Wild Life Brewing Co was an idea cooked up by three
mates from Shepparton, in Central Victoria. Rhys Porter joins the Thomson brothers, Jack & James trying to build a brand around core country values. They were brought together by their combined love of the outdoors & the love of their hometown.
Their beers are designed with this in mind. They’re aware that their home market is dominated by the big players in the industry. They aren’t coming out swinging with big Imperial IPA’s or with sours, but with beers that they hope will not be too foreign to the locals. Their beers are also designed to be drunk the way country folk drink (ie. in bulk & for any occassion).
Brewery Type
Gypsy
Brewed At: Hawkers
Region
The Murray
Tasting Room
172 Maude Street, Shepparton
For the time being the trio are a contract operation with their beer being brewed at Hawkers, through a relationship with a fellow Sheppartonian (probably not what they’re called, but we’re going with it!) being a brewer there. They have hopes to have their own site early in 2021 (although COVID-19 may have something to say about that timeline) & begin brewing closer to their beloved Shepp.
That doesn’t mean that Wild Life don’t have a presence in Shepparton. They’ve got a small retail shop on Maude St, one of the main streets in Shepparton, It’s not a bar, although you certainly can pull up a pew and have a beer, it’s more of branding exercise. Introducing the people of Shepparton to three passionate locals, making beer for them.
Their first, & until very recently only, beer is the Aussie Session Ale. Ostensibly it’s an XPA with a good whack of citrus hops. The malt body is more solid than I was expecting with a fair bit of biscuit. It’s more challenging than I was expecting, however it drinks easily & I wouldn’t be surprised if it converts a few Shepp drinkers to craft beer!
This is one I’d highly recommend checking out their website – I really haven’t done justice to the vision these guys have for what they want to do. I think we’ll be seeing these guys around the scene for a long time, they’re seriously passionate & I wish them good luck!
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
**UPDATE OCTOBER 2021**
In late-September 2021 Wild Life Brewing announced that they’d secured a prime site in Shepparton & hoped to have their own brewery & taproom open by the end of the year.
