Australia’s first Blobfish Beer Festival was held in Melbourne in August last year. Just like the Blobfish, sour, funky and wild beers emerge from the depths of the beer scene – intriguing, slightly obscure, somewhat unknown but always exciting. The day before the festival, the team at Hop Nation hosted the festival brewers for a day of bottle-sharing, eating and general camaraderie. This Saison is the result of that collaboration brew day and a token of all the great people that helped create the festival.

They each brought with them a sample of their house culture, which when combined was used to inoculate the wort in ex-Chardonnay barrels. Organic Friulano grape skins from Quealy Winemakers were then added to the barrels where the beer continued to ferment and age for eight months. These skins had previously been ageing in amphora at the winery for eight months. They helped create a spice and floral note to the beer. The final beer was bottle conditioned in magnum for a further four months; culminating in a tart complex Saison with mild carbonation. – Hop Nation