Terroir. It’s the term winemakers use to describe the unique flavors, beyond those of the grapes themselves, imparted to their wines by the location of their vineyards, and brewers are increasingly using the term to describe similar distinguishing characteristics in the beer they make. For Austin, Texas–based Jester King Brewery, the idea became reality in the form of mixed-culture fermentation, where wild, airborne yeast found at the brewery site on the edge of Texas Hill Country became part of a “cocktail” they use to ferment their beer—one that includes a mix of more conventional Saccharomyces _yeast, _Brettanomyces, and a few beneficial bacteria for good measure.
“A lot of breweries [in the United States] are making very similar beers, and it makes sense with them using the same yeast suppliers, the same malt suppliers, and hops suppliers,” says Jester King Brewery Founder Jeff Stuffings. “It’s a minor frustration of mine going place to place without finding beer that has some uniqueness and individuality to a particular place. That’s the whole motivating factor behind our beer.”
With that in mind, Stuffings sat down after a few days of beer immersion at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival in Denver and shared his pick of six influential and inspiration beers.