I have decided to start the introduction of this new Bottle Share Playlist by being honest with you. I'm a big fan of Cyclic. I’d say the definition would be a 360º fan, since I not only love their beers, but I also like their image, their philosophy, the people who are part of their team and the funk they carry inside. But I must also admit that, despite having coincided in a few festivals in recent years, I have only been to their taproom twice. That is why today, I want to redeem myself and publicly admit my sins, committing myself to more often visit the gem located in the La Sagrera neighborhood.
Having Joshua Wheeler, Co-Owner and Brewer of Cyclic Beer Farm, as the new selector of the C R A F T E D music series, makes me very happy. If you keep reading, and listen to the playlist, you will understand why.
We begin by talking about fermentation, and Joshua makes it clear to me that it is something that comes from when he was little: “Fermentation wasn't a new thing in my household. My parent and grandparents made blackberry and elderberry wine most years and my grandmother who taught me how to make sauerkraut, would tell me how her grandfather and uncle would make cider and beer after coming to the States from Germany.”
As a consequence of his incredible family heritage, Joshua started making wine from foraged fruits. He quickly discovered that brewing was much faster, and that his local home-brew store had a variety of supplies.
The first sour beer he tasted was Consecration by Russian River Brewing. That experience completely blew his mind. From there, as Joshua himself says, “I started reading/studying and experimenting as much as I could which lead me to also brewing in London at Redemption Brewing while I went to stay with a friend for some months. It was a great learning experience working with open fermentation and reusing yeast for hundreds of generations.”
When going back to Los Angeles, he continued this brewing studies and began working for Strand Brewing, brewing mostly hoppy North American beers, before he returned to London to be with his Catalan wife and to work for his former colleague from Redemption, who had just started Partizan Brewing.
When he decided to leave London to be closer to family, he was gifted the brewing kit from Partizan that was previously gifted by The Kernel Brewery. It was then that he decided to set up something in Barcelona, and was lucky to meet his current business partner, Alberto - owner of the Ale&Hop vegetarian cuisine restaurant, which offers ten craft beer taps and a wide variety of bottles and cans in the Borne neighborhood -. With Alberto he shared a love for surfing and good beer. They decided to found the Cyclic Beer Farm project together, focused on Saison and Farmhouse Ale beers brewed with Brett and Lactobacillus. They use organic products and plenty of the fruit for their beers are from Alberto's own garden.
As for his musical side, Joshua grew up listening to and playing country music. Specifically the fiddle. But he also listened to a lot of classic rock and surf rock. In his teens, he got interested in playing guitar and started a punk / ska band inspired by groups like Operation Ivy and The Descendents.
His interest in music and science drew him into the world of recording/engineering and later production. He studied at Musicians Institute in Hollywood (Los Angeles, California) while still playing in different bands together with his brother, though no longer punk but more towards groups like Faith No More or Incubus. He worked as an assistant and runner in several studios, and in parallel, recording and mixing friends’ bands and later his own on the side.
He later decided to trade in the guitar for the bass and he join a Sublime-esque reggae band. The last group he played with, together with his brother, was called Wings Like Weapons.
Despite having a very rock heavy influence as a musician and recording engineer, Joshua has always maintained a large appreciation for all music, and he says: “since playing bass I really was sucked into the world of 60's 70's 80's funk or funk influenced styles. It's just fun and makes you want to move and there so many great unknown tracks out there to still discover... it's crazy. So here's a few tracks, some with with just insane grooves and playing and some that are just fun you can move to. A few of the tracks I also just discovered while choosing the songs I really liked for this. And btw, I choose tracks related to funk and bassists I like that we also include in the some of the specialty beer names if you didn't realize. Enjoy and drink something funky.”. Amen Joshua, so we will!