‘Paddock to pint’: Eagle Bay Brewing to release ‘easy drinking’ Wheatbelt lager at this year’s Wagin Woolorama

A new beer made with WA-grown malt barley is being rolled out in liquor stores across the State, replacing Eagle Bay Brewing’s core lager offering as it moves to create more “paddock to pint” beers. Described as “an easy-drinking Australian beer”, Wheatbelt Lager features malt barley grown on well-known Wagin farmer Clayton South’s property and harvested in 2021-22. It capitalises on the taste notes of a malt barley variety called Munich, combined with pale malt, Eagle Bay rainwater, and just the right amount of Australian hops. Eagle Bay Brewing head brewer Keegan Steinbacher said staff from the popular business travelled the 200km from their South West headquarters to Wagin to watch Mr South harvest the barley. “We grow so much barley in WA . . . and the opportunity to work with some local barley growers was really great,” he said. “We called it Wheatbelt lager, even though there is no wheat in it . . . we wanted to pay tribute to the farmers in the Wheatbelt. “We think this is a really great story, and a great sales opportunity for us.” The result was a crisp, clean larger with a selection of Australian-grown hops. Mr South described it as an “easy drinking” beer — designed to be a crowd-pleaser to impress even the most traditional of farmers. “There is a big export market in WA, and we sell most of our grain to CBH Group,” he said. “This is an amazing way to see what our barley has been turned into. “To know there is some of our own barley in this is really exciting, I can’t wait to have a few.” The Wheatbelt Lager was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the State’s biggest sheep show the Wagin Woolorama, which will be held on March 10 and 11. Originally destined to be launched last year, the beer’s debut was put on hold when the 2022 Woolorama was cancelled just 10 days before the event due to COVID lockdowns. It was a devastating blow for the Woolorama committee and the hundreds of volunteers who make the event happen, after dodging multiple COVID-19 lockdowns to successfully run one of the only national agricultural shows able to go ahead in 2020 and 2021. The beer is expected to be a popular choice among those socialising at the Wine Baa at Woolorama, and will also be available to buy at Eagle Bay Brewing’s site in the Gourmet Tent at the event. About 60 cubes will be available. After the show, Eagle Bay Brewing will start transitioning its existing lager product range to be replaced with Wheatbelt lager. Wagin Woolorama sponsorships co-ordinator Carmen Keed joked that a show of hands among the local community revealed residents wanted a “simple beer” that wasn’t too “crafty”. Residents were able to taste test the beer at Wagin’s Palace Hotel in the weeks after last year’s Woolorama was cancelled. “If people don’t like the beer, they won’t drink it . . . if it is a Wheatbelt beer, it needs to be an easy beer,” she said. “It’s a beautiful end result and we were lucky to have it.” Mr Steinbacher said using the Wagin barley was a “significant step” for the craft brewer, which has a firm focus on sustainable brewing and finding new ways to work directly with local suppliers. He said the presence of Munich malt gave a roasted biscuit and bread crust flavour, with the relatively “simple” beer featuring more spice than a European lager. “It is a sneaky, malt-forward beer . . . some people say it reminds them of Coopers pale ale,” he said. “It is not like a stout, it has good malt character and the fresh malt from Clayton shines through. “The idea was to create a really easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing beer of 4.3 per cent alcohol and somewhat similar to a pale ale. “It’s a craft beer, but on a small scale.” Eagle Bay Brewing will exhibit and sell the beer site number three, in the Gourmet Tent in the Outdoor Fair Area. Wagin Woolorama is March 10 and 11.