The podcast for those who make and drink great beer.
For years, Notch Brewing in Salem and Brighton, Massachusetts, has been spreading the lager gospel through refined yet characterful iterations of Czech- and German-inspired beers. His challenge to American brewers who want to follow that path: Ditch the 34/70, rethink your mash and fermentation schedules, decoct with intention, and embrace concise flavor over “crispness.”
The brewery that got its start as a mobile draft trailer and beer bus has now won back-to-back small Brewery of the Year honors at the Great American Beer Festival—but the Quinlan brothers won’t tell you there’s anything special to their winning ways.
Beer as a whole may be navigating rough seas in 2024, but New Belgium has found a map to growth with flavor-forward hazy IPAs in their Voodoo Ranger family. In this episode, lead R&D brewer Kelly McKnight sheds light on the team and process behind these industry-changing beers.
Creating compelling yet characterful hop blends in hazy IPA has become a persistent challenge for brewers swimming in a sea of Citra-Mosaic taste-alikes. The solution for Parish head brewer Ryan Speyrer: Dig into the library of hop classics to deploy blends that are as familiar as they are futuristic.
Unlock the secrets of successful fermentation through new and simplified approaches to yeast nutrition, enzymes, and more, with techniques outlined by Chris White, founder of White Labs, Garrison Fratoni, head brewer for Russian River, and Julian Shrago, brewmaster for Beachwood.
Whether it’s flipping a session-strength porter between ale and lager fermentation, or moving hops from the whirlpool to the dry hop in hazy IPAs, there’s not much that the head brewer for Phoenix’s Wren House won’t change. Just don’t ask him to alter more than one variable at a time—and don’t mess with his chocolate rye!
Arizona’s 12 West racked up the honors from Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine last year, including a score of 98 for their Radial Spines West Coast–style pils and a nod as one of our Best 20 Beers of 2023. In this episode, head brewer Justin “Gully” Gullickson and assistant brewer Andrew Cooper outline the design and process behind that beer as well as their high-scoring IPAs.
Head brewer Brad Miles and wood cellar manager Nick Pauley discuss the ways this Gilbert, Arizona, brewpub builds a regional approach to flavor in everything from saison and spontaneous beer to lager, while providing crucial support for the agricultural side of beer.
Since 2008, Albuquerque’s Marble Brewery has been exploring ways to make great lagers on a system built for ales, and their numerous medals are proof that the work has paid off. In this episode, master brewer Josh Trujillo details their approach—from corn and rice lagers to hop-forward pilsners and even cold IPA.
Flavor and aroma take on a synesthetic connection to color for the brewmaster behind one of our favorite beers last year, and in this episode she explains how—through thoughtful and intentional ingredient selection as well as process considerations—she paints colorful pictures with hops, yeast, and malt.