The rise of dedicated wild & funky brewers in Australia is arguably the most pleasing things to happen to the industry in the last few years. Sobremesa Fermentary & Blendery is one of the latest additions to this club having launched their first beer in November 2020. The brand has made a real impact as they close in on their first birthday, with the minimalistic labels & funky offerings striking a chord with Melbourne beer drinkers.
Sobremesa is the work of Casey Grieve & fiance Hannah McErlane. The pair are originally from New Zealand & have a passion for fermentation. Casey grew up in and around winemaking in Blenheim, in the Marlborough wine region. He travelled the world working in wineries before studying Oenology. Wanting to express his “art” more than once a year at vintage, Casey made the move to Melbourne & into brewing in 2016.
Brewery Type
Gypsy
Brewed At: Bad Shepherd
Region
Northern Suburbs
Tasting Room
None
Casey wasn’t going in completely blind. Like seemingly almost every wine maker Casey enjoyed a beer and had dabbled in homebrewing. He landed a job at Bad Shepherd and started to hone his craft in the commercial sphere. After 2 years the duo made the move to Toronto, Canada where Casey landed a job a Bar Hop a small brewpub that specializes in mixed fermentation & blending.
Almost exactly a year later and Casey & Hannah found themselves back in Melbourne, with the intention of setting up their own brand to express their respective creativity; Casey on the liquid side with Hannah looking after the brand. This is where Hannah really came into her own; she has a passion for sustainability & minimalism. The brand she has created is beautifully presented, with black & white fine line drawings at the heart of what they do, with a focus on using Victorian ingredients wherever practical to minimize food miles and the associated enviornmental impact.
Which brings us to the meaning behind their name. Everyone has experienced sitting round a table after a meal enjoying another drink with your friends or family. This is where Casey & Hannah see their beers fitting. Unable to find an appropriate English word Casey & Hannah turned to Spanish. Sobremesa is a Spanish word for this experience. The Sobremesa is so revered in certain cultures that waiters won’t interrupt you to pass on the bill/move you on quickly to get the next table in.
The Sobramesa team call themselves a Fermentary & Blendery for a reason, to allow them to expand into other aspects of fermentation; think wine, cider, kimchi etc. They are hoping to have their own space in the not too distant future, probably in the inner north, where they can share their passion with those equally passionate about mixed fermentation products. They aren’t set on having their own brewing kit, with Casey comfortable brewing their wort on someone elses system as long as he maintains control. They currently brew at Casey’s former employer, Bad Shepherd, & rent a corner of their packaging warehouse to house their barrels.
I’m pretty sure I’ve still had every release these guys have put out & I agonized over which beer to pick to talk about! I’ve gone with one of their latest offerings; Introspection, a barrel fermented Saison aged on yellow peaches. Wow! This was one of my favourite beers of the year to date! It’s one of those beers that evolves significantly over the course of drinking it. There’s plenty of Brett, with both horse blanket & bubblegum presenting over the course of drinking, whilst there is also a load of fruit, obviously dominated by stonefruit but cantaloupe also present. It’s initially excitable from the bottle, which gives way to a nice spritzy carb paired with minor acidity. There were just over 200 bottles of this produced, so good luck if you’re attempting to track one down! Hopefully this will become a regular offering down the track.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
