A wild-fermentation haven pouring saisons, lambics and farmhouse ales, plus cocktails by a drinks whiz, served alongside plates of regional Thai cooked over coals.
Spontaneous, or wild, fermentation is the guiding light for Bar Spontana, Brunswick’s moody new bolthole in the former site of Theodore’s and Host Dining. That means you’ll be drinking saisons, kettle sours and farmhouse ales as well as wild-fermented sake, mezcal, vermouth and rum made with naturally occurring yeasts that, like natural wine, have a proper sense of place. But it’s not just the drinks employing the process of fermentation; the regional Thai menu homes in on punchy fermented chilli and fish sauce.
The focus is an evolution of the team’s Footscray bar Mr West – a beacon of the neighbourhood’s craft-beer scene – and Bar Spontana deserves to play a similar role for Brunswick’s bar scene (it’s already hosted takeovers with interstate wild fermentation heroes Two Metre Tall brewery and Shobbrook Wines).
FYI: Spontana means “spontaneous” in Esperanto, created to be an international language to help different groups communicate, and the crew here is extending a similarly warm welcome.
With Mr West owners at the helm, the drinks list here is naturally top tier. Knock back brews from locals like Molly Rose and La Sirène, or a schooner of Wild Ale by Wildflower. Or order a glass of Good Juice, the house wine available in white, pink and red (we ordered the last bottle of orange, sorry folks). There are also wines by local favourites such as Gentle Folk, Dormilona and Momento Mori, plus international heroes like Radikon and Arpepe. Caleb also shouts out the Gazzetta orange wine from Italy’s Lazio region, made by Aussie Trish Nelson.
The pair has charged drinks whiz Nathan Beasley with the cocktail program, which includes the Haribo Pickle, a staff favourite, made with wild-fermented apple brandy, house-fermented rhubarb pickle and lavender bud. But you’ll want to start – or end – your night on the Spro Tini, an off-dry, subtly bitter blend of spiced liqueur (gentian root and cinnamon), lacto-fermented nectarine and Kenyan single-origin coffee from neighbouring Disciple Roasters.
