EP-353 Natalie Rose Baldwin and Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery

You don’t have to be an in-the-weeds beer enthusiast to figure out there can be a whole lot of ways to make a beer. Just look at any taplist. There are different ingredients, fermentation options, ABVs, and plenty more spaces in which a brewer can play. When seeking any kind of flavor experience—guided by tradition or new ideas—there can be an endless array of choices to make.

In this conversation, we meet with two of the beer world’s smartest minds to learn more about the research and development of beer at one of the country’s leading craft breweries. At Oregon’s Breakside Brewery, collaboration and innovation come together for Ben Edmunds, the company’s brewmaster, and Natalie Rose Baldwin, Breakside’s R&D brewer. Inspired by food, other beverages, and nature, the pair will share with us how they translate ideas from out in the world into a glass of beer and why it’s important to think about ingredients instead of just flavor.

When it comes to creating a new beer, what does innovation mean today? And where do successful brewers look to consider what’s next? In a world full of Pastry Stouts and New England IPAs that can all feel sort of familiar, it’s brewers like these that get to run with fun, weird, and unique combinations of ingredients that can offer new experiences and ideas of how and when we can enjoy a beer.