We are very excited to announce that Village 2021 will be available online and for take-away/collection from 12pm (Sydney time) on Friday 4 March 2022.
I'm not even really sure where to begin. The concepts, techniques and influences in this beer go back to almost the same time I started making beer. In other terms, there hasn't been a time in my brewing career when I haven't been pondering this beer.
Village 2021 is an ale made with certified organic heritage malted barley, raw wheat and aged hops, all wholly grown in Australia. Brewed in Katoomba using an intensive turbid mash, extended three hour boil and cooled in copper coolship overnight exposed to the environs of the Blue Mountains world heritage site. Fermented and aged in oak without addition of yeast or bacteria. This 2021 blend is composed of three, 500 litre puncheons all one year of age.
If you read through those words carefully, the influence of Belgian Lambic beers is obviously writ large all over it. This is a beer made exactly in this style, however in a different geography, thus not named in this way. Also I have come to a place in my conversations and thoughts about a beer such as this that the use of a coolship and exposing the wort to night-time air is a sort of intentional action which inoculates the wort and thus conducts fermentation. It's just a strange, old way to introduce yeast/bacteria. So while we did not add it, we allowed it to become present and expressed. While this is probably the best use of the term 'spontaneous' in regards to fermentation of beer, I'm just choosing to not call it that. If you would like to or another producer regards their similar method as such, I am very okay with that. I am not the nomenclature police.
We aim to release a single Village beer each year blended from the variety of our aged stock as an ongoing manifestation of the friendship we share with Harriet and DJ. We will continue to blend older and older components to make two- and three-year blends. The image below shows how the label will reflect this over time.
At release, Village displays true to style aromas of tropical fruit esters back ended with cheesy, aged hop and oak notes. The palate is soft and highly enjoyable with a texture-ladening aged-hop bitterness which bring the palate to a close. For one year in barrel, this composition is satisfyingly complex and we expect the beer to age well under cellar conditions for 10 years +.
Village 2021 was bottled in 750ml and 1500ml bottles under cork and crown seal. All the corks have been inspected for TCA via the MA Silva onebyone technology (read here).
Like all our beers, Village 2021 is best enjoyed when decanted off a settled natural yeast sediment at cellar temperatures (10-12°C).
Please see the specific product page for bottle quantities and limits.
The release of this beer truly marks a moment in our brewing history, and potentially one in Australian brewing history as well. I look forward to the development of the Village beers over time and what they represent.
Enjoy.
