It's been 5 years since Wayward opened our Camperdown brewery and taproom, and we're celebrating with a big ol' weekender and very special limited release brew.
Our Raspberry Berliner Weisse (FKA Sourpuss) has been around since the very beginning. It's our longest standing core range beer, brewed long before sours were on trend. So, the brewers decided to double the love and bring its punters a Double Raspberry Berliner Weisse, just in time for the birthday celebrations!
Since we know our Wayward fans are dying to hear all about it, we sat down with Head Brewer Shaun Blissett to bring you the insider knowledge on RBW's history, what it means to turn 5 and all of those beer nerd details on the Double Raspberry Berliner Weisse.
What makes the Raspberry Berliner Weisse such a distinctly Wayward beer?
"When we first started brewing in Camperdown, we knew we wanted to have a sour beer in our core range. I have to give Pete [founder Peter Philip] some credit on this one. His travels throughout Europe drove the more European focused beers we had when we first started – and one of those was the Berliner Weisse. He learnt the technique of how to brew it and brewed the first kegs of it at Batch when they first opened.
Over time, as Sourpuss’ popularity grew, we took it from a smaller, homebrew scale to a large production scale. Now we brew it more than once per week and sell 1500-2000 cases on average per month, making it Wayward's best selling beer."
Is it difficult to maintain consistency with a sour beer?
"The kettle souring method [which we use] is relatively easy to do on a small scale but scaling it up took a little bit of time. We even built some of our own equipment, including kettle heaters, a timed oxygen scrubbing rig with a solenoid valve and a special mash tonne souring vessel that allows us to produce the RBW a few times per week without effecting our ales or lagers. This set up ensures it tastes consistently great every time.
The lactose strain we use in our kettle sour is also the exact same blend of lacto-cultures that we used in our first batches at Wayward. It’s not something you can just buy off the shelf, it's really unique to Wayward since day one and we love the flavour."
What made you decide to brew the Double Raspberry Berliner Weisse for Wayward's birthday month?
"We have such strong support for our RBW and it's such a distinctly Wayward beer. It's been around since the beginning. We decided it would be a nice treat for the punters who have stuck by us from the start."
So, how do you brew it?
"It's brewed exactly the same as the original, just with double the fruit, double the flavour and, consequently, double the ABV. It’ll have the same malt build as the standard RBW – which includes Pilsner, Wheat, Carapils and Vienna – and we're again sourcing the raspberries from Coffs Harbour. The locally produced fruit is really vibrant in colour compared to some of the imported stuff, and the freshness is what gives it that gorgeous colour and flavour.”
What flavour profile can we expect from the new brew?
"It's as sessionable as ever, with balanced tartness and acidity that’s consistent with the original. With more fruit, it’ll be slightly sweeter than RBW. But it'll still have bright acidity and high carbonation with a tart, refreshing finish. It’s easy drinking and perfect for these sunny days."
How much Double RBW are you brewing and where will it be available?
“We’re brewing 200-hectolitres of the double RBW, which will give us about 1400 cases and 50 kegs. It’ll be available at all the usual spots [stockist list available this Friday]."
What does it mean to you that Wayward is turning 5 this year?
"Being a part-owner and helping the business grow from the ground up just makes every achievement personal – it’s not just a job. A lot has changed since we signed the lease on our Camperdown brewery 5 years ago. We started out with just a jockey box in the corner and three fermenters, one brewer (me) and one other employee (shout out to Mikey Lowe) who doubled as the sales and bar managers. Now we've undergone a full rebrand, have more fermenters than I can count, expanded to take over nearly the entire Gehrig Lane and we’re distributing all across Australia. It feels like yesterday when we only offered growler fills, and now our tinnies are in bottle shops all over the country."
What’s your favourite beer you’ve brewed since opening?
"One of my favourites that we’ve just rebrewed recently is the first batch of Wayward Son Lupulin IPA back in 2017. I was pretty excited the first time we got our hands on the Citra LupuLN2, which provides really concentrated and intense lupulin hop flavour. I also loved the Dad Rock classic double west coast IPA, the Barley Wine collab beer we did with Webster’s in Newtown and the Yes Whey we did with Bruny Island Cheese Co."
What’s next for you and the brew team?
The main things I’m looking forward to is summer, which means the launch of a brand new range (stay tuned mates!), a new canning line, more fermenters and further expansion of the brewery down the laneway. Yeah, there's a lot going on right now and we're excited for what's coming next."
That's it for now, folks. Don't miss Wayward's 5th Birthday Weekender, coming up on 19-20 September. Head here for the nitty gritty.
DOUBLE RASPBERRY BERLINER WEISSE will be just what it sounds like – double the raspberries, double the flavour and double the ABV, but just as sessionable as ever with balanced tartness and a semi-dry finish. It's the same RBW you know and love, dialled up to party level in honour of Wayward's big 5 years.
Just like the original RBW, the double version is the perfect drink for these sunny days – with bright acidity, high carbonation and a refreshing finish, it’s a thirst-quenching, easy-drinking brew that's Summer in a glass (or straight from the can).