You’re invited to join us for Wet & Wild: A Celebration of Land & Sea hosted by 3 Ravens Brewing Co.
We are celebrating our collective passion for Beer and Winemaking which has seen the evolution of our own Spinoff series. The team from 3 Ravens have experimented with our barrels and skins in their beer making process, resulting in a trio of Wild Ravens beers.
When: Sunday 15 April from 12-6pm.
Where: 3 Ravens Brewing Co. 1-3 Theobald Street, Thornbury.
Entry is FREE, but you must register to attend.
We have really enjoyed getting to know each other’s products and creative processes to see where we can create something that reflects both partners.
Brendon, 3 Ravens’ Head Brewer, said, “We have a lot of respect for the winemakers at Langi, and are lucky to be able to work with people that understand and appreciate the quality and condition of barrel that we need to make great beer.
3 Ravens relationship with Langi dates back to 2014, when the offer of a few freshly emptied fortified wine barrels sparked the formulation of a new beer – a 10% Belgian-style Quadrupel dubbed “The Druid”. The beer, which was aged in the freshly emptied barrels, was designed to emulate and compliment the characteristics of the wine, with fig, prune, bubblegum, rich caramel, dark malts and a lush mouthfeel – a decadent beer best served after dinner at cellar temperature. The Druid has become an annual tradition, with subtle variations in barrel treatment each year, with the fifth vintage due out next month (May). When the barrels no longer contribute much wine or oak character, they are ideal candidates for a different type of barrel aged beer – which is where our “Wild Ravens” series started back in 2014.
In the last four years, 3 Ravens barrel inventory has grown significantly (in no small part as a result of The Druid) with many of the barrels the result of a 9 hour round trip from Thornbury to Halls Gap on the day that they are emptied (while delivering some beer to hydrate thirsty winemakers and winery helpers during vintage). This has lead to the expansion of our Wild Ravens range, which uses the old barrel to house, and encourage, wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, to create complex and funky beers with flavours more commonly associated with naturally fermented foods (think sourdough, stinky cheese, sauerkraut, yoghurt, kombucha). Through chats with the Langi crew, and mention of us experimenting with winery by-products, it became apparent that there may be some opportunity for a crossover with the Wild Ravens range, and Langi’s own experimental range – Spinoff.
In August of 2017, while Langi were pressing the second vintage of their extended skin-contact “Spinoff” Riesling, 3 Ravens drove a small fermenter out to the winery, which was filled with the leftover skins (“pomace”) and hightailed back to the Thornbury brewery, to be macerated in a Golden Sour beer which had spent 12 months ageing in Langi’s barrels. The hybrid wine beer was left on skins for 3 months, before being racked, matured another 3 months, then bottle conditioned for yet another 3 months. The resulting brew shares elements of both wine and wild beer, with a complexity and finesse that we are incredibly proud of, and which will continue to evolve for years to come.
We are also launching two more beers (an unadulterated “Golden Sour” and a barrel-fermented “Rustic Ale”) – both of which employ Langi’s barrels.”
Entry is FREE (RSVPs essential via eventbrite for catering purposes) and includes a taste of each of the wines and beers on show. The first 100 people to RSVP will also receive an oyster topped with caviar on arrival. All beers and wine will be available to purchase by the glass/bottle and oysters, caviar (maybe a blini or two) and cheese are available to eat in or take away.
Producers featured:
3 Ravens (Thornbury, VIC) new release barrel aged wild, sour and wine hybrid beers, with brewer Brendan O’Sullivan
Wild Ravens Golden Sour
Wild Ravens Skin-contact Riesling Golden Sour
Wild Ravens Rustic Ale
Mount Langi Ghiran (Grampians, VIC) sparkling, natural and limited-release wines with Winemaker Jess Robertson
2015 Blanc de Blancs
2017 Spinoff Gris de Gris
2017 Spinoff Skin Contact Riesling
Spinoff PX
2015 Cliff Edge Shiraz
Pambula Oyster Co (Pambula, NSW) with farmers Mark & Leicia McKillop
Fresh shucked wild caught Sydney Rock Oysters
Stone & Crow Cheese (Yarra Valley, VIC) with cheesemaker Jack Holman
Sample Jack’s wares or purchase a platter including soft, hard and ripened cheeses
Yarra Valley Caviar (Yarra Valley, VIC) with farmer Nick Gorman
Ethical freshwater caviar and condiments
Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
Keep up to date on the event via the facebook event page.