Podcast Episode 319: Upslope’s Alex Meyer Thrives in the High-Pressure World of Craft Lager Brewing

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.

Jamie Bogner Sep 3, 2023 - 7 min read

Podcast Episode 319: Upslope’s Alex Meyer Thrives in the High-Pressure World of Craft Lager Brewing Primary Image

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Upslope has been brewing lager since long before it was “cool” among craft breweries, and the brewery in Boulder, Colorado, has built a methodology for producing lagers that optimizes both quality and efficiency.

In this episode, head brewer Alex Meyer discusses how they make their signature lager—known simply as Craft Lager—with a litany of unconventional ingredients and processes. Meyer also shares how they employ similarly iconoclastic approaches with their Japanese-style rice lager as well as their Grand Reserve, aged four years in bourbon barrels.

Along the way, Meyer discusses:

  • brewing lager with standard two-row malt and white wheat
  • lager fermentation under pressure
  • managing sulfur production in pressure fermentation
  • cropping and repitching yeast
  • using exogenous enzymes to facilitate fermentation with 55 percent flaked rice
  • American hop varieties ideal for hops, such as Sterling and Contessa
  • feeding healthy high-gravity fermentations
  • managing long-term oxidation in extended barrel-aging

And more.

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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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