no. 054 | Wilderness
Wilderness is a quietly radical brewery in mid Wales. For batch no. 054, founder and head brewer James Godman talks wild beer, rural pace, and why summers matter to the beers they make there.
“We started brewing in 2017. I’d recently moved to mid Wales with my partner”. Founder and Head Brewer of Willderness, James Godman, tells us. Before that, he’d been brewing in London, “making proper modern hoppy beer,” but his curiosity was already pulling him elsewhere. “I was always fascinated by Belgian classics and wilder fermentation methods, so decided to make the change and start my own operation.
From the outset, Wilderness set out to hold two ideas in balance: respect for tradition and an openness to place. “The beers we make are generally based on classic styles, while also trying to draw inspiration from local ingredients and the local environment.” That range now stretches comfortably .“We do cover the likes of British bitters through to spontaneously fermented sour beers aged for 3–4 years!”, James proudly points out.
For a while, Wilderness was a one-person operation. “It was just me to start with, until we grew to the size where he needed extra help.” That point came in 2021 when James’ wife Helen joined. “Helen gave us a bit of direction, both in terms of what we make and a more cohesive identity.” Since then, it’s remained a tight partnership. “It’s just been the two of us ever since, with me doing most of the production, and Helen doing most of everything else!”
Coming from a brewing background that was focused on making more traditional British beer styles, the discover of Belgian mixed fermentation beers was a true revelation to Godman. “I remember thinking ‘I didn’t know beer could taste like this’.” This was a formative experience that went on to underpin many of the beers Wilderness continue to pour their focus into.
And what about the name? “Always a difficult thing, naming”, says James. “We were looking for something to capture the idea of freedom, nature and the wilder side of the beer we tend to make – that and we were getting towards the end of the alphabet without setting on something”. The name certainly reflects the brewery’s ethos and, to an extent, its choice of location. Indeed, the decision to base the brewery in the county of Powys, Wales, wasn’t just a romantic choice. “Apart from being beautiful, it’s really great for the type of barrel aged beer we make, in terms of climate, fabulous soft water and relatively cheap rent. The combination of pretty mild weather and the humid climate mean we can store all our barrels at ambient temperature. Plus the natural slow cycle of yearly temperature variation is great for the souring and funking up of the wild beers.”
Wilderness remains deliberately small and that scale informs how they brew. “We’re pretty simple people. We like to use local ingredients where possible and are very lucky that we are just over the border from some fine hop growing regions, so you’ll see quite a lot of English hops in our beers We also have our own little orchard up in the hills, so we use as much of our own fruit as we can, then lean on some friendly growers for any extra!”
