In our wrap of The Best of Beer for Victoria, we did mention that Sobremesa had been pretty prolific in 2022. Obviously, they were eager to prove us right, with the fermentary and blendery releasing four in the final weeks of 2022. Bicycle Day is a traditional Berliner Weisse that’s been barrel-fermented with a blend of saccharomyces, Brettanomyces and lactobacillus. It’s not all that often you see a Berliner without an entire fruit and veg store added but crack this can and you’ll find a refreshing mix of underripe nectarine, lemon, sourdough and floral notes, with a quite sharp sourness tying it all together.
Jaxon meanwhile is a mixed-fermentation blonde ale that’s all about the hops. Well … one hop anyway in Riwaka. That Kiwi variety was used at six different points during the brewing process while the beer was fermented in a single 500-litre oak puncheon. Jaxon is certainly a complex display of that hop too, with lemon rind, grapefruit and tart honeydew all layered together in a textural and acidic beer that remains effortlessly refreshing.
Fuzzy Feeling takes fruit to the next level, with the saison aged on apricots from Rayners Orchard. To be specific, 200 grams of whole apricots were used per litre of beer for six months. Maybe it’s thanks to the name but on tasting the beer, the idea of biting straight into the slightly fuzzy skin of a fresh apricot came to mind while the underlying funk brings an element of spice that’s more akin to apricot pie.
Finally, Our Daily Brett is the second batch of Sobremesa’s first-ever commercial release. The barrel-fermented saison is a blend of some of their favourite saison barrels and brings fresh lemon, stone fruit and a herbal note that’s somewhere between hay and thyme.
Will Ziebell
Published December 23, 2022 2022-12-23 00:00:00
