The Importance of Beer in Winemaking

As part of the recent Craft Beer & Brewing Brewer’s Retreat, hosted by Russian River in late May 2023, Jamie moderated panel discussions before a live audience of attendees and featured brewers. This episode is a recording of one such panel on wine-beer hybrids, featuring two of the leading brewers in that space—Cory King of Side Project and Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River—alongside inspiring winemaker and brewer (and Napa Valley proponent) Nick Gislason of Hanabi Lager.

Over the course of the discussion, the brewers cover:

• understanding grapes and tannins
• pick timing’s impact on grapes
• structuring acids and balancing tannins with acidity
• grape pressing methodology and skin contact time
• selecting grapes and beers that complement each other in the blend
• using Brettanomyces strains to boost flavor characteristics
• building harmony in complex beers
• finishing and carbonation in wine-beer hybrids

And more.

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