Podcast Episode 266: Barry Chan of Lucky Envelope is Developing a Chinese-American Voice in Craft Brewing

The cofounder of Lucky Envelope in Seattle discusses building confidence with helles and other traditional styles, getting comfortable with his Chinese-American heritage in the beer world, and finding new avenues of expression with traditional Chinese ingredients such as lapsang souchoung tea.

Jamie Bogner Oct 14, 2022 - 5 min read

Podcast Episode 266: Barry Chan of Lucky Envelope is Developing a Chinese-American Voice in Craft Brewing Primary Image

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When Barry Chan and his partner started Lucky Envelope, they were concerned with appearing “too Chinese.” The craft beer world at the time wasn’t ready for that, they thought; they wanted to fit in and not alienate their core clientele. Today, with a GABF medal under their belts in the Munich-style helles category, they’re more comfortable knowing they make classic styles in a compelling way. They’re also exploring more deeply how to connect their Chinese-American heritage—and its culinary traditions—with the broader world of craft beer.

In this episode, Chan discusses how they’ve approached that, including:

  • locking down base styles before embarking on experimentation
  • building “smoked” beers using smoked tea as an ingredient
  • finding effective ways to extract flavors from challenging ingredients
  • searching for inspiration in unexpected places
  • ingredients that don’t work in beer
  • risking failure with ingredients such as durian
  • creating nuanced beers with habañero and shishito peppers
  • pushing into European styles such as Czech dark lager
  • working to increase diversity in craft beer

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

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Jamie Bogner is the Cofounder and Editorial Director of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®. Email him at [email protected].

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