The head brewer for Boulder, Colorado’s longtime champion of craft lager outlines their approach to high-pressure lager fermentation, unconventional malt choices, domestic lager hops, exogenous enzymes, and more.
From Rock Bottom and Bell’s to Mountain Sun, Oskar Blues, Eddyline, Melvin, and now Ex Novo, Dave Chichura has spent a lot of time in a lot of different brewhouses. In this episode, he shares important lessons he’s learned while making the “things.”
The former head brewer of Jester King set out on her own path with her Keeping Together brand, brewed out of Half Acre in Chicago. Now, she's writing the next chapter of the story in the high desert of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Over the years and via multiple breweries, Mark Hastings has honed his American-style wheat beer and black IPA into gold medal–winning machines. Today, he’s pushing them forward using Montana-grown, locally malted barley—and the winning streak continues.
Since 2018, this Colorado Springs brewery has embraced the ethos, “Diversity, it’s what’s on tap.” In the aftermath of the shooting at Club Q—where Rich disarmed and subdued a gunman who killed five and injured 19 more—they reflect on their lives in beer, operating a values-based brewery, keeping the business running while dealing with trauma, and more.
Three influential, award-winning brewers in the realm of fresh- and wet-hopped beers—Joe Mohrfeld (Pinthouse), Steve Luke (Cloudburst), and Zach Turner (Single Hill)—share their approaches to brewing fresh-hop beers in this ranging panel discussion.
Salt Lake City’s Templin Family is a brewer’s brewery, with a focus on impeccably constructed, low-ABV lagers that are racking up medals and accolades.
Rather than focusing on established beer styles, this San Diego brewery lets inspired ingredients drive the beers they make, with a loose, local, and at times even rustic approach.
The McIlhenney family put Alpine, California, and New Zealand hops on American beer lovers’ maps with their innovative forays into IPA and reverent takes on classic styles. Now, they’re back and brewing in the original brewhouse and taproom, and Shawn McIlhenney is focused on what he loves the most—designing and brewing groundbreaking beers.
Oakland, California’s Ghost Town made a splash in 2021 and 2022, winning back-to-back GABF gold medals for their Nose Goblin Imperial IPA, along with notable 2022 medals in the strong pale ale and India pale lager categories. One of their secrets, of course, is hop quality—but the qualities that head brewer Justin Burdt seeks out aren’t exactly the ones you might think.