Wig & Pen Brewday 2013

By Kevin Hingston, Social Secretary

On Saturday August 3, the Canberra Brewers club got started bright and early for what was likely our last Wig and Pen brew day with brewmaster Richard Watkins.

Bacon, eggs, coffees, stouts and schwarzbiers were the order of the morning as brewers gathered round Richard to find out more about the collaboration recipe.

In the weeks leading up to the day, the club forum was alive with potential recipe ideas, including: a gose or gruit, a rye IPA, a smoked oat pilsner, koji (sake) fermentation, and even skipping the barley altogether and aiming for a gluten free beer.

Richard informed us that he didn’t really like any of the suggestions…so he decided to do all of them…at once.

The adjunct heavy ‘Barely Barley’ beer would include rice inoculated with Wig and Pen House bacteria, oats, smoked wheat, and sorghum.

It would be hopped like an IPA and fermented with Sake yeast. With a recipe like this, a few members approached the brewery with a little trepidation, but there was a lot to be done and a lot to learn.

Following a delicious lunch, the raffles were a rowdy affair (even without town crier Chris Duffy to call the numbers). Lucky members walked away with books, a food dehydrator, goodies from mashematics, and piles of Tom’s tasty sausages.

The bar tab was still getting a work out when Richard took us downstairs to taste his delicious final beer brewed at the Wig: The Last Drop.

The strong, hoppy brew is sure to be a hit. With the special beer in hand, we got the low down on future plans for both the Wig and Pen and Richard’s new venture, The BentSpoke Brewing Company.

We then returned upstairs to make one last crack at the bar tab and toast a great day out with mates. Once again, thanks go to the team at Wig and Pen and of course to Richard for his past and ongoing support to the club.

More photos can be found on Flickr