The brewers from Stone & Wood continues to deliver seasonal beers alongside their regular range and one such brew is The Gatherer.
Formerly known as The Forager but due to naming conflicts with another brewer, the name has changed and being a seasonal beer so to this brew.
The Gatherer is based on a US wheat beer and hence as a cloudy straw coloured appearance with a tight white head.
It offers up an earthy aroma with just a hint of citrus and delivers plenty of interesting complexity from the first mouthful. While the wheat base is present, there are also other subtle flavours coming through such as malt, watermelon and mint but they don’t dominate.
There’s a good degree of bitterness in the aftertaste which leaves the palate dry and clean.
It is a strong beer at 5 per cent but doesn’t sit heavily in the gut.
The taste may challenge some people who may not be familiar with wheat beer styles.
It might be a good drop to go with veal or lamb.
As a seasonal beer, there is a limited amount of it produced so you may have to hunt around for a bottle - use your hunter/gatherer skills.
MY TIP: Serve this cold, not chilled in a balloon or tulip glass to appreciate and ‘decipher’ the nature of the beer. At around $10 per 500ml bottle, it is definitely in the premium beer range.