Wildflower Too Easy: Motueka will be available at our cellar door and online (at 12pm Sydney time) on Friday 4 June 2021.
This beer is a combination of lessons learned. Too Easy is a mixed culture, barrel fermented bitter Australian Wild Ale heavily hopped with Motueka (NZ) throughout the boil, in fermentation and dry-hopped before packaging. In previous attempts with hoppy beers, we have attempted these hop usage techniques individually. For Too Easy, I wanted to reign in on the hop volume of these individual techniques while merging their usage and stymie our house culture's souring nature by hopping the wort in barrel at the same time as pitching our yeast slurry.
It has been some time since we last visited this idea. When we received the fresh 2020 crop of Motueka from Freestyle Hops in Upper Moutere, NZ we smelled the hops and decided to rebrew this beer. These hops were so delicious and bright, we had to see how they preformed.
It was brewed with malted barley, wheat and oats in late November 2020. We hopped it across the boil and in whirlpool to 40 IBU before barrel fermenting it in a puncheon and dry-hopping in barrel immediately at fermentation. After a two monthlong fermentation, we hopped once more and packaged it in green bottles and allowed it to condition for three months.
At release its aroma is hop dominant, fruity pear, watermelon and sherbety citrus. Wet stone and curry leaf complexity. Bright, punchy and lifted. The palate is compact and intense. More earthy spice to complement the hoppy fruit characters. Mandarin and lime core leading to a ginger, bitter lemon finish.
Like all our beers, Too Easy is best enjoyed when decanted off a settled natural yeast sediment at cellar temperatures (10-12°C).