A Retrospective If You Will...
Stay with us on this rather long post... a retrospective if you will...
On the 20th August, 2012 (6 years ago!! OMG!!) was when we first took delivery of 60 wine barrels from Yering Station in the Yarra Valley... Little did we know what was to happen from then until now...
We've been leading the charge of barrel ageing and mixed culture fermentation in Australia, picking up gold medals at every AIBA from 2013 > for barrel aged beauties like Mitte, Banshee, Ramjet, Gaston, Time Lord and many more, culminating in Best Australian Small Brewery in 2015.
In October 2015, we opened Australia's first barrel room, now Australia's largest program of 'clean' and mixed culture beers and growing every week. Our barrel program allows us to explore the history of beer, and at the same time, the future, as we challenge ourselves with the science and art of blending & fermentation in wood. These journeys into beers of and from the barrel have led us to 8 consecutive Good Beer Week People's Choice victories, with beers that are just plain delicious (we're a little biased! 😇).
Always pushing boundaries, but respecting the shoulders of the giants we stand on, Boatrocker started it's koelschip spontaneously fermented experiments in 2013. In 2016 we crafted our first batch of koelschip ale, and put it into barrels, allowing the natural microbes of Braeside to innoculate the wort. With minimal intervention, this beer came to be known as Daddy Koel, voted the best mixed culture beer in Australia, by the best Australian brewers. At the same time, Ramjet, our inspired STARWARD whisky barrel aged imperial stout was judged the best strong beer in Australia, also by Australia's best brewers. To our great surprise, Boatrocker was awarded the Best Independent Medium Brewery in Australia 2018. Wowsers!!
It's amazing to to see where we've come in only 6 short years, and we'd like to thank every single one of you who has come for the journey, and look forward to the next six! Cheers!