The growing boutique beer market has gone local, with a local Malee farmer's malt wheat being the key ingredient to a new wheat ale on the market.
Sydney-based brewing company 4 Pines, owned by Carlton & United Breweries, have launched their Aussie Wheat Ale beer which utilises wheat grown on the farm of Paul and Helen Barclay, Curyo.
Paul Barclay said he has enjoyed being a part of the boutique beer brigade and has supplied his malt wheat to Ballarat-based malt house Joe White Maltings over those 30 years, which produces not only beer but also multigrain bread.
"Our working relationship has been going for 30 odd years, but originally, they were using it for many types of boutique beer," he said.
"It slowly progressed and last year they wanted a certain specification for wheat beer and we met what they wanted and from there, they've developed the new beer."
While there were strict guidelines to get the wheat just right, Mr Barclay said what was produced for the beer was very similar to the many other produce products he is growing on his property.
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"The specs were nearly what barley has and met same malting specifications for colour, extract and how the malt performs to make beer out of it," he said.
"They are very much a fruity sort of flavour and a bit different to the standard sort of beer you would have but it's a boutique beer to have out in the sun, at a barbeque or the beach or somewhere."
Head brewer at 4 Pines Andrew Tweddell said the beer had a contemporary twist and was proud that local wheat was a part of the product.
"Australian wheat is widely regarded as some of the best wheat in the world," he said.
"4 Pines Aussie Wheat Ale pours light in colour, with a slight haze that reminds you of golden days, and is light and sessionable with low bitterness and a pleasant fruitiness."
Mr Barclay's farm tries every season to grow multiple crops, including lentils, canola, barley, wheat, oat, and peas on rotation and credits his wife, Helen, for her hard work in running the farm too.
The season has been very kind to his farming year, and some "good finishing rains" will top things off for him to put the cherry on top for his crops.
"We are very much on track and just not wanting any frost from now on, which is easy to say, but I suppose it's those finishing rains because it things warm up we can find things dry up really quickly," he said.
"As exciting as a La Nina is too, we just hope we get it pretty soon rather than around harvest time, but we all know how the weather works."
