Farmhouse Ale & Cider
farmhouse ('fa:m,haus) ale (eil) n 1. The very model of farm self-sufficiency and productivity. 2. An exceptionally nutritious beverage brewed from farm grown, foraged and/or naturally present ingredients (cereals, hops, microflora and water) by the farmhands, on the farm, traditionally in the cooler months of the year when the demands for farm labour were at their lowest ebb. 3. Brewed to feed, slake the thirst and entertain these same farmworkers during the labour intensive warmer months. 4. Matured for many months before consumption, fermented with naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria, often sour, exceptionally flavoursome, wonderfully digestible and always unique to the property. 5. Some would say these ales are the very essence of what beer should be.
Two Metre Tall Farmhouse Ales
At Two Metre Tall we brew a range ales available throughout the year. Brewed of mixed and wild fermentation, these ales will develop acidity and complexity as they age. Ensure you take note of the neck label that includes a host of detail about the particular brew you have in your hand. This includes brew & bottling dates, ingredients (including hop varietal detail), and tasting notes specific to your batch. The brew date is the important detail to note as it will provide an indication of where your bottle is in time and suggests what you may expect. The older the brew the more you are in for a treat of developing acidity and souring complexity.
Our Range includes;
Cleansing Ale 5.1% alc. vol. | clean, crisp, aromatic and flavoursome on release. The ale will, after 3-4 months in bottle, take on a lovely, light, fresh citrus acidity which will keep the ale fresh, bright and 'cleansing' through many more months of ageing. The current release brew is a blend of 4 brews from July 2020 - January 2021. It is the very last Cleansing Ale in its current form. Watch this space for more details.
The River Series Farm Ales | Four rivers, four regions, four distinctively different farm ales.
Derwent Aromatic Spelt Farmhouse Ale 5.6% alc. vol. | An ale, naturally soured by the microorganisms present on the raw spelt and completed by the aromatic complexity of whole hop flowers from the Derwent Valley.
Forester Wild Amber Farmhouse Ale 5.2% alc. vol. | A rich & complex ale featuring the Pride of Ringwood whole hop flowers from north east Tasmania's Forester river region. Developing brettanomyces complexity as it ages.
Huon Wild Apple Farmhouse Ale 5.6% alc. vol. | A triple fermented brew integrates dark roasted malts with apple juice from the Huon Valley that adds the necessary acidity to make this ale shine.
Forth All Grain Farmhouse Ale 4.2% alc. vol. | Brewed with quinoa, buckwheat, rye, oats & barley malts, this brew showcases grains grown in the Forth River Valley in northern Tasmania by the Damen family. The bitter saponins on the unwashed quinoa deliver a subtle bittering structure and surprisingly, no hops are used at all.
Visit our online SHOP now. *Alcohols listed here are indicatve only & may vary from brew to brew.
Huon Farmhouse Dry Cider
7.5% alc. vol.
When we discovered the Griggs family at Lucaston Orchards in the Huon Valley were still growing the famous old English cider variety, Sturmer Pippin, that was all the motivation we needed to produce a traditional, unfiltered, bottle fermented farm cider made using only apples and wild microorganisms.
Current release is from the 2018 harvest.
A little note on ingredients;
Our farm cider is made from whole apple juice and wild microorganisms. Nothing else. Many commercially produced ciders are made from fruit concentrate and have added sugar.
We use NO sulphur dioxide and NO preservatives.
But you like sweet cider ...
Yes, our cider is very dry. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy a sweet beverage more to your liking. The Europeans have been adding their own sugar to dry cider for centuries. Why not follow their tradition and add sugar to taste?
Special Releases - Barrel Aged
Our special release ales, ciders and meads are available in very limited quantity and released from time to time during the year.
Second hand wine barrels are filled with spontaneous brews of our ale, cider and mead, often steeping fruits from the Derwent Valley & beyond including morello cherries, plums, pumpkins, red berries, medlars and more. Oysters, mussels and seaweed from Tasmania's southern waters also find their way into the brewhouse as well.
Current special releases - December 2021; Both available in our online SHOP now.
RASPBERRY WILD CIDER
2019 raspberries courtesy of near neighbours The Westerway Raspberry Farm & our single variety (Sturmer Pippin), wild fermented & barrel-aged 2018 apple cider were blended into oak hogsheads in May 2020, then given a further two-winters-and-a-summer for these two ingredients – the ONLY two ingredients it must be said – to become one.
SPARKLING MEAD 2019
2019 was a tryingly dry spring, after a colder winter. The bees had had a difficult time. They took a long time to “get going” that year and, when they did, the spring was dry and the offerings were meagre. The honey felt more concentrated, stronger in flavour, more unctuous and, also, much more acidic. The fermentation reflects this. Barrel maturation here at TwoMetreTall is often about time on lees. But not just yeast lees. Equally important in spontaneous, wild fermentations is the progressive, rhythmic input from a myriad of wild microflora and the most impactful of these are the diverse and plentiful species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Organoleptically, dependent on many diverse characteristics, this impact plays out in the resultant beverage as a balance between the production of lactic acid and acetic acid. In 2019 the balance tips towards acetic acid – and this makes seasonal sense to me – whereas 2017 the balance was more towards lactic acid.
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