Exploring the Evolution of Craft Lagers and Kölsch Styles

Don’t tell Jean-Phillippe Lalonde of Silo that craft lager is a “new” trend—he’s been brewing small batches for Montreal drinkers for nearly 15 years.

Opened two weeks before COVID shutdowns in 2020, Silo is the second manifestation of Lalonde’s brewing vision. Designed with packaging in mind, Silo also includes some thoughtful choices (such as a direct-fire kettle) that are budget-friendly while supporting the kinds of lagers he loves to make and drink—expressive ones with fullness and flavor.

With lagers inspired by Franconia and Plzeň, altbier and Kölsch inspired by Köln and Düsseldorf, and a mindest that doesn’t fear regional tweaks such as North American hops and grain, Lalonde views innovation within the broad confines of tradition. For him, late hopping a Czech-style pale lager is okay... but dry hopping is a bridge too far.

In this episode, Lalonde discusses:

• the dream of building a brewery with just one beer
• building fullness with protein, hot mashes, long boils, and a little bit of help from specialty malt
• incorporating North American hops such as Crystal into traditional lager
• using a pseudo-decoction technique to build additional body
• balancing sweetness and bitterness in fulsome lagers
• using low-alpha hops across multiple points in the boil, from 75 minutes to zero
• managing sulfur production

And more.

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