You’d have to be confident, or crazy, to open a brewery focusing on New England IPA right smack dab in the turbid heartland of the style, but that’s what Dino Funari, and his partners Peter Kiley, Joshua Sherman, and Richard DiBona, did in early 2019. The brewery got its start, as many do, in the partners’ homebrewing, and they built a reputation over years of give and take, where friends (and friends of friends, and then their friends, too) would swing by Funari’s house and drop off a four pack of beer in exchange for a four pack of homebrew. Eventually, the demand grew to the point where they had to go commercial to keep up, and Vitamin Sea was born. Now, not quite a year and a half in, fans line up for can releases and their crowdsourced ratings put them in the top 50 breweries in the country—big accolades for a crew with modest goals. In this episode, Funari talks about the challenges of operating a brewery through the COVID-19 shutdown and the implications for guest and staff safety, sculpting a unique approach to brewing New England-style IPAs, using classic C-hops in progressive IPAs, their aggressive pilot brewing schedule on a fully customized homebrew-scale system, approaches to pastry stouts, and more. Even though they’re brewing on a much larger production-scale brewhouse now, Vitamin Sea still approaches innovation like homebrewers, constantly looking for the tweak that will make the next batch better. “Every one of our beers is a work in progress,” says Funari. “We’ll release a beer, and people will love it, and we’ll say ‘This is OK, this is good, but what could we do better next time?’” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Taste. It’s a hard subject to quantify but there’s nothing more important in the world of beer. We spend hour after hour talking about the minute details of brewing process and technique, but how much time and energy do we spend focusing on developing the most important analytical tool we have—our own palates? In this episode, sensory expert Lindsay Barr, the former head of the New Belgium Brewing sensory program and cofounder of Draughtlab sensory software, walks through the nuances of tasting beer and the fundamentals of palate development. The conversation ranges from basics like building a ritual around tasting for evaluation and breaking down beer modalities to more advanced elements like tying emotional experience to language, moving past binary definitions, breaking through flavor assumptions, and more. Tasting and evaluating beer is far more than just identifying off flavors, yet so many beer tasters train and focus on these negative elements without considering the need to spend equivalent (or greater) energy on the “on” flavors of beer that help a brewer understand if they’re really achieving the goal of their brew. The conversation then turns to the challenges in tasting—variances in anosmias and sensitivities, and the changes that tasters experience over time. Palates are not static, and are constantly changing and shifting as a result of everything from life events to exercise to contextual inputs. Consumers change too, and every brewery can benefit from paying attention to that shift in the palates of the people who buy their beer. “It is important to revisit brand flavor profiles as they change and evolve according to consumer preference, and I do think that brands really should evolve,” says Barr. “I’m not a believer that brands should just maintain as they are out of some kind of philosophical reason. I do think they need to be updated, and incremental changes should be made based on the palate of your consumers, because it is changing and developing.” Every brewer does sensory on their own beer, every time they taste it. Admitting that we’re doing it is the first step toward developing a more thorough analytical process around it. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

In the midst of the last Great Recession, Potts felt the itch to turn his brewing hobby into a profession. While preparing and studying at the Siebel Institute, he fell in love with sour beer. He set out to brew it at his own brewery in an unlikely place for sour beer—smack dab in the middle of the agricultural heartland of Illinois. After seeing the demand at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011, Destihl committed to expanding its sour beer production. That has led them on a trajectory they’ve followed to the current day, where 50 percent of the beer they brew is of the sour variety. Quick-sour beers are a large part of that volume, but unlike typical kettle sours, Destihl doesn’t just push a fast Lactobacillus fermentation. Instead, they use their own mixed culture built from a spontaneous capture in the brewery—an approach that gives them flavors they can call their own. Developing a process to scale their quick-sour program was not easy, and Potts walks us through the successes and setbacks along the way. That process of innovation is one that they’ve applied with similar force to evolving styles like hazy IPA, and Potts also talks about how they developed their own take on the style—one that’s shelf-stable and capable of tasting great in their far-flung retail markets. They’ve done it without sacrificing elements they find crucial to the style, such as dry hopping during active fermentation to achieve bio-transformative effects. Location is no impediment to brewing great sour beer, as long as you seek out your own process and your own creative voice. Destihl is proof of that. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

In this conversation with Hardywood Park Craft Brewery's Kate Lee, vice president of operations and quality, and Brian Nelson, vice president and head brewer, they dive into a variety of brewing challenges. Their flagship Gingerbread Stout starts the conversation, as they work through their process of establishing and maintaining a brand standard for something that is difficult to quantify, then talk about compensating for year-to-year changes in key ingredients, such as the fresh ginger they source from a local farm. Scaling the recipe up for their new brewhouse was a particular challenge, and they recount, they learned the hard way. Sometimes, however, mistakes turn into hunches which pay dividends later on, as with a batch of base stout in the new brewery that started at 40°P (1.179)—much higher than they expected the first time around, but which has since become a go-to blending beer for their barrel-aged releases. One beer they’re particularly known for is their Raspberry Stout, and here they talk about the challenges of adding whole fruit to the beer—from pasteurizing the fruit before conditioning using a small jacketed fermenter, to de-seeding the fruit for best results. Lager is big for Hardywood Park, and they discuss both Hardywood Pils and Richmond Lager—beers that easily outsell the small-batch hazy IPAs which with they also experiment. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Hopsteiner (https://www.hopsteiner.com): This episode is brought to you by Hopsteiner–your premium hop supplier dedicated to delivering quality hops and hop products in every package. Visit Hopsteiner.com for a complete list of offerings or select “shop hops” to start ordering today. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com. Brewers Publications (https://www.brewerspublications.com): This episode is brought to you by Brewers Publications, publishers of “Small Brewery Finance” by Maria Pearman, “How to Brew” by John Palmer, and the forthcoming “Historical Brewing Techniques” by Lars Marius Garshol. Established in 1986, Brewers Publications has published more than 50 books of enduring value for amateur and professional brewers alike. Visit BrewersPublications.com today to browse the complete catalog of books and ebooks.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

The Veil Brewing Company’s Matt Tarpey has never been afraid of risk. From early career moves that took him around New England to brew with some of the country’s more influential brewers, to a stint interning at Cantillon on a trip that was ostensibly also his honeymoon, he has constantly sought out new opportunities to learn, no matter how challenging that might be. In 2015, the itinerant brewer settled down back in his home state of Virginia to launch The Veil Brewing Co., and brought that same spirit of constant learning with him. Today, The Veil isn’t afraid to get weird, while also paying deep respect to tradition—a dramatic tension that isn’t lost on Tarpey. They will use, and have used, just about any ingredient you can think of, in a beer—both to create exciting experiences for their customers who expect it, and to push themselves as brewers. In this episode, Tarpey discusses that brewing history and the experience of working with everyone from Tod Mott to Jean Van Roy and Shaun Hill, brewing with non-traditional ingredients like Oreos, Nutella, and activated charcoal, how they learn and experiment and dial in processes around strange ingredients, spontaneous fermentation in an urban setting, the impact on ingredients in wild beers, building a house flavor through blending a single stock of aged hops, letting palates drive the blending ship, using fruit in sour beer, and more. “Life’s too short to just be serious. We’re focused on everything we do—even the Oreo beers—we’re super focused and constantly tasting and trying to incorporate the character with different ratios. We’re focused on everything that we do, but… it’s balancing the serious and the fun. We love the delicate beers, but we also love the wild and crazy beers.” Note: Even at an hour and a half run time, this episode is an abridged version of the entire conversation. Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine® subscribers have access to a bonus portion of the conversation where Tarpey discusses the mental anguish of customer feedback, building an approach to lager brewing that isn’t tied to traditional styles, The Veil’s multifaceted approach to brewing IPAs, and more. Subscribe now for access at beerandbrewing.com.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Fermentis (https://Fermentis.com): Fermentis is the obvious choice for beverage fermentation. They’ve provided the beer industry, from large and small breweries to homebrewers, with the best fermentation yeasts since 2003. Their yeasts are easy to use— just pitch your Fermentis yeast directly into your wort, no rehydration necessary. To learn more about how Fermentis can improve the quality of your fermentation, and for the latest on their exciting new product releases, visit Fermentis.com.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

If you visit the Deschutes Brewery taproom in Bend today, you can’t miss the innovation brewhouse. It’s right there in the front window to your left as you walk in, tucked beneath the towering fermentors that produce the brewery’s best-known brands. The system itself is remarkable—a seven-vessel automated system with two kettles and two whirlpools, so the brewers can split the wort stream after the mash. That is supported by a cellar of 13 nano-scale fermentation vessels and seven tiny brite tanks, all built with geometries that mimic the production brewhouse’s full scale vessels. Managing it all is Matthias, our guest on the podcast this week. In this episode, Matthias discusses the range of approaches to innovation employed by Deschutes, as well as some of the important lessons they’ve learned over the past year and a half of brewing intensively on the pilot system. The conversations includes: brewing low-calorie but flavorful IPAs dry hopping during versus after active fermentation the impact of pH on hops expression head-to-head hops tests the development process for beers such as King Crispy pilsner Deschutes’ cocktail-inspired approach to hard seltzer and its development process using alternative acids (besides lactic) in tart and sour beer the right applications for fruit juice, puree, and whole fruit And much more. “To commit to an expense as large as the pilot brewery definitely sends a message that we’re not just going to rest on our laurels,” Matthias says. “We know we need to continue to do things differently. We are continuing to deliver new products, and coming out with them faster and faster every year. [We] rely on emotion, passion, and gut instinct to come up with what could be the next disrupter in the industry.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Captain Pabst Seabird IPA (https://captainpabst1864.com): Out of the west a storm surprised, swept down on Captain Pabst, That mariner and gentleman, his actions swift and fast, He sailed the seabird against the throes, routing twain wind and fear, He took haste to protect his kin, but the port aas far from near, Pabst’s intuition proved him right, and bore a friendly coast, The mighty seabird crashed aground, and to that we raise a toast, For while the seabird indeed was lost, safe were kin and crew, And without this mighty ship to steer, Captain Pabst... began to brew. CAPTAIN PABST SEABIRD IPA. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN WISCONSIN & CHICAGO.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

For Portland, Oregon’s Breakside Brewery, beer should offer maximum enjoyment without losing its character and sense of identity. Dual core IPAs Wanderlust and Breakside IPA scratch different hoppy itches, Salted Caramel Stout satisfies those with a sweet tooth, Pilsner offers a slightly less “austere” drinkable option, and the sour and wild beer program gives brewers the chance to play and discover. In this episode, Cofounder and Brewmaster Ben Edmunds discusses the inception and development of their now-classic IPAs, how gravity adjustments impact hops flavors, the “je ne se quoi” of award-winning beers, designing hoppy beers to hit their sweet spot in the time frame when consumers will drink them, hops with greater shelf life, anchoring hops blends with familiar flavors, the vast differences between the core West Coast-style and evolving hazy IPAs that Breakside brews, and more. “The thing I like about competition is… the beers that win, are the beers that are the most pleasant,” says Edmunds. “They’re the most pleasant to a most discriminating group of judges. If you can shave your beers in ways that are optimizing for the most pleasant, you’re going to do well.” Beyond hoppy beers, Edmunds discusses brewing lagers like their year-round Pilsner, their sour process, the challenges brewers face in naming and describing beers for consumers, and the need for brewers to take risks while honoring tradition. “When we put 60 barrels of Marzen out into the trade, we’re taking a withdrawal from our customers, asking them to trust us. But I think that’s how you move the needle. You have to have breweries (who have the brand equity) be willing to spend a little of that [equity] to push the needle with consumers to see if things work. They don’t always work, but if no one is doing that and we’re just giving people more IPA and more IPA, it may be better business, but to me it’s a lot less interesting and I don’t know that it’s good business over the long haul.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Captain Pabst Seabird IPA (https://captainpabst1864.com): Out of the west a storm surprised, swept down on Captain Pabst, That mariner and gentleman, his actions swift and fast, He sailed the seabird against the throes, routing twain wind and fear, He took haste to protect his kin, but the port aas far from near, Pabst’s intuition proved him right, and bore a friendly coast, The mighty seabird crashed aground, and to that we raise a toast, For while the seabird indeed was lost, safe were kin and crew, And without this mighty ship to steer, Captain Pabst... began to brew. CAPTAIN PABST SEABIRD IPA. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN WISCONSIN & CHICAGO.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Leaving a senior-level job (overseeing brewing operations for a 14,000 barrel per year brewery) to launch a small startup brewery with a tightly focused approach to brewing and an extremely limited sales model, is a big risk. But it’s one that Brad Clark has embraced. Private Press Brewing launches early summer and will release only barrel-aged stouts and barleywines, sold only through a membership program. It’s a focused approach to making tightly edited, bespoke beers for discerning customers, but it’s only possible thanks to the reputation he built making such beers for more than a decade at the Athens, Ohio stalwart. In this episode, Clark discusses the challenge of moving from big to small, the gravity arms race in imperial-strength beers, choices for building body in big beers, designing component recipes for blending stock, how to use dark malts to guide oxidation in favorable directions, building a language to describe flavors and sensations while blending, defining the “pocket” for a blended beer, discovering emotion in exceptional barrels, being present and focused while tasting, and brewing and packaging lessons learned the hard way. “Happy accidents don’t happen anymore,” says Clark. “There’s intent, there’s vision, there’s palate, there’s this drive behind them. It’s not just an afterthought. It’s not a couple barrels in the corner. This is identity. Avoid happy accidents. Don’t even use that word. Think about what you’re doing and set it up for success.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Captain Pabst Seabird IPA (https://captainpabst1864.com): Out of the west a storm surprised, swept down on Captain Pabst, That mariner and gentleman, his actions swift and fast, He sailed the seabird against the throes, routing twain wind and fear, He took haste to protect his kin, but the port aas far from near, Pabst’s intuition proved him right, and bore a friendly coast, The mighty seabird crashed aground, and to that we raise a toast, For while the seabird indeed was lost, safe were kin and crew, And without this mighty ship to steer, Captain Pabst... began to brew. CAPTAIN PABST SEABIRD IPA. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN WISCONSIN & CHICAGO.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Tony Lawrence, founder and brewer at Boneyard Beer in Bend, Oregon, has had a distinguished career—from his start at early-days Deschutes to the cobbled-together brewery he launched in 2010. Even in the past decade since Boneyard opened, the industry and market have swollen and mutated, but Lawrence and his team have stuck with what they know and like, eschewing the idea that they need to keep growing, being content at their size and trusting in their tried-and-true methods. In this podcast, Lawrence discusses the Boneyard approach to brewing, including prizing clean and balanced flavor, and not necessarily chasing the shifting winds of consumer tastes. Citing their highly regarded flagship, RPM IPA, he talks about carefully balancing malt sweetness with dryness and hop-bitterness, selecting hops for aroma and to buffer for changes in the crop from year to year, experimenting with different hop formats, and their approach to dry hopping (and double dry hopping). He also talks about assembling their award-winning, labor-of-love, foeder-aged and blended lambic-style and Flemish-style beers. “It’s been fun the whole time, but it’s even becoming more fun for us right now,” Lawrence says. “This may not be the most wise thing to say on the radio, but I feel like I’m being more of a brewer right now than I have been in years.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Captain Pabst Seabird IPA (https://captainpabst1864.com): Out of the west a storm surprised, swept down on Captain Pabst, That mariner and gentleman, his actions swift and fast, He sailed the seabird against the throes, routing twain wind and fear, He took haste to protect his kin, but the port aas far from near, Pabst’s intuition proved him right, and bore a friendly coast, The mighty seabird crashed aground, and to that we raise a toast, For while the seabird indeed was lost, safe were kin and crew, And without this mighty ship to steer, Captain Pabst... began to brew. CAPTAIN PABST SEABIRD IPA. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN WISCONSIN & CHICAGO.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

It takes a huge leap of faith to abandon a linear production model to embrace the chaos and uncertainty of a blending-focused wood cellar. But Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts Brewing is unburdened by the past and unafraid when it comes to turning typical brewing practice on its head. Their process of continuous improvement is reflected in a number of other shifts to the way they operate, like jettisoning their negative approach to blending (eliminating bad barrels and blending the rest) and replacing it with a positive one (building a blend that accomplishes a specific flavor goal). In this episode, Wood Cellar and Mixed Fermentation Director Blake Tyers walks through that and more. He discusses how they construct different blending stock recipes to provide contrasts in the blending process, when to adjunct ingredients, preparing barrel-aged beers for the journey of time, designing “loud” beers that are nonetheless balanced, creating locally relevant approaches to popular styles, structuring a program that nudges customers toward more complex and time-consuming wood-aged beers, low-temp fruit maceration for tightly controlled flavor expression, and much more. “There’s the old adage, ‘Brew what’s for yourself and sell whatever you’ve got left over,’ and I think that doesn’t necessarily always work,” says Tyers. “There’s a fine line there. The integrity and the fun comes from the pursuit of excellence within the framework that may be palatable or accessible to your consumer. You don’t have to love every single thing to the max that you make. But you should find joy, and pride, and excitement, in what you are making.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): Nearly 2,000 breweries across the US, Canada & Mexico partner with G&D Chillers. Innovative, Modular Designs and no proprietary parts propel G&D ahead as the premier choice for your glycol chilling needs. Breweries you recognize—Russian River, Ninkasi, Jack's Abby, Samuel Adams and more—trust G&D to chill the beer you love! Call G&D Chillers to discuss your project today or reach out directly at GDChillers.com. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies craft juice blends from the heart of Beer City USA. As the industry blending experts, they supply major national brands and growing breweries alike. They've been the best-kept juicy secret in craft beverage for years, but now the secret's out. Breweries across the board are experiencing a seamless transition to Old Orchard as their new juice supplier. So hop aboard the Old Orchard fruit train; their sample kit starter pack is waiting for you at www.oldorchard.com/brewer. Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear. Captain Pabst Seabird IPA (https://captainpabst1864.com): Out of the west a storm surprised, swept down on Captain Pabst, That mariner and gentleman, his actions swift and fast, He sailed the seabird against the throes, routing twain wind and fear, He took haste to protect his kin, but the port aas far from near, Pabst’s intuition proved him right, and bore a friendly coast, The mighty seabird crashed aground, and to that we raise a toast, For while the seabird indeed was lost, safe were kin and crew, And without this mighty ship to steer, Captain Pabst... began to brew. CAPTAIN PABST SEABIRD IPA. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN WISCONSIN & CHICAGO.Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast