363: Jeremy Pryes of Idyll Forest and Pryes Brewing Explores the Wide Range of Flavors in Everything from Midwest IPA to Spontaneous Beers
Jun 7, 2024
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Jeremy Pryes, Co-founder of Pryes Brewing and creator of Idyll Forest Artisan Ales, shares his journey from Midwest IPA to wild, mixed-culture beers. Topics include brewing challenges, changing palates, evolution of IPAs, and creating unique beer flavors through blending and experimentation.
Jeremy Pryes focuses on creating a distinct range of flavors from Midwest IPAs to spontaneous beers at Idyll Forest.
Prize Brewing's unique approach involves meticulous fermentation methods and blending to craft the renowned Midwest IPA, Miraculum.
Experimentation with fruit fermentations, unique blending techniques, and a focus on distinct flavors shape the diverse beer offerings at Idyll Forest.
Deep dives
Jeremy Prize's Brewing Venture in Minneapolis
In Minneapolis, Jeremy Prize, the brewer behind Prize Brewing and Idle Forest, highlights his brewing venture. Prize Brewing's unique approach includes a separate offsite location, resembling a mad scientist lab, dedicated to making spontaneous wild and cultured beers. The setting, reminiscent of Brussels, contrasts a clean brewery process, emphasizing distinctive fruit-infused, acidity-focused, and culture-rich beers with meticulous fermentation methods and a significant focus on blending, setting the foundation for the Midwest IPA, like Miraculum.
Jeremy Prize's Journey into Craft Brewing
Jeremy Prize's background in craft brewing traces back to a combination of experiences from cooking in restaurants to working in technology. His interest in crafting flavors led him to delve into brewing, starting with an incubator-like setup and evolving into Prize Brewing's successful establishment through the meticulous development of distinct beer offerings, including the renowned Midwest IPA, inspired by a strategic blend of hops and malt components.
Creating Varied Beer Expressions at Idle Forest
Idle Forest features a diverse range of beers, encompassing spontaneous, mixed culture, and fruit-forward brews. With a library of around 40 different cultures, Prize navigates the complex interplay of wild cultures to foster specific flavors. The brews infuse innovative approaches like blending sauv blanc with spontaneous beer or incorporating unique fruit fermentations, showcasing a harmonious blend of traditional methods and creative experimentation.
Innovation and Technique in Craft Beer Production
At Idle Forest, around half of the beer is spontaneously fermented, reflecting a creative yet challenging brewing process influenced by Belgian traditions. Prize employs a meticulous technique with aged hops to regulate acidity levels, striking a delicate balance between flavor variation and customization. Through innovative combinations, like using homegrown hops and exploring diverse fermentation styles, Prize forges a unique path in crafting distinct and dynamic beer offerings.
Blending and Flavor Development
Blending plays a crucial role in creating unique flavors in brewing. The speaker discusses the process of combining different elements like fruits, spices, and funky beer to craft the desired end product. The inspiration for blends often comes from various sources, such as personal experiences, like cooking for family, or the characteristics of the barrels themselves. By experimenting with different ingredients and flavors, the speaker aims to layer complexity and depth into the beers, constantly striving for creative and innovative blends.
Innovation and Future Goals
The speaker highlights the importance of experimentation and innovation in brewing to drive the craft industry forward. While focusing on the unique offerings of Idle Forest, a project within the larger brewery entity, the goal is to diversify flavors and experiences for consumers. Emphasizing the value of crafting distinct beverages that evoke an emotional connection, the speaker seeks to create a welcoming environment for patrons. Looking ahead, the overarching aim for Prize Brewing lies in maintaining brand recognition, offering quality products, and providing a space where people feel comfortable and engaged.
At last year’s Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers in Chicago, a relative newcomer grabbed both the silver and bronze medals in the Wild Beer Mixed Culture with Fruit category, immediately sending the crowd to flood the pouring table with requests for tastes. The brewery brand—Idyll Forest Artisan Ales—is the wild, mixed-culture passion project of Pryes Brewing cofounder Jeremy Pryes. The small production facility he’s built about 20 minutes from the main brewery is his culture and flavor laboratory.
Despite founding the brewery over a decade ago, Pryes still spends time on the production brew deck and then makes time for his acid-forward labors of love, but the long days are worth it for Pryes. There are too many ideas to try, too many experiments to work out, and too much to learn to slow down now.
In this episode, Pryes discusses both their classic approach to “Midwest IPA” as well as the wild path he’s forging with Idyll Forest. Along the way, he touches on:
their slow and intentional growth from alternating proprietorship to large beer hall
the fundamental tenets of classic Midwest IPA
challenges in selecting Simcoe with a more classic flavor profile
how drinkers’ palates have evolved over the past decade
changing yeast strains, making drier beers with no caramel malt, and finding balance through lower bitterness
differentiating West Coast–style IPAs from Midwest IPAs through hop choices
building common lanes for Idyll Forest’s wild, spontaneous, and mixed-culture beers
the narrow IBU window between bacterial party time and lockdown
pre-acidifying or not, depending on flavor intentions
decisions and process around fruit additions
using carbonic maceration of grapes to improve flavor expression
articulating beer-blending goals through writing
avoiding vanilla in certain fruited mixed-culture beers
And more. Note: After we recorded this episode, Pryes went on to win a World Beer Cup bronze for Soirée, which had also won bronze at FOBAB.
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