Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Jason Thompson, Cofounder and head brewer at Calusa, discusses managing variable minerality, brewing hazy IPA with flavorful malts, increasing wheat component for haze stability, ultra-low-temp whirlpooling for aromatic contribution, taking care of yeast for 50-plus generations, recirculation and rousing dry hops for increased contact, developing interesting hop combinations, making Sabro work in hazy IPA, and using barrels for bitterness in barrel-aged stout.

Prominent lager brewers Ashleigh Carter, Ryan Brooks, and Jeff Bagby discuss Mexican and dark lagers, brewing challenges, gear and process priorities, water impact, yeast selection, natural carbonation, brewing with corn, and building color without intense malt flavor.

Anthony Tallman, expert in packing big flavor into lean West Coast Pale Ales, IPAs, and Pils, discusses impacts of pilsner malts, varying boil times, achieving measured IBUs with no hot-side hops, inadvertently making a clear hazy IPA, watering back to lower whirlpool temperatures, techniques based on hops, focusing on hot-side hops, and finding balance in lower-ABV West Coast pils.

The final episode of the year is our chance to look back on the year of brewing conversations and highlight those episodes that struck the biggest chords with you, our listeners. Joining Jamie in the co-host chair is Khris Johnson of Green Bench in St. Petersburg, Florida, and together they count down the ten most-listened-to episodes while sharing excerpts from each. The top ten include: Averie Swanson of Keeping Together on farmhouse ale Mattias Trum of Schlenkerla on the history of rauchbier in Bamberg Joran Van Ginderachter and Shawn Bainbridge of Halfway Crooks on German hops in lager brewing Joe Mohrfeld of Pinthouse, Steve Luke of Cloudburst, and Zach Turner of Single Hill on evolving products for fresh hop brewing Travis Fritts of Old Nation on the similarities and differences in lager and hazy IPA brewing Doug Velicky of Revolution on extending brands in a crowded craft beer marketplace Henry Nguyen of Monkish, J.C. Tetreault of Trillium, and Neil Fisher of Weldwerks on brewing hazy IPA Brian and Mary Rooney of BKS Artisan Ales on softening the edges of hazy IPA Justin Burdt of Ghost Town on selecting hops for pungency and, Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River, Evan Price of Green Cheek, and Kelsey McNair of North Park on brewing West Coast IPA Now! This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For years G&D Chillers has chilled the beers you love, partnering with 3,000+ breweries across the country along the way. Reach out for a quote today at gdchillers.com or call to discuss your next project. BSG Craft Brewing (https://Bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Looking for a sustainable way to increase fermenter capacity? Try FermCap™ Eco from Kerry, a plant-based alternative to traditional silicon-based products. FermCap™ Eco increases fermenter capacity by reducing foam height to improve beer foam stability and enhance hop utilization. Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard supplies flavored craft juice concentrate blends to beverage brands for the production of beer, cider, seltzer, wine, spirits, kombucha, and more. Flavor your lineup and streamline your sourcing by heading to oldorchard.com/brewer ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) The ProFill series of rotary can fillers from ProBrew are accelerating plant production everywhere. For more information, visit www.probrew.com or email contactus@probrew.com. Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Thiolized yeast are a new tool for brewers to bring intense guava and passionfruit aromas out of your malt and hops. And wait, there’s more! Omega Yeast makes yeast-to-order with a consistent one week lead time ensuring peak freshness and reliability. California Craft Beer Summit (https://cacraftbeersummit.com). Everyone’s talking about 2024 California Craft Beer Summit, March 12-14 in Sacramento. Kicking off the Summit as the Keynote speaker is Rob Tod, the pioneer who built Allagash Brewing. Check out the full schedule at the website cacraftbeersummit.com. The American Homebrewers Association (https://HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod): Join the American Homebrewers Association to unlock the 2023 National Homebrew Competition medal-winning recipes! Learn more at HomebrewersAssociation.org/cbbpod Lotus Beverage Alliance (https://lotusbevalliance.com): Building a brewery requires coordination: equipment, supplies, funding, and more. Lotus Beverage Alliance simplifies the process, offering all the elements for your business in one place. Their team of engineers, brewery consultants, and financial advisors are here to help. Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Evin O'Riordain, Founder of The Kernel brewery in London, discusses embracing hops, rekindling London's dark beer lineage, interpreting historical stout and porter recipes, using brown malt for London flavor, debunking the idea of British beers being less bitter, the history of East India porter, using whole-leaf hops for texture, and fermenting historical styles with London and California ale yeast strains.

Tom Beckmann, owner of Goldfinger Brewing in Illinois, discusses his family brewing history, designing a brewhouse for lagers, step-mashing strategies, blending domestic and imported malt, selecting hop varieties, and the future of Goldfinger Brewing.

Brewers discuss the evolution of cold IPA, experimenting with dry hopping techniques and hop options, selecting malt and using adjuncts in brewing, and the confusion surrounding India Blackdale. They also mention upcoming podcast episodes and sponsor breweries.

Challenges for breweries today, generational shift in drinkers, developing organic innovation, importance of execution in go-to-market strategies, key data points for decision-making in craft beer industry, using data to improve decision-making, labor costs and efficiency, prioritization and resource allocation

Chicago’s Dovetail Brewery discusses their modern approach to traditional methods. Topics include making slushies with aged spontaneous beer, defining parameters for lager brewing, the benefits of direct-fire decoction, coolshipping lagers with whole-cone hops, impacts of different mashing techniques, sulfur and malt character in helles, timing of Kölsch fermentation, and brewing rauchbier with smoked malt.

Jacob Sembrano, passionate brewer at Cruz Blanca, discusses crafting technically challenging beers with beautiful ingredients and stories. Topics include pushing fermentation temperatures, brewing a red corn lager, using black and heavily roasted malts in stouts, building body without excessive sweetness, and growing the brand through partnerships. Listen to hear about brewing a 100% corn grisette, challenges of specific beer styles, and the unique and acidic gurzette beer. Challenges and opportunities in the industry are also explored.