Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing started as a cramped basement brewpub setup below one of the best-regarded restaurants in Columbus, Ohio. On Chris Davison’s watch since 2014, the brewery grew to add a 30-barrel production brewhouse. Wolf’s Ridge notched its first Great American Beer Festival medal in 2019 with a silver medal for Daybreak, a cream ale with coffee and vanilla—its golden appearance failing to prepare the drinker for an aromatic hit that’s like walking into a roastery. It also happens to be their bestselling beer, outselling their IPA by a sizeable margin. That same beer, Daybreak, returned to GABF last year and won gold, while their smoked beer Buchenrauch won bronze. Meanwhile, several Wolf’s Ridge beers impressed our Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® blind panel reviewers last year, none more than cocoa-laden Double Chocolate Rum Barrel Dire Wolf—which also thrilled our editors and became one of our Best 20 Beers in 2020. That’s all besides a few Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers (FoBAB) medals over the past four years. In this episode, Davison talks about how early experiments with infusing corny kegs with different flavors—just to help fill out the restaurant’s many taps—led to a lot of learning and ulimately some their most successful beers—including Daybreak. Among other things, Davison discusses: The benefits of steeping with whole-bean coffee instead of grounds, plus quantities and steeping times Adding vanilla for just the perception of sweetness, while using cream ale as a canvas for many other flavors, including Vietnamese cinnamon, strawberries, basil, lemons, and more Brewing their Dire Wolf imperial stout for balance and drinkability before barrel-aging, and experimenting with different spirit barrels Evaluating many different malts, intentionally these into their imperial stouts Various adjuncts and flavors for those imperial stouts Growing their barrel program on both the clean and mixed-fermentation sides Focusing on the best ingredients for the beers they want to brew, and implementing sensory training for staff on hedonistic evaluation And much more. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt is the workhorse of many a brewery and is at home in a variety of beer styles. Crisp sources the lowest-nitrogen spring barley from farmers in Fife up to Moray. During malting, high cast moistures and a balance of optimal germination time and temperature results in an even, well-modified malt with a rich color and balanced sweet, malt flavor which is ideally suited to ale brewing. Visit bsgcraftbrewing.com for more information on Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million brewery visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In just a few weeks, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and increase your tap room traffic, setup your account on MarketMyBrewery.com. That’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

Alstadt Brewery is a remarkable creation—a gleaming brewery, taproom, restaurant, and event space designed in the form of a European-style chateau, plopped down in the German-American community of Fredericksburg, Texas, amidst wineries and farms. No expense was spared, and it’s quite possibly the most costly build-out of a 12,000-barrel-per-year brewery in the recent history of brewing. It could be written off as a vanity project for a wealthy father and son if the beer didn’t hold its own. But in 2019, under the leadership of head brewer Craig Rowan, the brewery took two gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival (for helles and Kölsch) and put Texas lager contemporaries on notice that they meant business. Rowan’s career began at Louisiana’s Abita Brewery, where he started in packaging and (over a decade) worked his way up to the brew deck and into the pilot brewery before leaving for the opportunity at Altstadt. But Rowan’s focus on precision made him well suited to take the reins of the brewery in 2018 when the previous brewmaster departed. In this episode, he walks through the steps they took in honing the earlier iterations of their core beers—a process of testing and improvement that ultimately yielded serious rewards. For Rowan, the goal was riding that line of approachability and character, keeping the beers on the lower side of accepted ABV ranges, but ensuring that they remained convincing. From malt selection and mash technique to yeast and fermentation process to water treatment and finishing, he outlines the small things that they tweaked. While they don’t have the ability to employ some of the more difficult and time-consuming lager-brewing processes, they do sweat the details, and it shows in the beer. “I’m a big believer in the work you put into a product shows to a customer,” says Rowan. “So if you’re decocting your beer, and you’re doing it well—you’ve studied how to do it, and you really understand why you’re doing it and what you’re doing it for–that’s going to show up in the final product. Working hard for something is always going to make it a better product.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Meet the latest in the BSG Hop solutions portfolio, Citiva. Strong expressions of stone fruit, floral, and resinous/pine flavors and aromas define this blend, crafted specifically for use in hazy IPAs, and other hop-forward beers. Citiva is ideal for aroma, whirlpool, and dry hop additions to Hazy and Juicy IPAs, or for any other hoppy styles where a combination of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine aromatics are desired. Go to bsgcraftbrewing.com to learn more, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The most common complaint about hard seltzers? They need more flavor. Extract alone is a weak flavoring agent and can leave a chemical aftertaste. But there's a better way. The craft concentrate blends from Old Orchard are packed with REAL FRUIT FIRST, no added sugars, and just enough natural flavor. Breweries are turning to Old Orchard concentrates for seltzer with more body, color, and aroma. Turn seltzer skeptics into supporters with seltzer that drinks like a beer. Get started at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million brewery visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In just a few weeks, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and increase your tap room traffic, setup your account on MarketMyBrewery.com. That’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

In today’s brewing world, big and bold flavors tend to attract drinkers with an an endless thirt for what’s next. But for Austin’s St. Elmo Brewing,, those aren’t the beers that are going to get people coming back week after week to enjoy a sunny afternoon in their beer garden. Instead, they focus on optimizing quality that whispers rather than screams, making beers that don’t need to tell you how great they are. It may take a pint or two for that “aha” moment to happen, but that’s their ultimate goal—for consumers to realize the beer is good without having to focus intently on the beer itself. With a core Kölsch-style ale whose yeast feed a number of other beers in their lineup (from hazy IPA to kettle sours), they’ve systematically built a production strategy that works for their small, pub-style brewhouse, creating efficiencies but also opening the door to experimentation. In this episode, Winslow talks about that Kölsch, which they call Carl, and the details that go into it—such as malt selection, the infusion mash, plus the yeast strain and its expression at different temperatures. The same strain ferments their hazy IPA, and Winslow discusses biotransformation with that yeast, dry hopping at cooler temperatures, how pH affects the hop expression, and more. The conversation finishes on fruited kettle sours and then hard seltzers—a category the brewery has started to embrace, to fulfill its mission to be a destination for groups of varying tastes. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt is the workhorse of many a brewery and is at home in a variety of beer styles. Crisp sources the lowest-nitrogen spring barley from farmers in Fife up to Moray. During malting, high cast moistures and a balance of optimal germination time and temperature results in an even, well-modified malt with a rich color and balanced sweet, malt flavor which is ideally suited to ale brewing. Visit bsgcraftbrewing.com for more information on Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): A brewery might have 99 problems, but your fruit supplier shouldn't be one. Old Orchard is already known for their quality concentrates, but they also pride themselves on consistent product and reliable supply. When brewers need assistance, Old Orchard is just an email, phone call, or even a text away. Based in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan—better known as Beer City, USA—Old Orchard is core to the brewing community. To join their fruit family, learn more at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

Great lagers require commitment and focus, and it’s no surprise that the Austin Beer Garden Brewery has been so successful at making them—with three-plus decades of lager-brewing experience between them, cofounders Brian “Swifty” Peters and Amos Lowe have put in the time and learned through brewing thousands of batches of pils, helles, and more. The accolades they’ve accumulated together under the ABGB banner have been impressive as well—seven GABF medals in five years (including six golds), plus 2016, 2017, and 2018 GABF Large Brewpub of the Year honors. The ABGB approach is a dedication and focus on doing all the little things right—there are no off-days, there are no shortcuts, there is no “good enough.” There are, however, the realities of production, budget, and business that every small brewery has to face. Over the years of brewing lagers for other Texas breweries, Lowe and Peters have devised ways to work around every type of challenge. Brewing is problem-solving, and Swifty has made lagers in everything from horizontal fermenters to unjacketed Grundy tanks. Today, the ABGB uses conicals, but it employs a multi-stage tank transfer process to sequentially clear and lager their beers. In this lager-focused episode, the brewing minds of the ABGB discuss: Designing a hybrid, pub-focused lager brewery Why decoction isn’t necessary, but extended lagering is The importance of great ingredients Brewing to a sense-memory standard informed by memories of great lagers The yeast and fermentation magic necessary for perfect lager brews Optimizing “elegance” in lagers Editing lagers through filtration The impact of water chemistry on everything from fermentation to hop character Finishing lagers with natural carbonation They’re unabashed traditionalists, but firmly focused on those techniques and elements that directly impact flavor. From decoction (“It’s just too much work for an everyday [thing]”) to lagering time (“People are proud to say ‘I have a four-week lager,’ and for us it’s like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty young’”), they both embrace and reject lager dogma, leaning into their own experience to make lagers that taste exactly how they want them to. But for the ABGB, the key to making great lagers is doing all of the little things, every single time. Not some of the time, not most of the time—all of the time. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Meet the latest in the BSG Hop solutions portfolio, Citiva. Strong expressions of stone fruit, floral, and resinous/pine flavors and aromas define this blend, crafted specifically for use in hazy IPAs, and other hop-forward beers. Citiva is ideal for aroma, whirlpool, and dry hop additions to Hazy and Juicy IPAs, or for any other hoppy styles where a combination of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine aromatics are desired. Go to bsgcraftbrewing.com to learn more, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The most common complaint about hard seltzers? They need more flavor. Extract alone is a weak flavoring agent and can leave a chemical aftertaste. But there's a better way. The craft concentrate blends from Old Orchard are packed with REAL FRUIT FIRST, no added sugars, and just enough natural flavor. Breweries are turning to Old Orchard concentrates for seltzer with more body, color, and aroma. Turn seltzer skeptics into supporters with seltzer that drinks like a beer. Get started at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to period

Kevin Davey doesn’t understand why Wayfinder’s “Cold IPA” has gone viral in brewing circles. This proponent of genre bending approaches to brewing that respect tradition but recombine elements of tradition in curious ways has been vocal in the past about what they’re doing—making “IPA” in a way that respects the flavor while twisting the technique. They haven’t been hiding anything, so why the hubbub now? The beer that seems to be the center of the brewing internet’s latest furor is Relapse, a beer they’ve dubbed a “Cold IPA” (much to the chagrin of those IPL advocates and style guide purists who insist nothing of the sort can exist). It’s definitely not “traditional”—mashed with a grist of 30% rice, fermented with 34/70 lager yeast, and krausened with pils or helles wort when dry-hopped, it doesn’t appear on paper to be connected to the broader school of west coast IPA. But taste it and you’ll understand how these curious methods produce a beer that feels perfectly aligned with the conceptual ideas that have driven west coast IPA for the past two decades. It's worth noting, of course, that the beer in question—Relapse Cold IPA—was a Craft Beer & Brewing beer of the year for 2020. The quality and technical execution of the beer is beyond reproach, and the creativity in process is, of course, just icing on the cake. In this genre-busting episode, Davey discusses: The impact of step mashing on yeast health and effective fermentation Using American malt for higher enzyme component to work with rice and corn adjuncts when cereal mashing The benefit of brewing with rice Importance to flavor and aroma of boiling hops (and not just dry hopping) Balancing fruitiness and bitterness in hoppy beers Fermenting during dry hopping to encourage hop creep and to dry out the beer, and krausening with pilsner or helles Finding language that does justice to the intent of a beer in a way that connects with consumers “I loved California West Coast IPA when I first started in the industry,” says Davey. “And so I’m like ‘What if we just take that further? Let’s make it even clearer. Let’s make it even less caramel-y. Let’s make it even dryer.’ That’s why—on the can—we say it’s ‘wester than west coast,’ because we’re taking all the things that are already west coast and we’re just pushing them a little bit further.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Rahr North Star Pils—a new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking

“If it’s a pain in the ass, we usually do it,” says Live Oak head brewer Dusan Kwiatkowski. Brewing the hard way has been a core tenet of the brewery since their start in the mid ’90s. While most breweries launched around the time focused on ales (to distinguish themselves from the “macro” beer of the time), Live Oak committed to craft lager from its earliest days. Its Czech-inspired pale lager, Pilz, has been one of their core beers for more than two decades. Today, Live Oak maintains that focus by pushing lager even further, through the pre-Prohibition-style pils they call Pre-War Pils, and by brewing and advocating for Grodziskie, which they brew as a lager with oak-smoked malt from a small Czech maltster. In this episode, Kwiatkowski discusses everything from the ways they’ve sourced ingredients for the Grodziskie to the process behind the cereal mash necessary with corn grits in the Pre-War Pils. Along the way, he discusses the impact of smoked malt in recipes, brewing Grodziskie as a lager rather than an ale, polishing pils so that it sparkles in the glass, spunding tanks for proper finishing, and more. Live Oak is fond of referring to its Austin, Texas, location as “Bamberg on the Colorado,” referencing the German city’s reputation for smoked beer from breweries such as Schlenkerla and Spezial. While smoked beer is a niche in today’s wider beer world, Live Oak’s passion and focus on the approach are second to none. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Rahr North Star Pils—a new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

It’s been a busy and momentous year for Marcus Baskerville. The co-owner and head brewer of San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing made national news with his Black Is Beautiful initiative in 2020. To date, more than 1,200 breweries in all 50 states and 22 countries have patrticipated in the open-source collaboration to raise funds and awareness for diversity and racial justice. However, well before that initiative, Baskerville already had developed a strong reputation among fellow brewers and Texas drinkers for his characterful stouts and other beers. In this episode, Baskerville lays out his approach to brewing, including: Developing a distinct flavor point-of-view when brewing established styles Building stout grists that minimizes roast and smoke flavors Counterintuitive balancing of base stouts with adjuncts Building caramel midtones in stouts while keeping specialty malts under control Creating body with high mash temps and flaked oats, plus long boils and maltodextrin (but no lactose) Managing fermentation in imperial stouts Adjunct processing for vanilla, marshmallow powder, coconut, and more The impact of various bourbon flavors on barrel-aged stouts Best barrel preparation practices, including soaking to rehydrate Baskerville also reflects on how the Black Is Beautiful project has evolved over the past months, how to help brewers be relevant to Black drinkers, creating allies within the industry, and the importance of positivity. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt is the workhorse of many a brewery and is at home in a variety of beer styles. Crisp sources the lowest-nitrogen spring barley from farmers in Fife up to Moray. During malting, high cast moistures and a balance of optimal germination time and temperature results in an even, well-modified malt with a rich color and balanced sweet, malt flavor which is ideally suited to ale brewing. Visit bsgcraftbrewing.com for more information on Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): A brewery might have 99 problems, but your fruit supplier shouldn't be one. Old Orchard is already known for their quality concentrates, but they also pride themselves on consistent product and reliable supply. When brewers need assistance, Old Orchard is just an email, phone call, or even a text away. Based in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan—better known as Beer City, USA—Old Orchard is core to the brewing community. To join their fruit family, learn more at www.oldorchard.com/brewer Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information – and responsible for mapping millions of visits to breweries all across the United States. In early 2021, BreweryDB® will reveal a whole new platform with all new marketing features for breweries to attract craft lovers to their unique brewery experience. To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

For Zack Adams of Connecticut’s Fox Farm Brewery, the reward in brewing is found in working and reworking a smaller lineup of beers, over and over again, until he gets them just right. While they make and love IPAs, they’ve focused their other brewing energy on simple and small beers—think German-style pilsner, Kölsch, English-style dark mild, and Belgian-inspired mixed culture farmhouse beers. They’re a country brewery, and comfortable with that approach. In this episode of the podcast, Adams discusses: Getting the hang of lager fermentation A sensory approach to brewer feedback and improvement Developing malt character despite infusion mashing Using different Noble hops to bring out varyingcharacteristics in lagers Creating balanced smoked beers, and bringing their audience along on the journey Brewing classic English-style ales Preparing and carbonating beer before nitrogenating Creating a distinct approach to mixed culture farmhouse ales Brewing with craft malt Wine-beer hybrids using New England grape varieties (Accidentally) using winemaking techniques for softer tannin extraction Learning from four seasons of spontaneous brewing (without releasing a single spontaneous beer) and more. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Meet the latest in the BSG Hop solutions portfolio, Citiva. Strong expressions of stone fruit, floral, and resinous/pine flavors and aromas define this blend, crafted specifically for use in hazy IPAs, and other hop-forward beers. Citiva is ideal for aroma, whirlpool, and dry hop additions to Hazy and Juicy IPAs, or for any other hoppy styles where a combination of citrus, tropical fruit, and pine aromatics are desired. Go to bsgcraftbrewing.com to learn more, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The most common complaint about hard seltzers? They need more flavor. Extract alone is a weak flavoring agent and can leave a chemical aftertaste. But there's a better way. The craft concentrate blends from Old Orchard are packed with REAL FRUIT FIRST, no added sugars, and just enough natural flavor. Breweries are turning to Old Orchard concentrates for seltzer with more body, color, and aroma. Turn seltzer skeptics into supporters with seltzer that drinks like a beer. Get started at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

For many brewers, winning a medal at the Great American Beer Festival or World Beer Cup is a career-defining accomplishment. Winning two or three establishes a reputation. Win a dozen and it’s a legacy. Yet Matt Brynildson, the brewmaster and creative force behind so many now-classic Firestone Walker beers, counts more than 90 such medals over his brewing career, now stretching into its third decade. For analogues in the sports world you’d have to consider names like Brady, Messi, or Jordan—but unlike them, Brynildson plays just about every position. The medals he’s won cross a breadth of styles, from helles to IPA to barrel-aged stout and mixed culture Brett beer. Under Brynildson’s brewing leadership, Firestone Walker has won GABF medals for the past 18 years straight, taking home four Mid-Size Brewery of the Year honors along the way. Sports hyperboles aside, there’s a method to these winning ways, and it all comes back to quality and constant improvement. With a background in chemistry, Brynildson has matched a technician’s perfectionism to the soul of an artist, absorbing and deploying technical processes to make the best beer possible, while also exploring the creative edge of differentiation and expression that helps his beers stand apart from the crowd. In this extended episode, he discusses: The knowledge he recently gained spending a year brewing in Europe with Duvel-Moortgat The importance of the 162°F (72°C) rest when mashing less-modified malts Takeaways from the 2020 Hops Growers of America annual conference How the Hops Quality Group has worked to close the loop between farmers and brewers The necessity of foam Evaluating new hops, from selecting away from negative traits to running parallel trials Why Citra doesn’t figure heavily in the brewery’s approach to hops Coaxing punchier results out of German varieties like Mandarina Bavaria and Huell Melon Differences in practices between German and US hop farming The key indicators of quality in hops Creating the 805 blonde ale and building a brewery to handle it Firestone Walker’s entrance into the hazy IPA world, with Mind Haze Current R&D with fruited iterations of hazy IPA Building quality into the DNA of the brewery, so that it lasts for generations While Matt loves hops, he’s particularly fond of swimming against the tide, and finding creative ways of building compelling flavors without resorting to more common default approaches. “We actually have a harder time integrating a high percentage of hops like Citra and Mosaic into our beers,” says Brynildson. “We’re probably one of those rare West coast IPA brewers [where] Citra isn’t a major deal. I sell more Citra to Duvel to make Duvel Triple Hop than I use in this brewery, if that tells you anything. Over time, we’ve found that rather than it being the main player—because everybody else’s beer kinda tastes and smells that way—it has found its way into more of a niche of enhancing, amplifying, not being the star.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils, a new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information – and responsible for mapping

Jonathan Moxey cut his teeth at St. Louis craft trailblazer Perennial Artisan Ales before leaving in 2018 to head the brewing program at Rockwell Beer. Over the years, he's developed a love for finely tuned mixed-fermentation, wood aging, session beer, and lager—all things for which he’s developed different but equally compelling takes in his new digs. In this episode, Moxey discusses: Designing Baltic porter for aging and conditioning in a foeder The clearing effect of fermenting in wood Building bigger beers while downplaying ethanol expression Yeast choices in high-gravity lagers Maintaining proper fermentation health Building complex malt layers in big, dark beers Developing unique beer character by using unique Brett strains Building and developing a culture Foam retention in tart and sour beer The beauty of Michigan Crystal hops Hopping regimens for mixed-fermentation beers And more. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739 Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): A brewery might have 99 problems, but your fruit supplier shouldn't be one. Old Orchard is already known for their quality concentrates, but they also pride themselves on consistent product and reliable supply. When brewers need assistance, Old Orchard is just an email, phone call, or even a text away. Based in Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan—better known as Beer City, USA—Old Orchard is core to the brewing community. To join their fruit family, learn more at www.oldorchard.com/brewer Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

For Fair Isle Brewing in Seattle, Washington, the founding concept was simple—focus on a narrow niche of the beer world, and do it really, really well. It’s one thing to state an audacious goal, and it’s another to actually deliver on it, but the tightly executed saisons they’ve produced over the past year exude a confidence and class that belie their young age. In this episode of the podcast, cofounder Andrew Pogue and head brewer Nick Pauley walk through the brewery’s creation and their thoughtful approach to developing and corralling the house culture that the brewery uses to ferment every one of its beers. They discuss how to manage the cultural drift toward acid production, creating different environments that push the culture in different flavor directions, and the ways that initial fermentation flavors and aromas change and develop over the 90-day fermentation schedule. Grain plays a big role in the brewery’s experimentation, and they discuss using heirloom barley varieties such as Purple Egyptian, as well as newly developed perennial grain Salish Blue. They’ve also focused intently on brewing with native ingredients from the region—working with a licensed ethnobotanist who harvests foraged ingredients. They discuss their process of learning how to best use new-to-them ingredients—from foraged fireweed to wild elderberry, hawthorne, and yarrow, they’ve been learning as they go. They then discuss the re-pitching process for their culture, and how they re-use spent hops for certain beers. Creating a saison-focused brewery in hops-loving Seattle is clearly a labor of love—but the Fair Isle team wouldn't have it any other way. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The most common complaint about hard seltzers? They need more flavor. Extract alone is a weak flavoring agent and can leave a chemical aftertaste. But there's a better way. The craft concentrate blends from Old Orchard are packed with REAL FRUIT FIRST, no added sugars, and just enough natural flavor. Breweries are turning to Old Orchard concentrates for seltzer with more body, color, and aroma. Turn seltzer skeptics into supporters with seltzer that drinks like a beer. Get started at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information – and responsible for mapping millions of visits to breweries all across the United States. In early 2021, BreweryDB® will reveal a whole new platform with all new marketing features for breweries to attract craft lovers to their unique brewery experience. To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

If you’ve had a beer from Placentia, California’s The Bruery at a festival or in their taproom over the past half-decade, there’s a good chance that Andrew Bell designed it or brewed it. The longtime innovation brewer has developed a reputation amongst industry peers as one who has tried just about anything that can be legally added to beer—from powdered cream cheese to obscure spices and fruit in every form imaginable. In mid-2020, he joined former Bruery colleagues Jonas Nemura and Cambria Griffith to launch Radiant Beer Co. in Orange County, and now he’s tackling a new type of innovation problem—designing a brewing program and identity from scratch. In this episode, Bell discusses lessons learned from brewing more than 300 new beers per year, including: setting and adhering to stylistic guard rails breaking down familiar flavors like oatmeal raisin cookie, and rebuilding them in beer using sub-threshold spicing to build flavor that evokes an emotional connection the challenge of scaling ingredients up from the pilot batches to production batches processing nuts and improving their extract efficiency pasteurizing for safety and to improve flavors the ways that different fruit-processing methods (purée, juice, dehydrated, fresh) affect flavor expression brewing “clean” beer with wine grapes managing ultra-high-gravity fermentations with unusual yeast brewing low-bitterness West Coast-style IPAs with high aromatic and tropical elements subtle spicing in traditional styles like witbier And much more. If you’ve ever brewed with a new ingredient and suffered spectacular failure, welcome to Bell’s world. Through a long process of research, ingredient sourcing, and brewhouse testing, he’s figured out ways to make difficult ingredients work—and also found ingredients that he’ll never use again. In this episode, he delves into both the success and the failures, with tips that anyone can use to achieve better outcomes with difficult ingredients. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. New this year, Redundancy meets Efficiency! G&D’s Micro-Channel Condensers are built with all aluminum construction which eliminates galvanic corrosion. Using half the refrigerant of conventional condensers with fewer brazed connections, translates to a lower GWP and less opportunity for leaks. Call G&D Chillers today to discuss your project or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt. Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt is the workhorse of many a brewery and is at home in a variety of beer styles. Crisp sources the lowest-nitrogen spring barley from farmers in Fife up to Moray. During malting, high cast moistures and a balance of optimal germination time and temperature results in an even, well-modified malt with a rich color and balanced sweet, malt flavor which is ideally suited to ale brewing. Visit bsgcraftbrewing.com for more information on Crisp Scottish Pale Ale Malt, or call 1-800-374-2739. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): The world of craft beer is a different place now. Margins are more important than ever, so why not lower your ingredient cost? Craft juice concentrates from Old Orchard are the cost-effective solution for your fruit-forward needs. Old Orchard produces high volumes of their retail juice brand, so economies of scale keep prices low for their bulk supply program. A little concentrate goes a long way, and you won't lose some of it through filtering like you would with purees. To start increasing your margins now, head on over to www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Brewery DB® (https://www.marketmybrewery.com): For years, BreweryDB® has been the industry’s only professionally curated source of brewery and beer information. In 2019, over one million tap room visits were made by craft fans searching for breweries on BreweryDB.com! In early 2021, BreweryDB® will unveil an all-new experience to help craft lovers get back on the brewery trail! To take full advantage of the enhanced marketing power of BreweryDB® – and to increase your tap room traffic, visit MarketMyBrewery.com, that’s MarketMyBrewery.com. It’s easy and it’s free! ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. As a part of ABS Commercials on going give back campaign, they will be giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer in June, so make sure to periodically check the ABS Commercial Facebook page to find out when the contest opens up and how you can enter to win a Keg Viking!

Reuben’s Brews’ Adam Robbings has always been a thoughtful and mission-driven brewer, who focuses as much on building a business that delivers on the promise of “craft” as he does on compelling beers that fit within the craft category. That approach to brewing has been a successful one, with GABF and FOBAB medals and a Craft Beer & Brewing Beer of the Year earned all in the space of the past year. In this episode, Robbings dives into the theory and practice around popular Reuben’s beers like Three Ryes Men barrel-aged rye barleywine and Triple Crush hazy triple IPA. Along the way, he touches on: The growth and importance of “variants” This year’s developed “No man’s land” in ABV The growth of interest in west coast IPA Reuben’s approach to their award-winning Three Ryes Men barleywine How barrel age impacts finished beer Choosing competition categories for barrel-aged beers based on flavor gestalt rather than production methods Building specialty beers with a consumer focus for drinking occasions The resurgence of pumpkin beer Scaling recipes to different sized brewhouses Bench testing new hops crops to gauge changes year over year “There’s a whole lot of game theory behind competitions,” says Robbings. “It’s not just ‘the best beer wins.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, and gave away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE this past December 7th. Congratulations to Lazy Horse Brewing & Winery in Nebraska who are the new proud owners of a Keg Viking! To make sure you’re on the list for future giveaways, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contact form to stay in the know!

Anyone can put beer in a barrel, but brewing compelling (and award-winning) barrel-aged beers requires a more conscious approach to design, brewing, and fermentation. Verboten’s Josh Grenz knows a thing or two about the subject, having won bronze at both GABF and the World Beer Cup, as well as 2018 and 2020 golds at the Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers (FOBAB), for three separate barrel-aged beers. In this episode, Grenz talks through their process around brewing barrel-aged stouts and barleywines, from the earliest considerations of recipe design for complexity and interest to their intense hopping regimen that helps the aging process, and using flavorful malts like Special B to insure that aging and oxidation occur in pleasant ways that develop compelling flavors. He discusses successful high gravity fermentation (from yeast choice to mash strategies and enzyme assistance), adjusting base recipes for different finishing barrels, and designing adjunct strategies for subtlety. It took years for Grenz to attempt to brew barrel-aged beers, as the deep respect he had for the category intimidated him. But by carefully planning the approach through nuanced choices to ingredients and process, he’s found a winning strategy. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, and gave away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE this past December 7th. Congratulations to Lazy Horse Brewing & Winery in Nebraska who are the new proud owners of a Keg Viking! To make sure you’re on the list for future giveaways, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contact form to stay in the know!

When approached with creativity, passion, and clarity of purpose, any beer style can be great. Quick sours—in the hands of Urban Artifact’s Bret Kollman Baker—are an object lesson in this intense approach, which transcends style basics to achieve a high level of sophistication and nuance. Urban Artifact only make sour beer, and that singular approach means they have no choice but to make them well. In this episode of the podcast, Kollman Baker gets into the fine points of brewing quick-soured beers, including: Kettle-souring without the kettle Temperature impacts on kettle-souring Pasteurizing puréed fruit in the brewhouse for ideal fruit expression Designing different base beers to bring out the best traits in each fruit Adjusting water chemistry to maximize fruit expression Yeast management in acidic beers Winemakers’ tricks applied to fruit beers Contextual approaches to different fruit processing Avoiding off-flavors in difficult fruits like strawberries Managing actual versus perceived acidity Massaging consumer expectations through descriptions And much more. Kollman Baker isn’t afraid to speak his mind, believing deeply in the artful approach they’ve adopted. Making great quick-soured beer is not a fluke—it’s the product of thoughtful people optimizing processes to achieve the best possible outcome. Just because their souring process is faster than longer mixed-culture methods doesn’t mean it’s less valid, less flavorful, or a shortcut. On the contrary, Kollman Baker embraces techniques that produce the better tasting beer, adjusting brewhouse workflow to optimize for this end product. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, and gave away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE this past December 7th. Congratulations to Lazy Horse Brewing & Winery in Nebraska who are the new proud owners of a Keg Viking! To make sure you’re on the list for future giveaways, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contact form to stay in the know!

Shawn Johnson of Birds Fly South dreams about brewing. In fact, their solera system for fermenting farmhouse beers came to him one night in a vision of sorts—as Jolly Pumpkin’s Ron Jeffries appeared in a dream with a command to “keep the beer moving.” Funk is always on Johnson’s mind, awake or asleep, and five years in, the brewery continues to adhere to their mantra of “Funk First!” In this episode, Johnson discusses: Developing and managing their house culture Maintaining the balance between Brett and Sacch expression in the culture How different grist bills and mash processes affect the expression of the culture Pushing higher bitterness (25-35 IBUs) in mixed-culture beers Using hyped hops in farmhouse beers as a bridge to today’s drinkers Embracing a bit of lightstruck character by using green bottles Brewing for different barrel-aging strategies Exploring flavors in barrel-aged stouts with Belgian yeasts Brewing today means balancing one’s creative vision with consumer demand, educating drinkers, and creating a market rather than simply creating products for an existing one. Birds Fly South has stuck to their guns, building a bridge between classic expression and modern innovation. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, and gave away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE this past December 7th. Congratulations to Lazy Horse Brewing & Winery in Nebraska who are the new proud owners of a Keg Viking! To make sure you’re on the list for future giveaways, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contact form to stay in the know!

As an attorney who, earlier in her career, worked for the US federal government's Small Business Administration, Denizens Brewing cofounder and Chief Brand Officer Julie Verratti has a working knowledge of mechanisms of government that brewery owners and operators everywhere can learn from as they chart a course through this difficult and heartbreaking second wave of COVID. In this special episode, she offers a crash course in how to work with elected officials to lobby for the support that breweries need (from the federal down to the local level), and takes a deep dive into the operational shifts the brewery has put in place to continue serving customers while keeping staff safe. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

For Yvan de Baets of Brasserie de la Senne, what’s old is new again. All brewing styles shift and develop over time, as tastes change and things come into and fall out of fashion. But for this student of Belgian brewing history, the lack of hops in contemporary Belgian beers was a stylistic travesty that he needed to remedy. Enter Brasserie de la Senne, which—when it officially opened in Brussels in 2010—doubled the number of operating commercial breweries in the city (the only other one at the time was Cantillon). Over the past decade and a half, the Senne brewery has made a mark not just on drinkers but on fellow brewers the world over, with thoughtful, nuanced, unapologetic takes on Belgian beer styles. From classic extra-pale Taras Boulba to hoppy triple Jambe de Bois, they’ve followed a different path than Belgian compatriots, developing a thumbprint of assertive Noble hopping and multiple forays into mixed fermentation—all driven, de Baets says, by the selfishness of brewing only what they want to drink. In this episode, de Baets discusses how they think about and employ hops in their beers, from selection to timing. He dives deep into the impact of tank geometry on ester production, and credits their squat, wide fermenters with creating a lower-stress environment for their yeast—thus favoring subtlety and reducing higher alcohols. His approach to mixed fermentation, acidity, a new pilsner (influenced by the inimitable Eric Toft of Brauerei Schönram), and science-driven takes on traditional brewing techniques all enter the conversation. De Baets, however, is not a “purist” in any sense of the word, happy to give credit where due and celebrate those who brew with a sense of purpose to keep traditions alive. “American brewers and consumers have saved many traditional Belgian styles that were simply dying in Belgium, because the Belgians didn’t care about them any more, which is a shame and extremely sad,” he says. “Some of the Belgian-style saisons made in the US are better than most of the saisons we have in Belgium. Some Flemish reds are the same. I will not say, of course, that some lambic-like American beers are better than the best of Belgium now, but some are approaching them and extremely, extremely close.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

Seattle’s Fremont Brewing is known for fresh hop beers, and over the past decade they’ve engaged in a level of problem solving (on both the logistical and technical sides) that is relatively unparalleled. What started as a small organic experiment with a well-established hop farm has turned into a yearly logistical dance, as harvesters, trucks, and brew staff work in concert to pick hops at the right time, transport them at the right temperature, and get them into batches at just the right moment. In this episode, Director of Brewing Operations Matt Lincoln (who has been with the brewery since day one) explains both the operational challenges the brewery faces to tackle such an ambitious fresh hop program, and how they manage fresh hops through the brewing process. Whether it’s planning their brewing volume based on the season’s yield, using their lauter tun as a hop back with moving rakes to aid extraction, or tweaking temperatures to insure the best outcomes, Fremont has learned much the past decade of brewing these beers at scale. The conversation also moves through how the brewery’s approach to hoppy beers has evolved, pushing more and more hot side hops into the whirlpool to retain aromatics while still achieving the right amount of isomerization for their unapologetically bitter IPAs. Yeast expression is of particular importance, as is managing hop creep, and Lincoln discusses both in depth. Later, he pivots to discuss their approach to barrel aging and blending beers like B-Bomb that have earned the brewery much acclaim. Fresh hop beers are expensive to make with difficult challenges to overcome as brewers and growers manage tricky constraints in time and temperature, but few breweries brew them as well as Fremont does. When you listen to Lincoln explain it, you’ll understand why. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Quantiperm (https://quantiperm.com): Tired of the trial-and-error carbonation processes? Then look at our innovative automated carbonation systems for precise carbonation. These systems handle wide flow ranges to accommodate all your beer, wine, soda, or cider styles. You can even carbonate and directly send the product to a packaging line without tankage! Besides carbonation, QuantiPerm offers robust and economical systems for nitrogenation and water deoxygenation. All our systems have an easy-to-use graphical user interface with reports and graphs that you can pull up on your mobile device. Visit quantiperm.com for more information. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

Brick West head brewer Sam Milne is fanatical about process and technique, and it’s this love of fine tuning small details that stoked his love of brewing lagers years ago. After moving up the ranks at Kulshan Brewing in Bellingham, Washington, he received a full scholarship from the Glen Hay Falconer Foundation to study at the World Academy of Brewing at the Siebel Institute (Chicago) and Doemans Academy (Munich)—an experience that cemented this passion for lagers—and returned to the states to join and launch Brick West. They’ve thrown out the typical brewery playbook, and focused intently on German-style beers like pilsner, helles, hefeweizen, and gose (along with a smattering of west coast IPAs that nod to their proximity to hops-growing regions in Yakima to their west and Idaho to their east). In this conversation, Milne gets into the details that make their beers interesting despite their simplicity—deriving complexity from simple malt bills, carefully tuning mash protocols to achieve finishing gravities that will accentuate the best character of the beer, pH testing mash conversion at each step so as not to linger longer than necessary, managing whirlpool temperatures to achieve proper aroma and bitterness, cone-to-cone pitching for lower yeast stress, krausening and spunding for quality carbonation, and avoiding pumps to minimize oxygen pickup through the brewing and packaging process. Milne’s respect for tradition is paramount, but he pairs that with a tinkerer’s mentality of always finding small ways to make things a little bit better. This episode explores those small things that can have big impact on finished beers. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

In the second of our two-episode Best in Beer podcast extravaganza, Jamie and Joe talk with beer writers Kate Bernot, Samer Khudairi, Stan Hieronymus, and Alex Kidd about their top ten beers of 2020, trends in brewing, impacts of COVID-19 on the beer world, other outstanding breweries, and more. From their outposts in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Missoula, Montana, these respected writers offer thoughtful insights on breweries to watch, trends you can't ignore, and what makes beers and styles compelling today. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

2020 was a challenging year for trying new beer, but like everyone has done over the past eight months of shutdowns and socially distancing, we persevered. We were able to taste thousands of beers over the past year at Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®, between our blind-panel reviews, those sent to us to consider for general coverage, those tasted at various festivals (remember festivals? Yes, we did get to some in the earlier months of this year), and those shared when we visited breweries—not to mention all the ones we bought and enjoyed at home. Once a year, we put our collective heads together and create our Editors' Picks for the Best Beers of the Year. We also poll you, our readers and listeners, for your favorite beers, as well as your favorite breweries of various sizes. In this exhaustive episode, Cofounder and Editorial Director Jamie Bogner and Managing Editor Joe Stange walk through the best beers and breweries of 2020 and the stories behind them. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

For Kevin Stafford, Head Brewer and Cofounder of New York’s Finback Brewery, exploration and creative expression has always been the brewery’s goal, as they wholeheartedly embrace the new. But there’s a certain cohesiveness to the range of their experimentation that grounds it. They’re not purists and don’t subscribe to the artificial limitations imposed by style—what matters is that it tastes good, and evokes a spirit of playfulness. In this episode, Stafford talks about their approach to hazy IPA, unexpected hops combinations, using ingredients like coconut in flavored IPAs, and tracking customer feedback loops like Untappd scores to help understand customers’ tastes. With their rich dessert stouts, he discusses adjunct processes around ingredients with high fat content such as nuts, which can pose challenges in the brewhouse, and he discusses additions of high-sugar ingredients (such as Froot Loops cereal) while fermentation is still active. Body in big stouts is very important, and he walks through how they build it without some of the sweetness inherent in lactose approaches. “If that imperial stout coats the glass—when you rotate the glass a little bit—as long as it sticks and makes the glass brown, and stays there for a while—that makes me happy,” says Stafford. “I don’t care if there’s no head.” What does matter to Stafford is maintaining a spirit of weirdness and creativity, putting coconut in everything, and constantly challenging themselves to find new possibilities in the beer they make. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Yakima Valley Hops (https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/Default.asp): Yakima Valley Hops is your hop source whether you are brewing 5 gallons or 5 barrels. Get all the hops you want, when you want them. We source the highest quality hops from the Yakima Valley and premium growing regions around the world so that you have access to the largest hop portfolio possible—even the hard to find varieties like Citra®, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy®. Homebrewers: YakimaValleyHops.com // Wholesale: SpotHops.com ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

For Madison, Wisconsin-based entrepreneur/blender/iconoclast Levi Funk, the apparent conflict in philosophies between his two brands isn’t a conflict at all. While his blendery and passion project, Funk Factory Gueuzeria, is focused exclusively on spontaneously fermented and wild ales, the more recent launch of his Untitled Art brand is a radical departure, with its focus on cutting-edge current styles like hazy IPA, heavily fruited kettle sours, and even hard seltzer. Still, for Funk, these two approaches aren’t as divergent as they may seem. As one of the earlier spontaneous brewers in the United States, he took risks to test a concept and develop a practice that could work. Untitled Art continues that experimentation and risk-taking in beers that he also enjoys drinking—even if they are very different than the spontaneous beers that put him on the map. In this episode, Funk discusses both, talking through his approach to spontaneous brewing and blending, from breaking rakes in the breweries that make his wort, to understanding which flavors will and won’t age out of wild and spontaneous barrels. He discusses blending strategies, his own palate and how it impacts the beers, their methods for adding fruit, and more. As the conversation turns to Untitled Art, Funk focuses more on business than brewing, delving into the unusual business structures he’s developed with distributors in their 23-state footprint. He’s built a brand by breaking all the rules, with no appeal to geography or locality, no personally identifying elements in the brand, no salespeople, and no marketing budget. Yet the brand’s lack of communication has become a selling point, as consumers engage and enjoy the beers on their own merits. Untitled Art has embraced hard seltzer with open arms, working to overcome the disdain that a number of brewers have for the segment. “It’s the most recent iteration of an evolution in beer that a certain group of breweries are going to write off and say ‘this is not beer,’” says Funk. “But I bet you that 90 percent of the beer that brewery makes, at some point in history there was a group of brewers who said, ‘That is not beer.’” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Yakima Valley Hops (https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/Default.asp): Yakima Valley Hops is your hop source whether you are brewing 5 gallons or 5 barrels. Get all the hops you want, when you want them. We source the highest quality hops from the Yakima Valley and premium growing regions around the world so that you have access to the largest hop portfolio possible—even the hard to find varieties like Citra®, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy®. Homebrewers: YakimaValleyHops.com // Wholesale: SpotHops.com ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

"I’ve become a traditionalist. I’m more interested in going backwards,” says Mike Karnowski, founder of Zebulon Artisan Ales. “As I see what craft beer is turning into, I’m turning around and running back to the 1800s.” Karnowski loves exploring the rich history of brewing, working together with brewing historian Ron Pattinson to re-create recipes from the forgotten brew logs of the past three centuries. At a time when “innovation” tends to mean jumping on the latest trend, Zebulon instead looks backward, creating engaging beers that tell stories and shine light on periods in brewing history. It’s an unusual approach to “innovation,” but it's one that has found a growing audience, as a subset of beer fans pivot from the pop hits of today and seek connection to brewing’s past. To realize that creative vision, Karnowski has kept Zebulon purposefully small—a seven-barrel brewhouse produces limited runs of each beer, and the brewery employs just Mike and his wife Gabe. Together, they do it all, from brewing to packaging to compliance to taxes, and even manning the bar for the limited taproom hours every week. They may be focused, but they’re not crazy; they understand that the key to being free to explore these pathways in brewing is to keep the overhead low. In this episode, Karnowski talks about his experience brewing a number of historical beers, from imperial-strength 19th century “mild” that bears little resemblance to its current definition, to 1750s beers with smoked malt, an extremely low-ABV WWI-era beer that resembles beer-flavored seltzer, and post-war IPA that would be unrecognizable to IPA drinkers today. Along the way, he discusses producing diastatic brown malt, how to create invert sugars necessary to brew historic English styles, using black malt without the associated off flavors, and more. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer! Yakima Valley Hops (https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/Default.asp): Yakima Valley Hops is your hop source whether you are brewing 5 gallons or 5 barrels. Get all the hops you want, when you want them. We source the highest quality hops from the Yakima Valley and premium growing regions around the world so that you have access to the largest hop portfolio possible—even the hard to find varieties like Citra®, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy®. Homebrewers: YakimaValleyHops.com // Wholesale: SpotHops.com ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

For Jake Gardner, Head Brewer of Westbound & Down (Idaho Springs, Colorado), brewing means defining goals for a beer and mapping out the way to achieve those goals, naming the challenges and articulating solutions at each step of the process. Proceeding in a thoroughly planned and detailed manner brings clarity to the process, and the methodical approach has served Gardner well over his past decade in professional brewing. After chasing a medal in the hotly contested Imperial IPA category at GABF and World Beer Cup, Gardner’s patience and approach was rewarded in 2019 with a silver medal. But the Westbound & Down approach is anything but conventional—with English yeast strains and specific bittering hops that scrub off the palate quickly, the brewery has carved out a soft and fruity yet bright and tightly controlled niche in the broader world of West Coast IPA. They continue to expand that niche with creative explorations of contemporary hops, yeast experimentation, and focusing on the minutiae of brewing that make a big impact on the finished beer. In the barleywine category, Gardner has called upon his background in brewing English-style ales at Hogshead in Denver, and discusses the various design concerns for these barrel-aged beers designed to age. From managing free amino nitrogen to double mashing and dialing back oxidative malts, Gardner discusses the ways they’ve built their medal-winning Louie barleywine to taste great not only when fresh, but also with a few years under its belt as it ages and oxidizes gracefully. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Yakima Valley Hops (https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/Default.asp): Yakima Valley Hops is your hop source whether you are brewing 5 gallons or 5 barrels. Get all the hops you want, when you want them. We source the highest quality hops from the Yakima Valley and premium growing regions around the world so that you have access to the largest hop portfolio possible—even the hard to find varieties like Citra®, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy®. Homebrewers: YakimaValleyHops.com // Wholesale: SpotHops.com ABS Commercial (https://www.abs-commercial.com): ABS Commercial is excited to be a part of today’s Podcast! ABS is a full brewery outfitter offering brewhouses, tanks, keg washers and small parts. ABS wanted to do something fun for the craft beer industry, so they are giving away an ABS Keg Viking Keg Washer LIVE on December 5th, which happens to be national repeal day. To enter, go to www.abs-commercial.com, click on “Keg Viking” page and fill out the contest form for your chance to win!

Grains of Wrath’s Mike Hunsaker has never been afraid to work for his success, and that journey of working and learning has led him to brewing gigs from Virginia to Cleveland and Oregon. Today, as Cofounder and Head Brewer for Grains of Wrath (Vancouver, Washington), he’s focused not just on commercial success, but also on making beers that his peers respect. “I’m happy with making a little less money, but having more respect, as far as what we’re doing here and how we go about our business,” says Hunsaker. In this episode, Hunsaker discusses both his approach to new-school West coast IPAs, and his approach to lagers like his twice GABF medal-winning Vienna Lager. The conversation covers: Tweaking the malt blend in IPAs based on the oil content of hops Regional variations in approaches to malt in IPA The impacts of Munich, Vienna, and Carablonde when blended in West coast IPA Blending hops for maximum impact Hot and cold side hopping regimens Planning for hops creep and adjusting recipes and techniques With each new crop year, testing varieties for hops creep culprits Bittering lagers with low-alpha hops And much more *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Yakima Valley Hops (https://www.yakimavalleyhops.com/Default.asp): Yakima Valley Hops is your hop source whether you are brewing 5 gallons or 5 barrels. Get all the hops you want, when you want them. We source the highest quality hops from the Yakima Valley and premium growing regions around the world so that you have access to the largest hop portfolio possible—even the hard to find varieties like Citra®, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy®. Homebrewers: YakimaValleyHops.com // Wholesale: SpotHops.com ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

For Matt Riggs, the drive to open a brewery on their family farm in central Illinois was driven by two passions—a desire to sustain the farm into future generations by adding value to their crops beyond typical commodity pricing, and a love of the German brewing tradition fostered by years spent there studying brewing (and brewing professionally). As farmers, the Riggs family has a special love for the agricultural side of brewing, and now grows 60 acres of barley, wheat, and corn that they malt nearby and use in their various beers. In this episode, Riggs discusses: the ins and outs of six row barley, and how they use it in their American lager the origins of their low-oil corn variety, and the gelatinization process necessary when brewing with unprocessed corn yields and varieties for their various brewing crops how they efficiently accommodate out-of-spec grains in the brewing process the cost, challenge, and philosophical background to vertical integration brewhouse strategies for achieving classic characteristics like head retention in American lager supplementing with two-row barley when seasonal variations require it and much more From field to fermenter, Riggs Beer Company has focused on a tight integration between agronomics, farming, beer design, and brewing technique. In this detailed conversation, Matt Riggs explores the various ways each impacts each other. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Third in the new BSG Hops Solutions portfolio, HS-1228 takes you all the way to the heart of the West Coast. HS-1228 is bursting with pronounced tropical fruit like mango, pineapple, citrus, and pine characteristics that bring out a classic West Coast hop character. Designed for late kettle or dry hop for various hop-forward styles. Learn more about BSG Hop Solutions online at bsgcraftbrewing.com, and look for more BSG Hop Solutions releases coming soon! Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Chris Colby has been writing about brewing process and techniques for the better part of two decades. His new book from Brewers Publications, How to Make Hard Seltzer, sheds light on the rapidly evolving practice of making this fermented sparkling beverage. More akin to meadmaking than brewing, the process of making hard seltzer will be familiar to most brewers, but with notable key differences that can make or break the finished product. In this episode, Colby walks through the basics—water, sugar, yeast selection, fermentation process and nutrients, clean up, flavoring, and carbonating—with insights from professional brewers on what does and doesn't work. He digs into worst-case scenarios and how to troubleshoot issues that arise through the process, from stalled fermentations to sludge after fining. Love 'em or hate 'em, hard seltzers are a trend that brewers should at least understand. Making them poses challenges both new and familiar, even for experienced brewers. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Brewers seeking amplifying malt and distillers hunting down delicious base options welcome Gambrinus Rye Malt as their malt choice. This Rye Malt gives spicy, grainy, and bready notes with suggestions of vanilla and sweet dough. It strengthens mouthfeel, viscosity, and head retention combined with flaked oats or wheat for IPAs, and is a solid base for a wide range of distilled spirits. Learn more about Gambrinus Rye Malt at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Wolves and People founder Christian DeBenedetti wrote about beer for years as a journalist before taking the leap and founding the brewery on the family farm where he grew up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. While the brewery is small—they produced fewer than 400 barrels of beer in 2019—they’ve focused on beers that reflect place from the very start. One of their most active focuses is yeast, and they’ve captured and developed multiple yeast strains from the property—first from a plum tree, and later from the hive of bees that DeBenedetti brought to the farm for honey and pollination as well as yeast cultivation. Here, he discusses the process of capturing then testing and isolating the strains, one of which is now available as a beta yeast from The Yeast Bay. The next big project underway now involves estate-grown barley, to be planted next year on a plot next to the brewery. He talks about the progress of that program, from variety selection to soil prep, farming strategies, and malting process. Closing the loop between brewing and agriculture is on many brewers’ minds, and Wolves and People is bringing the two ever closer. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

For KC Bier Company Founder Steve Holle and Head Brewer Karlton Graham, the goal is to make lagers that just “taste right.” As students who’ve studied in German brewing programs and who’ve traveled widely through the country tasting beers and picking brewers’ brains, they set about to create that experience of German beer for their hometown market in Kansas City. Their precision and devotion has won them accolades and fans who appreciate their attention to detail in ingredient selection and process. In this lager-focused episode, the two discuss the ways they build just enough, but not too much, character in their delicate lagers. From dialing in ideal gravities to reducing trace notes of vegetal character by using type 45 hops, they’ve found small ways to make the beers better. They decoct, of course, and spund tanks for natural carbonation—all part of today’s standard lager playbook. However, they offer a vivid reminder that lager brewing isn’t about making beers disappear, it’s about that precarious balance between flavor, simplicity, and drinkability. Their home state is known for its large-scale production of American light lager, but don’t confuse their helles for one of these minimal flavor domestic lagers. “There’s such a mindset that a pale lager has to be really light in body—people compare it to a domestic lager and there’s something wrong with it if it has any flavor at all,” says Holle. “But helles is my favorite beer that we make, and I like it because it’s a malty beer. It’s pale malt, and a pale beer can be malty and round and full and flavorful.” *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® contributor Stan Hieronymus, author of For the Love of Hops and Brewing Local, joins the podcast for an in-depth look at the hop industry, trends in hop use, new hops entering the commercial market, and more. Along the way, he covers: Hop agricultural trends past and present, and their impact on the overall hop market Lessons from the hop crash of 2007-08 New and forthcoming varietals from various breeding programs around the world Current research on hop creep and factors influencing it Alternate kilning routines to minimize hop creep The impact of hop varieties and years on hop creep Reusing hops in the brewhouse Essential oil and alpha/beta acid impact when reusing hops The historical tradition of hop reuse New Southern Hemisphere hops development and new releases This may be the hoppiest episode we’ve ever recorded—quadruple-hopped for intense hop character, but soft and juicy and never bitter. *This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Chris Tropeano, known to friends as "Tropes," dislikes more of his beer than he likes. It's not that it's not good beer, but as the head brewer for Resident Culture, he can't not focus on the small things that he should have done better. There are always things to improve, or tweaks that could produce a more characterful or cohesive beer. But it's that constant focus on improvement that has helped catapult Resident Culture to a respected position among fellow Southeastern craft brewers over their relatively short three years of existence. In this episode, Tropes discusses honestly evaluating beer, fixing the problems that often arise when brewing hazy IPAs, dealing with harsh hops astringency from high hopping loads, building brewhouse and cellar processes to deal with variances in hops quality, structuring hazy IPAs with edgy notes for contrast, and managing "hop stank." “The cool dry hop works really well if you have great hops and you’re sure that they’re going to produce a really good beer," says Tropes. "But if you’re ever unsure, we’ve found that a little active fermentation dry hopping can really transform hops that might not really speak to you out of the bag. It’s an insurance policy on hops that you’re not 100% on.” The conversation turns to traditional Berliner weisse, as Tropes explains their mixed culture approach to Berliner and the benefits—like incredible head retention—along with ways they speed up and pump the brakes on developing acidity. Later, the conversation turns to lagers, and he shares the ways their processes have evolved from spunding to krausening, along with the way they've incorporated seasonally-available malts into their lagers for the best possible flavor. G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jacks Abby, Samuel Adams, and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

The story of malt—from seed to field and harvesting, through the malting and kilning process, and into the tuns of brewers—is far more rich and varied than one might expect when looking at a bag of grain. In this episode, the fifth generation head of family-owned Simpsons Malt, Richard Simpson, sheds light on that story, discussing malt's life cycle in depth. From the agronomic development of barley varieties to the background of popular varieties such as Golden Promise and Maris Otter, Simpson talks about what it takes to make barley varieties work (from farmer to malthouse to brewer), the ways in which they support agronomic diversity and brewing history, the impacts of specific malts in finished beers, the importance of sustaining heritage barley varieties that would otherwise fall out of favor with a purely agronomic-focused industry, and more. The malting process itself is more involved and complex than most realize—like brewing, it’s more than just pushing buttons on a machine and taking whatever comes out the other side. Simpson discusses the unique ways in which they’ve designed and built their malthouse to accomplish certain goals. He celebrates the art and craft of master maltsters as they make process decisions that depend on crop year or differences in terroir, or they blend smaller batches of specialty roast malts for greater consistency. In every brewing tradition, ingredients impact the development of beer styles, and that’s true whether the locale is Germany, Belgium, the UK, or the US. Here, Simpson talks about the ways that the unique flavors inherent in British malts have led to British beer tasting the way it does, and how brewers everywhere can use that in their own creative brewing pursuits. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, and dedication to their customer’s craft. For 25 years G&D has led the way on innovative solutions that match their brewing customers immediate and future needs. With a wide selection of custom built chillers; G&D offers the Nano chiller, the perfect solution for Nano breweries all the way up to their larger capacity units like the Vertical Air Chiller, built for higher volume operations. Contact G&D Chillers today for your chiller sizing needs at 800.555.0973. Reach out online at Gdchillers.com BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Third in the new BSG Hops Solutions portfolio, HS-1228 takes you all the way to the heart of the West Coast. HS-1228 is bursting with pronounced tropical fruit like mango, pineapple, citrus, and pine characteristics that bring out a classic West Coast hop character. Designed for late kettle or dry hop for various hop-forward styles. Learn more about BSG Hop Solutions online, and look for more BSG Hop Solutions releases coming soon! Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Grandstand (https://egrandstand.com/catalog/category/view/id/179): Grandstand is your source for the latest trends in branded drinkware, apparel and promotional items. We make your job easy by serving as your one-stop-shop for everything you need to outfit your taproom and fans. Current trends include to-go drinkware, tie dye prints and portable coolers. Visit egrandstand.com/lookbook to see what’s trending. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

“When we opened, everyone said ‘You can’t open a brewery with three beers,’” says Hogshead founder Stephen Kirby. “And I think the answer to that is ‘You can if they’re good ones.’ I think the truth’s out—I only make three beers. You’ve got guys who want to make everything. I make bitter, I make porter, I make mild.” That approach of doing only a few things but with an obsessive focus is highly unusual in today's beer market, where everyone seems to want everything, all the time. But Kirby is straightforward about his motivations—he’s in it to brew the beer that he loves and wants to drink. True to his British roots, that beer is what he grew up with—traditional cask ales. Kirby doesn’t hold back, sharing his views on a wide range of subjects, including: Why brewers should have the “bollocks” to name beers what they are Selecting hop varieties for balance in flavor and aroma Underpitching English strains at slightly lower temperatures for proper yeast flavors Innovation versus tradition British versus American takes on IPA How carbonic acid impacts hops bitterness Building small beers with big body while avoiding the impression of sweetness How water chemistry affects English beer styles Mash regimens to benefit head retention Using controlled oxidation through the life of a beer to tell a story “I brew the beer that I love, and I invite you come come over and have a pint,” Kirby says. “As a business model, it sucks, but it’s good for the soul. If you’re not making the beer you love, why the fuck are you doing it?” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Third in the new BSG Hops Solutions portfolio, HS-1228 takes you all the way to the heart of the West Coast. HS-1228 is bursting with pronounced tropical fruit like mango, pineapple, citrus, and pine characteristics that bring out a classic West Coast hop character. Designed for late kettle or dry hop for various hop-forward styles. Learn more about BSG Hop Solutions online, and look for more BSG Hop Solutions releases coming soon! Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Connor Casey and Tim Sciascia of San Francisco’s Cellarmaker Brewing have a well-earned reputation among peers as savants when it comes to hops. From the colorful descriptive language they’ve developed for describing hop attributes, to the tightly iterated processes around blending hops lots, they’ve developed ideas and techniques around hops use that has influenced the way other brewers now brew. In this episode, they share some of that hard-earned hops knowledge, touching on a wide range of subjects including: Approaching brewing like certain chefs approach cooking, with inspiring ingredients that value quality and experience over consistency Building beers around unique lots of hops, with specific and unrepeatable flavors Selecting hops for “grit” that will punch harder in a beer Understanding how stored hops evolve and change throughout the year, even under cold storage, never producing the same beer twice The impact of hops processing on the expression of hops flavors Understanding “bag appeal” and how it’s not a perfect indicator of hops flavors in finished beer Working with challenging Southern hemisphere hops The all-or-nothing nature of Sabro Making difficult decisions to throw away expensive hops that don’t meet expectations and more “The beer you drink in March with all the hops that were harvested six months ago—you will never experience that exact flavor even with those same lots of everything, same brewer, same system,” says Casey. “If you [make and] drink that same beer in September, it is not the same. [Hops] are evolving. Some varieties might get better, some just get different. That moment is fleeting, so enjoy that experience.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Gambrinus Rye! Brewers seeking amplifying malt and distillers hunting down delicious base options welcome Gambrinus Rye Malt as their malt choice. This Rye Malt gives spicy, grainy, and bready notes with suggestions of vanilla and sweet dough. It strengthens mouthfeel, viscosity, and head retention combined with flaked oats or wheat for IPAs, and is a solid base for a wide range of distilled spirits. Learn more about Gambrinus Rye Malt at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739. Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Wilmington, North Carolina’s New Anthem Beer Project has become a force in the world of hazy IPA through their creative and meticulous approach to ingredient quality and process integrity. In this episode, Aaron Skiles breaks down their approach, from ingredient sourcing and evaluation, working with vendors to improve ingredient quality and pinpoint ideal hops lots, building a muscle memory in the team’s olfactory systems for consistency when rubbing hops, making the difficult decision to not make beloved brands when a season’s hop quality isn’t up to expectation, mixing different lots of the same hop to build depth and character, and more. The conversation turns to process, as Skiles discusses the challenges of Australian hops like Galaxy and Vic’s Secret, why they’ve moved away from cryo hops, using unusual hops for bittering, why higher IBUs make for better hazy IPAs, their move to later dry hopping at cooler temperatures in more frequent additions of smaller amounts, hops creep horror stories, and the haze stability that comes from pushing lower mash and boil pH levels. New Anthem is making some of the most captivating hazy IPAs in the world right now, and this episode is a glimpse into what makes them special. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

Drekker Brewing in Fargo, North Dakota, has grabbed the attention of enthusiasts across the country with funky, smoothie-thick, highly fruited beers such as their Chonk and Braaaaaaaains series. Here, Mark Bjornstad, the brewery's president and cofounder—not to mention, part-time nurse anesthetist—talks about building maximum character and body into those beers while maintaining balance via acidity, sweetness, mouthfeel, and strength. He also discusses careful selection of Lactobacillus strains for complexity, acidity, and souring time, to prepare the wort for large additions of fruit, hops, lactose, and other flavorings. Drekker's flagship Irish red, Broken Rudder, is popular locally, but is now contract-brewed so that they can focus on the weirder stuff in their own brewhouse. That's the evolution of their original plan to win the trust of local drinkers while gradually rolling out weirder beers. "If we could get people into these beers, and we could introduce them into what craft beer was and what style diversity was, then they might trust us—and then we might try some weird things. ... We could immediately challenge them on what beer could be." "When we were coming up with those things, we were scared—whether they were going to be too weird, whether anyone would follow us with this," Bjornstad says. "Now that I look back at it, those are some of the tamest things we do now, what we thought was crazy 10 years ago." This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Crisp Flaked Maize! Shake up your beer recipe with an easy-going adjunct from BSG. Crisp Torrefied Flaked Maize from BSG is a ready-to-mash, pre-gelatinized adjunct. Crisp Flaked Maize provides a subtle flavor and mouth feel without a significant color contribution. It has 80% extract, does not require milling, and is a non-GM certified ingredient. Learn more about Crisp Torrefied Flaked Maize at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact them at 1.800.374.2739. Brewmation (https://www.brewmation.com/): With nearly 20 years of innovation and experience, Brewmation specializes in electric, steam, and direct fire brew houses, complete cellar solutions, and automated controls for the craft brewing industry. From ½ barrel to 30 barrel systems, Brewmation puts you in control to design a brewery that fits your needs and brewing style. Whether you’re starting a new brewery, upgrading your cellar, or just need some parts to keep you up and running, Brewmation has you covered. Visit them at Brewmation.com to get started. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

The way Chris Harris caught the brewing bug will be familiar to many: It all started with a Mr. Beer kit. From there it evolved into a 20-gallon garage nanobrewery, and later the 2.5-barrel system he fires up twice a week for his neighborhood taproom, where he also pours the beers. At Black Frog, Harris is a one-man show, and at times he sounds like an embodiment of the craft ethos. He's not following the latest trends, but he brews what he likes to drink—especially the classic American styles—pale ale, brown ale, cream ale. “My beers tend to be a little maltier, and a little bit sweeter, than most beers. It’s done on purpose because that’s just my taste.” “When I’m brewing beer, I get into a zen thing,” Harris says. “It’s just me and the beer, and there’s nothing else going on. Before I know it, my brew day is over with, because I’m so in tune to making beer.” As a black brewer and entrepreneur, Harris also shares his thoughts on getting more people of color interested in craft beer. In his view, that starts with getting more of them into the brewhouses, via apprenticeships or other means. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by BrewersPublications.com, publishers of “Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era” by Fal Allen. Gose explores the history of this lightly sour wheat beer style, its traditional ingredients and special brewing techniques. Learn about salinity, spices, and lactic acid as you experiment with Gose recipes from some of the best-known craft brewers of our time.

While technically considered wine, mead has long had a stronger affinity with the world of beer and home brewing than it has with the wine world, and the growth of flavor-forward ingredient-laden meads has in many ways mirrored the rise of similarly-designed craft beers. Superstition Meadery, in Prescott, Arizona, has been one of the leaders in that new-school approach, stretching the definition of mead and widening the relevance of one of the world’s oldest fermented beverages. Inspired by innovation in the craft beer space, and in the culinary world, they’ve brought flavors and approaches to the mead world that excite and delight, from white chocolate-inspired fine bottled meads to milkshake meads in cans. In this episode, Jeff Herbert (who founded and owns the brewery with his wife Jennifer) walks through the steps that brought them to where they are today—early homebrewing, mead inspiration, technical evolution, and current innovation. He walks through their approach to quality, testing concepts, solving the mead making problem of time, healthy fermentations, honey flavor and mechanics, yeast management in the meadery, methods of adding fruit, improving extraction efficiency, fine tuning fruit expression for complexity, the impact of aging, and more. As brewers and craft beverage drinkers stretch out and explore adjacent fermentations, mead is increasingly finding its place in their repertoire. Herbert makes a great case for its relevance, driven by a creativity, enthusiasm, and ambition that you can hear in his voice. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Spike Brewing (https://spikebrewing.com/craft): Born out of a basement in Milwaukee a decade ago, Spike has grown to become a leading manufacturer of premium-quality brewing equipment. So, if you’re looking for a reliable system for home or a commercial-grade Nano for your brewery, this is the time to buy! Spike is offering CB&B listeners a special 10% off all three-vessel system purchases, while supplies last. Visit spikebrewing.com/craft and enter the code CBB at checkout. Spike Brewing—pursue what’s possible. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by BrewersPublications.com, publishers of “Gose: Brewing a Classic German Beer for the Modern Era” by Fal Allen. Gose explores the history of this lightly sour wheat beer style, its traditional ingredients and special brewing techniques. Learn about salinity, spices, and lactic acid as you experiment with Gose recipes from some of the best-known craft brewers of our time.

Making a great low-ABV, low-calorie beer is a lot more work than just scaling down a larger recipe, so when Bell’s Brewery decided to enter the very hot low-calorie category with a lighter riff on their popular Two Hearted Ale IPA, Brewing Innovation Manager Andy Farrell knew he had his work cut out for him. In this conversation, he leads with a general discussion of the hops selection and validation process—from building a common lexicon in the team around aroma and flavor notes, to selection process/scoring and testing then integrating new crop years into the production cycle. The conversation then turns to bitterness, where Farrell mentions that Bell’s has always dry hopped mainstay Two Hearted during active fermentation. When translating that signature Two Hearted character into the smaller format of Light Hearted, the team made clever choices, like adding a bit of Australian-grown Galaxy hops to the mix, and he explains the testing and design process behind that small but bold choice. In light IPAs, body is a big concern, and Farrell dives into the specific ways they fill in the otherwise hollow middle, only using traditional brewing ingredients—hops, water, yeast, and malt. While exploring this new territory is always a process of iteration, Farrell believes that the idea drives the product, rather than the process resulting in a product. “You want to build a beer with the destination in mind,” says Farrell, “and the recipe being the map. Not with the destination unknown.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabricating.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing” by Lars Marius Garshol. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, “Historical Brewing Techniques” describes Northern European farmhouse brewing and fermentation methods that are vastly different from modern craft brewing. Order your copy of Historical Brewing Techniques today at BrewersPublications.com.

Dickens’ opening paragraph for “A Tale of Two Cities” provides an appropriate metaphor for the past few years of Melvin Brewing’s existence—best and worst, wisdom and foolishness, belief and incredulity, light and darkness, despair and hope. The highs have been sky-high, with eight GABF medals (six gold), four World Beer Cup medals (two gold), and two first- and one second-place finish in the Alpha King challenge. But the lows have been equally low—a high profile incident in Bellingham, Washington that led to the closure of the expansion brewpub, and the closure of their second expansion brewpub in San Diego. Rather than throw in the towel, founder Jeremy Tofte paused the party and dove into problem solving mode, knowing that the way the company had been cast didn’t reflect the values he and the staff held. Today’s Melvin still loves to have fun, but is more self-conscious and aware, more disciplined, and lets their values power the party. The impact of Melvin on the IPA style has been significant—their early use of whirlpool hopping and high dry hopping levels were once considered absurd by fellow brewers, but are now de rigueur and a core element of today’s hazy and soft IPA. Here, Tofte recounts that innovation process that led them to exploring new techniques to achieve flavors outside of the mainstream. Along the way, he discusses the parameters they change and the ones they keep consistent, the impact of mash temp on recipe scaling, pushing the brewing team to embrace hazy beers, and designing beers for a national palate while still retaining the soul of Melvin. Today, Melvin is a better company for the challenges they’ve been through, and they continue to deliver innovative beer for excited drinkers. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabricating.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing” by Lars Marius Garshol. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, “Historical Brewing Techniques” describes Northern European farmhouse brewing and fermentation methods that are vastly different from modern craft brewing. Order your copy of Historical Brewing Techniques today at BrewersPublications.com.

It’s one thing to make great beer, it’s another thing to do it consistently, and it’s another thing entirely to maintain such a high standard for three decades. But take a look at Odell Brewing’s medal history at the Great American Beer Festival, and one thing is apparent—they started strong, and never let off the gas. From their first medal in 1991 (their second year of business) through their most recent in 2019 (20 medals total), they’ve built a reputation for making quality beer, and Chief Operating Officer Brendan McGivney has been there for much of that history. Today, McGivney oversees the brewing side of the business, and has earned a reputation for his hops savvy—a useful skill set for a brewery with a flagship IPA that remains its best-seller today, thirteen years after it won its first GABF gold medal in the IPA category. In this episode, McGivney steps up to the mic for the first time, sharing thoughts on hops choices, blending, iteration, shipping, selection, processing, and agriculture. “One of the reasons we’ve been so successful with some of our hoppy beers is that we’re not so stringent on [recipe],” says McGivney. “IPA started with three hops, and [now] IPA has nine hops in it. Every year we’re fading some in and out, based on the performance of that crop year. You want to maintain the flavor profile of the brand. And you can do that with lots of different hop varieties. If you’re a good brewer, you don’t need to rely on the two that you built your recipe on.” McGivney dives into Odell’s approach to building recipes that connect with the agricultural interests of hops growers, for relationships that benefit everyone. He discusses their finicky approach to getting the most out of hops, from cold shipping through fresh grinding (“Oxidation comes down to temperature and time, so if you can keep your temp down, you can extend your time. It’s that simple.”) The discussion turns to hops varietal interaction, and the way smaller amounts of certain hops highlight and balance the big characters of others. He also delves into hopping techniques, from the “cool pool” to hopback to hammer mill, and how those processes impact the flavor of finished beer. The conversation closes by touching on pandemic drinking and brewing trends—beer drinkers’ shrinking appetite for rampant experimentation, and the search for comfort in familiar, trusted brands. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabricating.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing” by Lars Marius Garshol. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, “Historical Brewing Techniques” describes Northern European farmhouse brewing and fermentation methods that are vastly different from modern craft brewing. Order your copy of Historical Brewing Techniques today at BrewersPublications.com.

Societe’s Doug Constantiner wants to make beer you can drink a lot of. Not excessively, of course, but consistently. “The holy grail of beer is not the beer that there’s a hundred bottles of, and every 25 bottles were aged in a different barrel,” he says. “The holy grail of beer is the beer that you can drink every single day. That you can buy on the shelf at the store. And you can have a couple of them every day and not get sick of it.” The terms “drinkable” and “balanced” get thrown around often in brewing parlance, but for Constantiner and the team, they’re core principles informing every style of beer they make—from IPA to wild ale to imperial stout. Societe has generally resisted the current trend of fruit and adjunct additions in everything, in favor of building a classic brewery brand respected for thorough execution and timelessness. Fellow brewers have noticed, and two GABF gold medals for their session IPA are validation for the quality in their approach. In this episode, Constantiner gets into the details of these aroma-forward West coast IPAs—pushing malt out of the way while timing additions for better balance of aroma and bitterness, strategically layering hops for complexity despite their “overspiced” nature, building body without malt flavors that get in the way of the hops, and considering unique flavor aspects to hops varieties that can set their beers apart. “For the hoppy stuff, what do we love about hoppy beers?” says Constantiner. “Well it’s the aroma. It’s not the bitterness, which is why we’ve never published our IBUs. The IBU race of the mid-oughts had nothing to do with hoppiness, it was just bitterness. So we just thought ‘let’s make these hoppy beers as hoppy as we can, and make them a delivery vehicle for that aroma, and get it into your face as quickly as possible, but it has to be balanced too.’” With their wild beers, Societe takes a similar approach to complexity and nuance, eschewing acidity for Brett-driven funk while carefully adjusting variables in their blending stock. “Creating acidity is easy. It’s ‘how do we create this incredibly complex layered beer?’ And I think that’s time, blending, and a lot of experimentation.” Constantiner discusses how they pitch cultures, growing each of their lactic acid bacteria and Brett strains separately then timing additions and amounts to achieve specific results. Cell counts, timing, and temperatures all have big effects on the finished beers, and Societe aims to control and understand the variables. At the end of the episode, Constantiner recounts the critical move they made earlier this year, moving from a model of taproom sales and distributed draught beer only to canning. “On Feb 2nd, 100% of our revenue came from on-premise sales,” says Constantiner. “That’s 8% from our tasting room, and 92% from wholesale. Feb 3rd, we started canning. By the time the shelter in place orders and restaurants were shut down in California, we were at about 84% on-premise.” A couple months later, the brewery’s production is at full speed, brewing at a higher volume than 2019, with new tanks on the way to support more production. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabric

The conversation about hazy, New England-style IPAs invariably includes Portland, Maine’s Bissell Brothers Brewery. From the early days of the nascent style, they embraced the possibility of expressive yeast, and helped cement the style’s place in the canon of modern craft beer. But unlike other contemporaries, they’ve shied away from the model of brewing a nonstop stream of new releases, and have taken a more traditional approach to brewing—constant, nonstop iteration and improvement of the selection of brands they brew. Cofounder Noah Bissell explains the strategy in a sensible way, with the perpetual dissatisfaction of a committed creator. Why create new beers, when you’re not entirely happy with the ones you make already? Dialing in beers is an ongoing, never-ending process, and the best way to improve those beers is to go all-in. "I don’t think you could ever even hope to reach that hypothetical nirvana zone for any given idea in beer form, if you don’t really, really commit to it," says Bissell. In this episode, Bissell discusses the brewery’s dogged focus on improvement: managing for shifting palates, focusing deeply on the bitterness component in soft and hazy beers, dialing in carbonation to heighten the experience, adjusting whirpool parameters, using new advanced hop aroma products, and more. Along the way, he also tackles subjects including cryo vs. traditional pellet, their methodical approach to hops blending, how they select hops for the platonic ideal, and favorite new hops like Sultana. Bissell built their hazy house IPA, Substance, from a blend that doesn’t include Citra—a bold choice in today’s beer world. But for the brewery, it was both a response to the reality of the hops world when they started, and a solid focus on outlasting short-term beer trends, where “sweet” as a descriptor offers less longevity. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabricating.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Historical Brewing Techniques: The Lost Art of Farmhouse Brewing” by Lars Marius Garshol. Equal parts history, cultural anthropology, social science, and travelogue, “Historical Brewing Techniques” describes Northern European farmhouse brewing and fermentation methods that are vastly different from modern craft brewing. Order your copy of Historical Brewing Techniques today at BrewersPublications.com.

This isn’t the first time in his 26 years in the craft beer industry that Eric Wallace, Cofounder and President of Left Hand Brewing Co. and former Chairman of the Brewers Association Board of Directors, has had to deal with adverse business conditions. The late 90’s and early 00’s were a period of net contraction for craft beer, as tepid consumer reaction failed to deliver the growth that many over-leveraged breweries expected. Today, the pandemic poses a different sort of challenge—a widely felt social, health, and economic event that was as unexpected as it has been severe—but lessons learned from craft beer’s early period are still apropos. In this special industry-focused episode, Wallace weaves through the granular operations issues facing the brewery, from the challenge and necessity in furloughing employees (“furlough is not a moral issue—it’s surviving; It’s a requirement; If you’re going to survive, you have to cut your expenses to match whatever you’re lucky enough to have coming in”) to the utter collapse in sales (“In March, [draft beer] sales dropped to $1700, from six figures [last year]. We’re a stout brewery, and we ended up getting shut down on the… day before St. Patrick’s Day”). Wallace discusses the government tools they’ve been able to secure, such as a loan through the PPP program, and the challenge in any kind of long-term planning. IRI data may suggest that craft beer sales are up in the grocery channel, but that’s a small consolation at best for breweries like Left Hand. “I’ve read the IRI data, and I’m like ‘Really? That’s what’s happening? Because it doesn’t feel like it,’” says Wallace. The conversation also turns toward a macro view, with Wallace discussing the shared responsibility of all craft brewers, and all in the hospitality world, to ensure the safety of customers and staff. “To take the short-term view, right now with all the largesse that the government is raining on our heads, just because philosophically you disagree and your freedom is being imposed upon… that’s bullshit,” says Wallace. “I want to open as bad as anybody, but I also feel an obligation to be a responsible citizen, business owner, member of society.” What will the future look like? Wallace and Left Hand are planning on two years of severely limited business, as the world grapples with the disease while working to find a vaccine. But that won’t be the end of it. Expect 3-5 years after that to “dig out,” pay off debt incurred in the survival process, and get back on any sort of sound economic footing. There is no quick bounce-back from this pandemic and the ripple effect it is having throughout the economy. This episode is a sobering and honest look at the reality facing the world’s craft brewers. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Ska Fabricating (https://skafabricating.com): Ska Fabricating is excited to introduce the newest player in their all-star lineup of canning line automation: The Magic Bus, a fully automatic can depalletizer with pallet management. No more pouring time and labor into the manual handling of pallets, top frames and tier sheets on your canning line - packaging teams can simply load cans, deband, and press start. To learn more, contact Ska Fab today at (970) 403-8562 or reach out online at skafabricating.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur a

Hazy IPA is all the rage, but what’s actually going on when brewers pile many pounds per gallon of dry hops into a tank still in active fermentation? It’s one thing with a homebrew-scale fermenter to take a flyer and do it, and it’s riskier to do it in a typical craft brewery’s 15-, 30-, or even 60-bbl fermenter. But what happens when you fill a 2000 hectoliter (1700 bbl) fermenter with hazy wort and an enormous pitch of London Ale 3, then dry hop with pellets that measure as much as a ton? New Belgium Brewing reduces the guesswork and risk by taking a highly analytical approach, looking at how compounds in hops undergo transformation through the fermentation and dry hopping process. In this episode, Brewing Innovation Specialist Ross Koenigs dives deep into what the brewery has learned by extensive quantitative testing throughout the hopping and biotransformation process. Additionally, he discusses everything from their innovation process, to the challenging of scaling for production, the impacts of lesser-known hops compounds (such as polyfunctional thiols) on hops flavor and aroma, how biotransformation impacts specific hops like Citra, Mosaic, and Chinook, how California ale yeast makes for the perfect biotransforming yeast, and much, much more. Koenigs is currently at work on a book on using Cannabis in brewing (that’s “Big ‘C’ Cannabis” including industrial hemp, not just the psychoactive kind), and teases some of what New Belgium learned through the development process for their groundbreaking beer The Hemperor. The episode then closes with a discussion of New Belgium’s new Sour IPA and the process behind designing a juicy and hazy IPA that is then blended with a component of golden sour from New Belgium’s famed foeder forest. Timing and acidity levels are crucial in achieving ideal hops expression in these beers. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.

You’d have to be confident, or crazy, to open a brewery focusing on New England IPA right smack dab in the turbid heartland of the style, but that’s what Dino Funari, and his partners Peter Kiley, Joshua Sherman, and Richard DiBona, did in early 2019. The brewery got its start, as many do, in the partners’ homebrewing, and they built a reputation over years of give and take, where friends (and friends of friends, and then their friends, too) would swing by Funari’s house and drop off a four pack of beer in exchange for a four pack of homebrew. Eventually, the demand grew to the point where they had to go commercial to keep up, and Vitamin Sea was born. Now, not quite a year and a half in, fans line up for can releases and their crowdsourced ratings put them in the top 50 breweries in the country—big accolades for a crew with modest goals. In this episode, Funari talks about the challenges of operating a brewery through the COVID-19 shutdown and the implications for guest and staff safety, sculpting a unique approach to brewing New England-style IPAs, using classic C-hops in progressive IPAs, their aggressive pilot brewing schedule on a fully customized homebrew-scale system, approaches to pastry stouts, and more. Even though they’re brewing on a much larger production-scale brewhouse now, Vitamin Sea still approaches innovation like homebrewers, constantly looking for the tweak that will make the next batch better. “Every one of our beers is a work in progress,” says Funari. “We’ll release a beer, and people will love it, and we’ll say ‘This is OK, this is good, but what could we do better next time?’” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.

Taste. It’s a hard subject to quantify but there’s nothing more important in the world of beer. We spend hour after hour talking about the minute details of brewing process and technique, but how much time and energy do we spend focusing on developing the most important analytical tool we have—our own palates? In this episode, sensory expert Lindsay Barr, the former head of the New Belgium Brewing sensory program and cofounder of Draughtlab sensory software, walks through the nuances of tasting beer and the fundamentals of palate development. The conversation ranges from basics like building a ritual around tasting for evaluation and breaking down beer modalities to more advanced elements like tying emotional experience to language, moving past binary definitions, breaking through flavor assumptions, and more. Tasting and evaluating beer is far more than just identifying off flavors, yet so many beer tasters train and focus on these negative elements without considering the need to spend equivalent (or greater) energy on the “on” flavors of beer that help a brewer understand if they’re really achieving the goal of their brew. The conversation then turns to the challenges in tasting—variances in anosmias and sensitivities, and the changes that tasters experience over time. Palates are not static, and are constantly changing and shifting as a result of everything from life events to exercise to contextual inputs. Consumers change too, and every brewery can benefit from paying attention to that shift in the palates of the people who buy their beer. “It is important to revisit brand flavor profiles as they change and evolve according to consumer preference, and I do think that brands really should evolve,” says Barr. “I’m not a believer that brands should just maintain as they are out of some kind of philosophical reason. I do think they need to be updated, and incremental changes should be made based on the palate of your consumers, because it is changing and developing.” Every brewer does sensory on their own beer, every time they taste it. Admitting that we’re doing it is the first step toward developing a more thorough analytical process around it. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.

In the midst of the last Great Recession, Potts felt the itch to turn his brewing hobby into a profession. While preparing and studying at the Siebel Institute, he fell in love with sour beer. He set out to brew it at his own brewery in an unlikely place for sour beer—smack dab in the middle of the agricultural heartland of Illinois. After seeing the demand at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, Destihl committed to expanding its sour beer production. That has led them on a trajectory they’ve followed to the current day, where 50 percent of the beer they brew is of the sour variety. Quick-sour beers are a large part of that volume, but unlike typical kettle sours, Destihl doesn’t just push a fast Lactobacillus fermentation. Instead, they use their own mixed culture built from a spontaneous capture in the brewery—an approach that gives them flavors they can call their own. Developing a process to scale their quick-sour program was not easy, and Potts walks us through the successes and setbacks along the way. That process of innovation is one that they’ve applied with similar force to evolving styles like hazy IPA, and Potts also talks about how they developed their own take on the style—one that’s shelf-stable and capable of tasting great in their far-flung retail markets. They’ve done it without sacrificing elements they find crucial to the style, such as dry hopping during active fermentation to achieve bio-transformative effects. Location is no impediment to brewing great sour beer, as long as you seek out your own process and your own creative voice. Destihl is proof of that. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.