Yelp Elites Fermentation Showcase at Brasserie Bread Cafe

Yelp Elites trickled into the Brasserie Bread cafe in Banksmeadow on Sunday 12 October to enjoy an afternoon of bread, cheese, wine and cider. This fermentation event showcased the relationships and similarities between making cheese, cider, bread and wine.

We Talk Fermentation, Cultures and the Final Product

Sarah from Brasserie Bread sat down with James from Oakvale Wines, Tom from The Red Cow and Matt from Brasserie Bread to discuss cultures and fermentation. Yelpers were very interested to see how the panel was able to drill into more depth of the world of cultures. Even though wine, bread, cider and cheese are all such different products, the language is the same across all the different disciplines. Matt even brought out Brasserie Bread’s 19-year-old sourdough starter for everyone to taste.

Brasserie Bread

We’ve been producing handcrafted bread at Brasserie Bread for many years. Health, quality and flavour are at the forefront of our philosophy. Some of our most popular breads were available for tasting for Yelp Elites on Sunday, including our organic sourdough, quinoa & soya loaf, and harvest grain loaf with olive oil.

The Red Cow

The Red Cow is an importer of the Sélection Rolf Beeler range of artisan Swiss cheese. The selection of cheeses including the Vacherin, Jersey Blue, Alp Sbrinz and Gruyere were absolutely amazing. The raclette station, however, was the main event. Tom melted raclette, then scooped it onto Brasserie Bread sour cherry bread, finishing it off with a sprinkle of paprika.

Oakvale Wines

Oakvale Wines from the Hunter Valley are passionate about minimal intervention winemaking. They produce most of their wines using “wild” yeast and bacteria to ferment their grapes which come from the vineyards. Their philosophy is the more you manipulate a wine the less it reflects the variety, the region and the vineyard. As a result, Oakvale Wines don’t use synthetic additives and add minimal preservatives. On Sunday James brought along some fabulous wines by Oakvale, including their Semilon, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ciderhaus Apfelwein

Ciderhaus imports artisan Apfelweins unique to Frankfurt, Germany and the surrounding area. The Apfelwein (cider) doesn’t contain added sugar or constitutes. Ciderhaus was kind enough to send two types of Apfelwein for the event, including a traditional Speierling from Weidmann & Groh, embodying the essence of Frankfurter Apfelwein handcrafted from local Wetterau field apples. The more contemporary Wein aus Äpfeln by Apfelweinkontor is made from mixed field cider apples. The straw-coloured Apfelwein is fermented in steel taks and calls for light and easy drinking.

Photos by Sam McMillan. Check out all the photos here.