Bruce Rock’s Fuchsbichler family joins forces with Whipper Snapper distillery to release rye whiskey

One of Bruce Rock’s most well-known farming families has joined forces with one of WA’s equally well-known distilleries to release a whiskey touted as unlike any other on the market. Kevin and Jane Fuchsbichler, and their son Josh, are the third and fourth generations to have grown a heritage German rye first planted by Kevin’s grandfather Michael in 1911. During the past 40 years, dozens of other varieties were trialled by the family but they found both their soils and flour mills preferred the old faithful for its colour and quality. Used primarily for bread, Kevin said the rye plants grew tall but did not yield well like wheat. Instead, the family use their heirloom rye stubble as sheep feed and to keep the soil stable in areas that are acidic and unlikely to grow a decent crop of more profitable varieties. The Fuchsbichlers, originally from Emmering in Bavaria, harvest about 150ha of rye each year — making them potentially the biggest rye famers in WA. Most of the grain is sold to Weston Milling in Perth, where it is turned into bread and kibble. But for the past four years, the Fuchsbichlers have been delivering about six tonnes of grain after harvest to Whipper Snapper to be turned into whiskey. “What amazed me about the whiskey when I tried it is that you can really smell the rye,” Kevin said. “There is only a tiny market for this grain in Perth . . . but we have developed a niche market, and we do get paid a reasonable price for it. “We grow it on poor, highly-acidic soils… it holds down the soil and the stubble is good sheep feed, often used for lambing ewes as the stubble gives protection being tall.” The whiskey is the second part of a Wheatbelt series by Whipper Snapper, which aims to showcase the heritage of humble local farmers and the provenance of their premium grain. The idea to make the rye whiskey grew out of a chance meeting between Josh — the president of young farming group AgConnect — and the Whipper Snapper team a few years ago. It has a high ratio of 85 per cent rye, with 15 per cent malted barley, which Whipper Snapper co-founder Jimmy McKeown said made it a “true reflection of the WA environment”. Whipper Snapper has promoted the whiskey for its “balanced” taste, exploding with flavours including spicy vanilla, orange peel, cherry cola, clove and salted toffee. It was matured in charred American oak barrels at the company’s distillery in East Perth. Mr McKeown, who grew up in Narrogin, admitted it was one of his favourite whiskeys made at Whipper Snapper, saying it was incredibly flavoursome. “The first thing you will get from our rye is it will be more savoury and spicy than a corn-style whiskey, there are some interesting tasting notes,” he said. “There is spicy vanilla and clove, and then the classic American oak.” The first in the distillery’s Wheatbelt series, released last year, is a wheat whiskey using grain from the Highbury area — mainly from Alan Blythe’s farm. “We are trying to showcase the prominence of the grain and to talk about the regions and the farmers and grain profile a bit more,” Mr McKeown said. “One thing I have noticed in the industry is we don’t talk about the grain that forms the whiskey. “I am so passionate about sharing farmers’ stories and the fact we have such premium grain in WA.” Whipper Snapper plans to release a single malt whiskey next year using grain from various farmers in the Wheatbelt, before later releasing a more traditional-style whiskey using malted and unmalted barley.