Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Three panel guests, Jake Gardner, Marni Wahlquist, and Sean Buchan, discuss the evolution of IPA, from hazy to clear. They cover topics such as selecting hop lots, maximizing hop saturation, designing malt support, and avoiding sweetness in hazy IPA. They also touch on bittering hops for smoothness and maximizing hop quality. The podcast explores the impact of hazy IPA on West Coast IPA and the reversion to drinkability in hop-forward styles.

Kyle Vetter, founder of 1840 Brewing, talks about his gold-winning kriek-inspired beer, including using oak as an ingredient, alternative brewing grains, selecting barrel stock, and Brettanomyces strains. Joel Stickrod and Spencer Longhurst from Barrique discuss their gold-winning Wet Hop Strata, including open-top fermentation, blending libraries, unmalted Tennessee wheat, aged Cascade hops, and building unique beer blends.

Vasili Gletsos, a brewer with a decade-and-a-half of experience, talks about his focus on making mixed culture beers that tell stories. He discusses differentiating Wunderkammer from Hill Farmstead's program, choosing Brettanomyces strains, brewing on a wood-fired brewhouse, blending stainless fermentation and wood puncheon aging, using foraged ingredients, and more.

Explore Nat West's beer-centric approach to cider making and his use of beer yeast and hazy IPA yeast to create unique flavors. Dive into the process of crafting cider that aligns with Portland's beer culture and regional influence. Discover the complexity of cider making, the importance of yeast selection, and flavor experimentation. Learn about the creation of diverse and innovative ciders for different seasons and drinking occasions. Nat also shares his experience blending tepache with local beers and expresses excitement for future collaborations.

Chris Baum, Owner of Varietal Beer, discusses designing hoppy beers that aren't confrontational, brewing IPA with 100% craft malt, manipulating pH to soften bitterness, balancing cryo hops with "American Noble" low-alpha hops, and brewing with fresh kilned hops and pelletized T-90's in this episode. They also talk about the challenges of brewing with fresh hops, their brewing process, and upcoming travel plans.

Sam Zermeño, brewer behind Brujos, talks about brewing hazy IPAs and shares his process, including building inefficient grain bills, using a thick mash, and managing giant hop loads. He also discusses the growth of his brew host brand, the importance of unique flavors and branding, and strategies to achieve saturation in the brewing industry. Additionally, he emphasizes the significance of malt in IPAs and the selection and brewing with hops. Exciting insights for beer enthusiasts!

Upslope's Alex Meyer discusses unconventional ingredients and processes in craft lager brewing, including brewing with two row malt and white wheat, lager fermentation under pressure, managing sulfur production, cropping and repitching yeast, using exogenous enzymes for rice lager fermentation, American lager hop varieties, feeding high gravity fermentations, and managing oxidation in extended barrel aging.

Dave Chichura, Ex Novo's Director of Brewing Operations, reflects on his dynamic brewing career. Topics include challenges of brewing in rural environments, scaling award-winning beers, recipe writing, hop selection for West Coast IPA, hop creep management, and becoming a better manager.

Averie Swanson, longtime saison brewer and founder of Keeping Together, discusses exploring flavor in saison with unconventional grain bases, downplaying Brettanomyces in mixed culture fermentation, and using acidity as an element of structure. They also touch on the influence of Tank Seven, the importance of local ingredients, creative brewing within constraints, and unique flavor experiences like using spent fornet botanicals that tasted like granola.

Mark Hastings, experienced brewer in Montana, discusses his journey of experimenting with craft malt in his award-winning American wheat beer and black IPA. He shares his insights on avoiding darker malt flavors, shifting base malts, building hop combos, and selecting malt for grassiness in wheat beer.