The Locavore Project is a cornerstone of sustainability at Wicklow Wolf.
locavore
noun
North American
- a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food.
How we began
Before we became Wicklow Wolf, we were just an idea between two friends, Quincey and Simon. Influenced by their time spent in California a passion for home brewing and a thirst for craft beer, they began the journey in setting up a brewery in Wicklow.
Simon’s background is in horticulture and he wanted to plant hops on his farm in the Wicklow hills. A seed was planted and Wicklow Wolf was born thanks to the coming together of two friends wanting to start a brewery and the desire to plant a hop farm (the first commercial hop farm in Ireland in over 25 years).
Green Roots
Simon loves to tell the story of him and his friends protesting against polystyrene packaging outside a fast food chain on O’Connell Street as a teenager. His green roots and thirst for a sustainable approach moulded the philosophy for how Wicklow Wolf is run as a business and a brewery.
With this philosophy and approach in mind, ‘Locavore’ was born. A beer release that helped champion and celebrate the Wicklow Wolf hop farm and the year’s hop harvest. Since opening our doors in 2014, we have now brewed 17 different ‘vintages’ or seasons of Locavore.
From Irish blonde ales and Gorse infused Saisons to dry Irish stouts – we have championed the terroir of Wicklow through the ingredients we grow and put into the brews.
where we stand now
Nine years on, we want to do more, to celebrate Wicklow, our terroir, the provenance of this great landscape and to push our commitment to brewing beer in a sustainable way. With this in mind, The Locavore Project was born.
The Locavore Project epitomises the core philosophy that Wicklow Wolf was founded upon, provenance and pride. This allows us to celebrate the terroir of Wicklow, our home and champion it with small batch, local, experimental beers.
Locavore will see four new beer releases per year – Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. These will allow us to experiment with small batches, new ingredients, mixed fermentation and push the boundaries of our innovation to brew something special to reflect and champion our home, Wicklow.
Locavore Spring 2023
Locavore Spring 2023 is a Honey Hefeweizen brewed with heather honey supplied by our friends at @openhivehoney. The bees worked hard in the Wicklow mountains to make beautiful heather honey which was added directly into the brewhouse.
Jack McGrath and Kyle Petrie from Openhive came to visit us for the canning of this year’s Locavore Spring 2023. After some hard work on the end of the canning line, they retired to the mezzanine bar for a sampling of the beer featuring their heather honey.
This classic wheat beer pours a golden, honey like colour and brings flavours and aromas of banana, clove and a hint of spice coming from the yeast and strong wheat grain bill.
These classic flavours are all complimented by the taste and aroma of the fantastic Wicklow heather honey that adds a floral sweetness to the beer giving a taste of Wicklow.
Locavore Summer 2023
Locavore Summer 2023 is a delicious Raspberry Sour brewed with local Wicklow Raspberries.
For our annual Locavore Summer release, we look to the Wicklow landscape for flavours that allow us to champion the local terroir. Wicklow raspberries were sourced from the Conroy Family in Rocky Valley, Kilmacanogue. The Conroy’s have been growing and harvesting delicious raspberries locally for over forty years. Grown just 13km from the brewery, these raspberries impart a taste of the Wicklow hills into this beer, providing it with beautiful fruity and tart flavours.
On brew day we took in a delivery of freshly picked raspberries which were used immediately in the brewing process. Added directly into tank, the berries were mixed with hot wort which helped to help break down the raspberries. This mix of wort and raspberries was then added straight into the fermentation tank. From here, the flavours and aromas would further develop during fermentation.
Expect Locavore Summer 2023 to be jam packed with tart raspberry aroma and flavours, with a lip smacking finish that will leave you wanting more. Enjoy!
looking to the future
The Locavore Project is more than just beer. We will be looking at new and important ways to support, protect and champion more sustainable practices for our environment.
To date, we have championed biodiversity and a healthy eco-system by installing bee hives, planting hedgerows among many other things. We want to do more.
We have planted over 5,000 native Irish trees on our chemical free hop farm. We will plant more.
To date we have released a carbon neutral Locavore beer with the support of our friends in Clara Carbon. We want to become carbon neutral, not just for one beer, but for every beer we produce.
To date, we have participated in, organised and ran a number of clean ups throughout Wicklow. We want to do more.
Our mission is to brew exceptional beer in a sustainable way. To do this we need to work harder to do and be better. This is just the beginning for The Locavore Project. We want you to follow and join our journey along the way.