Local People: Ashley Huntington

by Hobart Magazine

Ashley, the farmer, brewer and height behind Two Metre Tall Brewery, has been running the place with his wife, Jane Huntington, for the past 20 years. Known for pushing the boundaries of beer, we asked Ashley about his process and what’s ahead for summer.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in country Victoria but that never really felt like home. I came to Tasmania for the first time for a vintage in 1998. As soon as I set foot on the soil and breathed the air for the first time, I had the strongest emotion that I had come home. I now live in the Derwent Valley and have no plans to leave.

When you and Jane moved here, you wanted to make wine, but you embraced beer instead. Tell us about that. With a specific wine project in mind, Jane and I looked at about 150 properties before we found the perfect farm, but it just happened to be across the river from Bushy Park, the home of hop growing! For a region with a history of growing an ingredient used only in brewing, it was gobsmacking to me that there had never been a brewery here in the Derwent Valley. We decided that needed to change. Some might say we got a little distracted!

This year, you celebrate 20 years of the Two Metre Tall Brewery. How does it feel? Very bloody satisfying! We were roundly considered the worst brewery in the country, principally by other brewers, when we first started 20 years ago. It was the dawn of craft brewing in this country and there were no small brewing businesses in Tasmania at all in 2004. Innovation doesn’t happen by just following the norm.

How do the seasons influence the flavours in your beers? We are specialists in wild fermentation. In short, we don’t add yeast. Our beverages are instead defined by the microbiology of the site which is our farm-based brewery in the middle of the Derwent Valley. The maturation of these brews occurs over years, so the rhythms of the seasons over these long, slow fermentations has huge influence on how our farmhouse ale, cider and mead tastes. The most incredible example of seasonal influence belongs to our Sparkling Mead; this is literally the forage of bees mixed with water from the River Derwent. We don’t ever make a harvest decision! Therefore, this product is utterly reflective of a time and a place.

What’s the wildest idea you’ve had for a beer? I’m currently working on it! Even for Two Metre Tall, this is way out there! I’m using a technology from another beverage type, and when speaking to specialists from that industry in Japan, their jaws hit the floor. “That will be a very different beer,” they say. I have proof of concept but still don’t know if I’ll be able to bring this strange idea to a finished product.

Do you have anything coming up in the summer? We encourage people to pack the picnic basket and head out past New Norfolk to visit us, enjoy a free tasting, a drink or two and then take some bottles home with you. We’ve got some events in the planning too so follow us on socials. Our summer releases are epic this year in celebration of 20 wild years. Our beloved Sour Cherry Ale 2019 – yes, that’s right, a BEER released at five years. Our new Sparkling Mead – the perfect summer aperitif. Oh, and not forgetting the 20th Anniversary Original Soured Ale in a commemorative, embossed bottle!

Who do you admire? Sprout Tasmania.

Secret vice? I’m a brewer with a baking problem.

What are you reading now? The Biggest Estate on Earth, How Aborigines Made Australia by Bill Gammage.

Do you have any pets? No, but maybe my three pigs could be considered pets.

What was your first job? Paper boy on my Malvern Star with no gears and back pedal brakes, six days/week, $5/week.

Your favourite place for…

Breakfast: My kitchen on bread baking day.

Lunch: The Agrarian Kitchen’s kiosk.

Dinner: Tom McHugo’s R.I.P. (I’m still grieving).

Favourite team? Geelong Cats, although my allegiance will be tested when the Tasmanian AFL team runs out, hopefully onto York Park and not onto that god-awful, eyesore idea of a stadium!

Dream holiday destination? Binalong Bay, when not on my farm.

Favourite Tasmanian secret? The plethora of stunning places you can go and be absolutely alone, this is God’s gift to Tasmanians.

Parting words? Why is everyone so obsessed with wine? This is the Apple Isle! Please drink more cider. I know the good stuff is hard to find but it really is the ticket and is so underrated.

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Extras

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