347: Preston Theony of Wren House Embraces Change as a Constant and Flavor Over Style
Mar 1, 2024
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Brewmaster Preston Theony of Wren House discusses flavor-focused brewing, from dark porter to hazy IPA experimentation. Topics include lager fermentation, grain bill layering, pH manipulation, hop varieties like Galaxy, and dry hopping techniques for drinkability.
Innovative approach to brewing Black Caddis porter focuses on flavor first, leading to constant recipe experimentation.
Hazy IPA recipe evolution includes balancing whirlpool and dry hops for improved drinkability and character.
Exploration of unique hop varieties like New Zealand hops enhances core beer profiles while allowing for experimentation.
Deep dives
Renn House Brewing - The Journey From Homebrewing to Craft Brewery Establishment
Preston Taney, from Renn House Brewing, shares his journey from homebrewing in college to becoming a key figure at the craft brewery. Starting at Big Sky Brewing in Missoula, the learning process in production and quality control set the foundation. Meeting with friends who later founded Renn House led to his role in shaping the brewery's vision and direction.
Crafting Black Caduce Porter: A Sessionable Dark Beer with a Unique Grain Bill
Black Caduce Porter, Renn House's flagship, undergoes a meticulous brewing process focusing on its unique grain bill. Featuring chocolate rye as a key ingredient, the porter's sessionable nature and roasty character are achieved through a careful fermentation process with lager yeast. Monitoring pH levels and adjusting malt ingredients contribute to maintaining the beer's distinct flavor profile over multiple batches.
Exploring Hazy IPAs and the Importance of Single Ingredient Expression
Renn House's passion for brewing hazy IPAs stems from the unique expressions attainable through hop varieties. Emphasizing the role of hops in defining beer styles, hazy IPAs provide a canvas for showcasing different hop profiles. The brewery's approach involves creating multiple beers with consistent bases to explore the diverse flavors achievable through hop experimentation, highlighting the versatility of American and international hop varieties.
Brewing Innovation and Creativity with Diverse Hop Varieties
Experimenting with new hop varieties like New Zealand hops in established brands like the Spell Binder beer is an exciting way to maintain core beer characteristics while adding a fresh twist. By incorporating hops from different regions like Eggers Farms in New Zealand, brewers can achieve unique flavors and textures in their beers, leading to new discoveries and opportunities for experimentation.
Strategic Approach to Brewery Competitions and Beer Quality
Renhouse Brewery's meticulous approach to entering beer competitions like the World Beer Cup and JBF reflects their commitment to excellence. Despite the competitiveness, the brewery values the feedback and professional evaluation provided by judges, helping them adjust and improve their beer recipes. The focus on quality control, recipe adjustments, and internal evaluations drives continuous improvement and innovation within their diverse beer portfolio.
Black Caddis began as one of Preston Theony’s homebrew recipes, but rather than create a take on an existing style, he started with the flavor he wanted to achieve and built a recipe to realize that. Now, after brewing the beer commercially at Wren House for the better part of the past decade, he’s still not done experimenting with changes to not just the recipe, but the core of fermentation itself. More recently, the beer has moved from ale fermentation with a Kölsch strain to lager fermentation with a 34-70 strain, in order to amplify the “clean, cutting characteristic” that Theony sought. It’s dark beer in the 4% ABV range sold in one of the hottest of the United States, and drinkability is paramount.
Similarly, Theony has never stopped tinkering with their hazy IPA recipe, despite core beer Spellbinder’s gold medal in the juicy or hazy IPA category at the 2020 GABF. Note that anything he mentions doing or using in this podcast is subject to change, and this is only a snapshot of where they are at this brewing moment. But with that said, through the conversation, he touches on:
switching to lager fermentation with a shorter lagering time to give Black Caddis porter more edge
layering Carafa, C120, Carafoam, and Chocolate Rye malt for broad flavor in a small beer
hyperfocusing on pH throughout the brewing process
reducing whirlpool hops and boosting dry hops to improve drinkability
using Galaxy as a bridge between Citra and Mosaic
dry hopping early and capping the tank
their approach to awards season as a time to reflect and improve beers
evaluating competition feedback
And more.
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