioned through refermentation for 48 weeks until release. At bottling it was 6.8% ABV and 12.0°P.
The label artwork was done by Edward's mother, Bernadette.
Tasting notes
On the nose, an array of dark fruits and spices - think black cherry, stewed plum, nutmeg & clove. You'd be forgiven for thinking you've been poured a glass of an agrarian Northern Italian table red wine. On the palate, a pleasant fruit weight met with sweet malt gives a round mouthfeel. There's some earthiness and subtle oak influence woven in there too. Super delicate tannins and a cleansing touch of acid to finish.
Like all our beers, St Edward 2023: Montepulciano is best enjoyed when decanted off a settled natural yeast sediment at cellar temperatures (10-12°C).
Enjoy.
