Episode 350: Kelly McKnight of New Belgium Highlights the R&D Behind Some of Craft’s Biggest Beers

Mar 15, 2024

Kelly McKnight of New Belgium discusses R&D in craft beer, from reinventing Fat Tire to using offbeat fruits. She explores bench testing, chemical analysis of hops, and process engineering. The episode dives into flavor experimentation, exacting dry-hop automation, and natural flavors in IPA.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Exploring Beer R&D, Partnerships, and Brewing Career Beginnings

01:46 • 2min

Brewing Dreams: From Homebrewing to Head Brewer

04:00 • 16min

Exploring the Research and Development Process in Beer Making

19:44 • 3min

Crafting Beer Recipes through Research and Development

22:17 • 11min

Exploring Hop Selections and Innovative Flavor Combinations in Craft Beer Creation Process

33:31 • 4min

The Art and Science of Crafting Flavors

37:54 • 12min

Crafting Beer to Queer: A Tropical Inspiration

50:02 • 15min

Exploring Craft Beer Sponsorships and Events

01:04:53 • 3min

Kelly McKnight could have done a lot of other things—she was a sponsored pro skateboarder and snowboarder in her younger years, and she studied pre-med at Harvard—but she found such solace and relief in brewing that she changed paths to brew professionally. Now, she’s lead R&D brewer in one of the beer world’s most successful innovation programs, using all of tools at the their disposal to understand flavor and expression in beer.

In this episode, the New Belgium brewer touches on:

bench testing new ingredients
the process behind reinventing Fat Tire
chemical analysis of hops and hop blends
using natural flavors in IPA
process engineering to move ideas to large-scale production
exacting dry-hop automation
offbeat fruits that work well in beer

And more.

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