Ovens Valley; Myrtleford, Bright and Mt. Buffalo

24,396km

My travels have brought me to this picturesque area in Victoria that is situated on the western side of the Australian Alps. The valley is about 60 Km long and is bound by mountain ridges to the north and the high mountain plateau of Mount Buffalo National Park to the south. 

I arrived in the area via train from Melbourne to Wangaratta, and decided to bike the beautiful rail trail called the Murray to Mountains Trail that slowly climbs from Wangaratta to Bright. It is about 65km long and there are lots of stops at the old stations as well as water breaks. There is also a private bus service that can return you and your bike from Bright to Wangaratta(Bus-a-Bike). Don't forget to stop at the Bright Brewery for a great beer reward after finishing! 

The Ovens Valley is a mostly farming and timber producing region due to its firtile valley floors and pine forested hills. The primary agriculture is livestock, grapes, walnuts, and hops. There was also a thriving tobacco industry in the area up until about five years ago when the government took steps to shut the industry down. It is quite obvious of this history when biking or driving through the area due to the number of old tobacco kilns that are still scattered across the countryside.  

While working and living on the farm I managed to get up to a few things in the area while working long hours. One major  activity I did besides drinking a few microbrews at Bright Brewery and biking around the valley, I managed to get up to Mount Buffalo National Park. 

The park is a rather unique formation of sheer cliffs and remarkable granite tors  atop a high plateau. The geological features that are observed today were once covered in lava. About 500 million years ago the lava was slowly eroded away exposing the sedimentary rocks that are now breath taking features of the park. 

While we were in the park we did some hiking, some swimming in the lake, and we tried to find some geocaches which are things hidden and listed on the internet according to their coordinates. One of my friends on the farm did this for fun with a handheld GPS. We caught an interesting sunset to round off a memorable experience in one of the more beautiful places I have ever visited. 

Despite working long hours on the farm and being rather tied down there I still managed to experience a bit of culture and environment around me. It was a memorable place that I hope to be back at next season. 

Here are a few more photos. 

~W

Hops; How and Why?

Last month I have been living and working on a hop farm in Victoria Australia. I'd like to tell you all a little bit about Hops how they are grown and get to your beer!

Hops are the flower that develop on female hop vines which are grown in paddocks of suspended wire hung vertical from the ground. The hop flowers are generally harvested in early to mid fall. Once ready the hop vines are cut and loaded into trailers and from paddocks to a processing facility on the farm. 

We use hops in all beer as a flavoring ingredient, imparting flavors such as pine resin, floral, spiciness, and citrus flavors, and as a preservative. The Germans pioneered hops in beer when it was realized that the preserving attributes of hops were far superior to other previously used bitter plants like dandelion, marigold, and heather. 

Here at Rostrevor Hop Gardens the hop varieties grown are Galaxy, Super Pride, Ella Topaz, Vic Secret, and Pride of Ringwood. 

Once the hops are picked they are brought to the 'shed' where workers attach the vines to hooks on a conveyor. This suspended conveyor brings them through a threshing machine that separates the leaves and vines from the hop flowers. From there they are loaded by conveyor to the kiln buildings(this is where I worked!) 

The kiln is a building where the hops are dried and conditioned. Hops are laid out evenly or 'raked' onto large perforated floors and for about 12 hours, large gas burners heat the hops from below consistently at 60°C. Once the desired moisture is achieved they are dropped onto conveyors to the next building, the pellet plant. 

In the pellet plant the dried hop cones drop into a bin where they slowly travel into a grinder that turns them into a fine mulch. They are heated and moistened a touch before entering a circular machine that drives the hot mulch in and pushes it out through small holes about a quarter inch in diameter before they break off and drop into another machine that cools and hardens them. The result are fine rabbit or chicken food like pellets that are then vacuum sealed into bags and shipped to cold storage or brewers. 

Most brewers use condensed and dried pellets for brewing as it is easier to maintain consistent Alpha acid content and flavors in the beer then bulked hop counts. It is also cheaper and more efficient to transport boxes of compressed hop pellets to distributors and Brewers. 

Hop Science 101

What next? Well first why are the hops flavored and what makes them preserve our beer? 

Inside the hop flower our lupulin glands that contain essential oils and resins. Hop resin contains two types of acids, alpha and beta acids, in different levels depending on the variety. 

The alpha acids in hops are what impart both flavors and an antibiotic(bacteriostatic) effect. Beta acids react differently and do not affect flavor but instead impart most of the hop aromas in your beer. So depending on your desired result, you may want a variety with more or less of either acid. 

Bittering hops tend have much higher alpha acid content then aroma hops(usually, European hops: 5-9% Alpha Acid, and US hops: 8-19% AA)

When making beer hops are added during the "boil" of the wort(wort being beer before it has alcohol content). When you choose to add the hops it is entirely up to you. For a more bitter beer adding bittering hops at the beginning will allow the essential oils to evaporate more leaving Alpha acids behind. Hops added later in the boil or in the fermentation process will impart more aroma to the beer rather than flavor. 

That's all I have learnt here and researched on my own time, but working on the hop farm was tough and I learnt a lot. I must say If I took anything away besides money, it would be a thirst for brewing more beer! 

W

Farewell Melbourne: A Photo Set

Hey, Long time without a post. The last while since Wilson's Prom National park has seen me pretty busy with work, friends, bike polo, and bouncing around this big city of Melbourne. Last few nights have been a good few party nights with my friend Robs Birthday, farewell drinks with some fellow Canadian Ex-Pats at the Terminus Hotel, and a little bender yesterday at polo which I was able to swing back and forth from polo to the Melbourne Beerfest.


As most of you know I will be taking a brief couple months to do some farm work and play in the Australasian Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships in Sydney. I will be tomorrow heading up to Myrtleford, Victoria to begin the Hop harvest and get one month of the required three months of farm work needed to extend my Visa. 


Anyways, thanks for everything Melbourne, and Ill be back soon! Here is a brief photo set of pictures from the last few months.

 

W

Wilsons Promontory National Park

On Thursday after hearing I would not be working until the following week I, on a whim, packed my bag in preparation for some much needed time in the outdoors. 

After two months of stressful job hunting and worrying about when the cash flow would start coming in, I accumulated a great deal of stress and unease. This stress is only compounded by the other noise and static that you are bombarded by when living in a big city. So I needed a little respite, the best kind I have. 

So, on Friday morning I set out for some backpacking and to explore this new home country. Wilsons Promontory National Park had been on my radar for quite some time after some recommendations from friends and some research peaked my interest.

I left Southern Cross Station in Melbourne on a V-Line bus bound for Foster in South Gippsland. From there I hitchhiked into the park and began my journey at the Telegraph Saddle car park (only accessible by shuttle bus). My first day of hiking was a steady decline along a gravel road into the valley that separates the Wilson Ranges and Boulder Ranges to the south. Along the way to my destination at Roaring Meg campground I witnessed a number of beautiful cockatoos, lizards and a friendly little fox whose curiosity had him following me for around 2 km. 

The entire track from Telegraph Saddle to Roaring Meg and through to the historic light station, follows the old telegraph line that stretches through the park. Built in 1860 the telegraph line was operated by the workers and families to communicate via Morse Code to Yanakie and request supplies that were later delivered by boat. From the onset, the line was riddled with problems due to the rugged terrain, and the link was severed on the first day by a felled tree. 

I settled at Roaring Meg for the night and prepared to set out early to the light station and onward to Waterloo Bay. Over the night the high winds whipping over the forest canopy above really proved that the campgrounds name was appropriate! It was a loud night, but none the less I slept well.

The next day was grueling, 17 km of rugged coastal trail. But this was not without spectacular views along the way, and a few rock wallabies and lizards! Along the way is also a stop at the historic Wilsons Prom Light Station, which was really neat to stumble into this little jewel of civilization while being so secluded.

The Light Station was built over the course of 17 years with the use of convict labor and put into operation in 1859. Back in the day the cape in which it stands was home to the workers and families and even had its own school house. During the onset of WWII the light station was home to a top secret RAAF Radar station and barracks. The barracks housed 36 RAAF personnel including radar operators, mechanics, guards, and cooks. Again a really neat piece of history tucked away.

*A note to prospective prom hikers, the light station has potable water, so bring your bottles.

After an amazing hike through the high hills above the sea and a spectacular decent into Waterloo Bay I set up camp at Little Waterloo Bay and took a walk on the beach and around on one of the rocky points for some photos. The campsite was busy but very nice, and I was whisked off to sleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach near by. 

The last day was an 12km hike from Little Waterloo to Telegraph Saddle Car park. It was a way better walk then I thought it would be, with sweeping views away to both sides of the valley and to the ocean bounding the park on both sides. The panoramic at the top is of the highest point on that trail and you could at that point see ocean on both sides. Along the walk I made friends with three guys that were out for a similar hike and they ended up giving me a ride all the way back to Melbourne!

Whether it is the satisfaction of accomplishing a trek, standing on the top of a mountain, meeting great people along the way, or just the serene views and uninterrupted silence of nature, it all unwinds me and resets me. This experience was no different, I came back a new person. Next up maybe Wilsons Prom again, or perhaps the Grampians or Dandenong Ranges?

Stay tuned,

W

Melbourne; Pic's of the Day

On my Instagram feed I have been updateing frequently with a set of photos that are my "#Melbourne Pick's of the Day". I have not upheld the picture a day but it is pretty well close, and you can follow me at http://instagram.com/lyle_lanley#.

Here is Melbourne thus far, from the eye of my iPhone.