1. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  2. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  3. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  4. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  5. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  6. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  7. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  8. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  9. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  10. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  11. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  12. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  13. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  14. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  15. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  16. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford
  17. Photograph: Katje Ford
    Photograph: Katje Ford

Review

Wildflower Brewing and Blending

4 out of 5 stars
There’s magic brewing (and blending) on an industrial Marrickville backstreet
  • Bars | Breweries
  • price 2 of 4
  • Marrickville
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

April 2023 update: Good news for fellow booze hounds: Marrickville brewery Wildflower Brewing and Blending is now making their own beers on site after. Come along and try out the 13 rotating beers on tap (though, maybe not on the same day), as well as the extensive cellar list filled with hundreds of aged bottles of beers. Plus, there’s funky wine and non-alcoholic drinks for those in your crew who are cutting back. All that drinking is hungry work, so thankfully there is a new kitchen serving tasty food run by the legends at A.P. Bakery – another reason to swing by.

Read on for our review of Wildflower Brewing and Blending from 2019 

*****

There seems to be a brewery on every other block in Marrickville by now, but there’s something a bit different going on at Wildflower Brewing and Blending. Dotted around this charming, rustic cellar door are bunches of native flowers, an omnipresent reminder of co-founders Topher Boehm and Chris Allen’s dedication to their local ethos.

It looks like the perfect setting for an outback soirée, albeit a little more refined: corrugated iron walls and burnished wooden furniture drive home the Australiana vibe, and stacks of barrels – some hidden behind canvas, others in plain sight – quietly cradle ageing brews. While many breweries now try their hand at barrel-ageing, the crew at Wildflower are breathing new life into this old technique and leading the charge for its revival.

This is not a brewery in the traditional sense. Boehm makes his wort down the road at Batch Brewing Co (where he used to be head brewer) before introducing it to yeast foraged in New South Wales. It’s a one-of-a-kind culture sourced from flowers and bark from all over the state and crossed with a Belgian Saison strain – simply put, you’ll never find another beer quite like what they’ve got here.

These beers are funky and complex – not only due to the ancient process of wild fermentation, but also because of the flavours they pick up from time spent in neutral oak, and the way they’re blended together. The results are nothing short of magical. There’s nothing typical here; every batch has its own distinct elegance. The Amber Australian Wild Ale is a great jumping-off point, rich and bronze in colour with a deceptively delicate palate of caramel and clove, ending with pleasant citrus notes. It’s a surprisingly easy-drinking crowd-pleaser that even your dad might like.

If you’re feeling adventurous (and given that you’re here, you just might be), give something super small-batch like Pheebs a crack. Using spent raspberries from another limited-run seasonal brew (the 2019 St Phoebe), this is a table beer you won’t want to share. Pretty in pink, Pheebs is tart, dry and practically addictive – and at only 3.5% ABV, a friend you can play with all afternoon.

To visit Wildflower, you’ll need to be organised. Opening hours are strictly limited, (Fridays and Saturdays from 2-6pm only), but takeaways are also available during the week from 10am-4pm on Tuesday through Friday. If you want a peep under the proverbial hood, book a guided tour to understand the process firsthand.

Mature, like-minded folk gather here for something different and treat the place with the respect it deserves. Seats are hot property, and we won’t be giving ours up anytime soon.

Details

Address
11-13 Brompton St
Marrickville
2204
Opening hours:
Thu 4-10pm; Fri-Sat noon-10pm; Sun noon-6pm

What’s on

All Ears Album Listening Party Series

If album listening parties were on your ins list for 2025, you’re not alone. With every second Sydneysider visiting Japan at some point this year, the arrival of the vinyl-bar-inspired listening party was bound to reach us at some point. Three months in, and here we are: with the All Ears deep listening series kicking off on Thursday, March 13. Inspired by the vinyl bars of Tokyo, the five-night series – touted as "Australia’s first deep listening experience" – will take place at five of the Inner West’s best breweries, with a carefully selected line-up of albums played in full across state-of-the-art Sonos audio systems. The selection of vinyl albums have been selected by Sydney DJ and tastemaker Andrew Levins, and will be played in their entirety across a high-fidelity sound system – uninterrupted from start to finish, just as the artist intended. On Thursday, March 13, the series will take over Marrickville’s Mixtape Brewing, playing Pink Floyd x Wizard of Oz (Dark Side of the Rainbow). On March 19, Future Brewing will host, playing Outkast’s 2000 album Stankonia. On March 26, the series will make its way to Chuck and Sons Brewing Co for INXS’s 1987 album: Kick. Thursday, April 3 will take All Ears to Wayward Brewing Co for Radiohead’s fourth studio album: Kid A. The series will come to a close on Thursday, April 10 with Mulatu Astatke’s Mulatu of Ethiopia at Wildflower. Doors will open at 6pm, with Levins introducing the music at 7pm before the album is played in full....
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