While popular movies tell finite stories, the real lives of the people they feature don’t stop when the final credits roll. So, it was up to the von Trapp family—whose story was told with huge dramatic license in The Sound of Music—to write their own next chapters. They did so by establishing a popular, Austrian-inspired family lodge in northern Vermont—then, about 15 years ago, they opened a brewery just down the hill.

They launched with the goal of producing finely crafted European-style lagers, befitting the family’s heritage. Craft lagers weren’t exactly lighting up the sales charts at the time, but it was a long-term bet from a family that thinks in generations rather than quarterly returns. Now, with a beautiful automated Rolec brewhouse and an attached beer hall, they’re producing award-winning lagers at scale—including the Oktoberfest that we named one of our Best 18 Beers in 2018—all while making very intentional decisions about process and ingredients.

In this episode, brewing operations director Tom Everett and quality manager Jack Van Pappegem talk through their approach to ingredients and process, including:

• avoiding decoction of many pale lagers, despite having an automated and dedicated decoction vessel
• finishing pale lagers dry, but not too dry
• using small amounts of specialty malts to build character
• managing the grain crush
• keeping a tight focus on pH
• strategies to promote healthy fermentations
• selecting yeast for the ideal character
• lagering in cylindroconical unitanks
• brewing Oktoberfest lager as well as dark lagers
  

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) By partnering with ProBrew, brewers can fill and seam their canned product at ranges from 100-600 cans per minute. Our unique filling process also ensures low dissolved oxygen pickup and focuses on product quality during the entire process. Visit probrew.com or email us at [email protected].
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Yakima Chief Hops Varietees (https://varietees.com). VarieTees Supply Co. offers hop apparel inspired by hop varieties, art, and community. Shop designs from various artists inspired by your favorite varieties including Citra, Simcoe, Sabro, and Mosaic! Shop VarieTees and use promo code CBB20 for 20% off at varietees.com.
OPA Design Studio (https://designopa.com): The architects at OPA Design Studio are your partners in developing the unique design you need. With over a decade of experience designing breweries, the folks at OPA are here to serve as your trusted experts from start to finish. Visit designopa.com to set up your no obligation introductory consultation today.
Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast (https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/): If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Welcome to Las Vegas, craft brewers! In this final of three CBC preview episodes, Crafthaus head brewer Cameron Fisher joins to discuss their approach to making cold IPA (and more) in the desert of Southern Nevada. Whether it’s Czech-style lager served on a Lukr faucet in their Arts District taproom or a throwback hoppy red ale poured with love from their Henderson taproom at the brewery, the beers Crafthaus makes have earned a reputation for quality, breadth, and accessibility. In this episode, Fisher touches on:

• Connecting beers to audiences through familiarity and experience
• Using flaked maize and white wheat in cold IPA
• Pushing big IBUs in the first wort addition then cool pooling
• Layering hop formats with concentrated pellets and T-90’s
• Avoiding generic hop flavors by editing down hop blends
• Dry hop saturation
• Fermenting with characterful lager yeast that leaves more body
• Creating coffee beers with different roasters and coffees

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Yakima Chief Hops (https://yakimachief.com). As a global preferred supplier of NZ Hops, Yakima Chief is the source for the pronounced bright and tropical aromas New Zealand hops are known for, adding a rush of exotic fruits and zesty citrus to your recipes. NZ Cryo is now available, learn more at yakimachief.com
OPA Design Studio (https://designopa.com): The architects at OPA Design Studio are your partners in developing the unique design you need. With over a decade of experience designing breweries, the folks at OPA are here to serve as your trusted experts from start to finish. Visit designopa.com to set up your no obligation introductory consultation today.
Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast (https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/): If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

This special fresh hop–focused episode of the podcast is brought to you interruption-free by the the freshness experts at RipeLocker. RipeLocker has patented a radically innovative storage solution to revolutionize the post-harvest industry with technology to extend the shelf-life of perishables such as fresh hops while preserving quality and taste. The company’s low-pressure chambers prolong freshness after harvest by weeks, often months, and for brewers, this opens up new ways to think about fresh- and wet-hop beers.

This episode focuses on fresh-hop brewing, from harvest through brewing and then marketing them to end consumers. Joining for the conversation are Brendon Anthony, RipeLocker senior director of fruit science, Tyler Sabin, Oasis Farms hops manager, and Bart Gumpert, Coronado Brewing’s R&D and innovation brewer.

There are as many different ways to brew fresh-hop beers as there are brewers doing it, but RipeLocker technology opens up some avenues for thinking about fresh-hop brewing in new and fresh ways. Through this conversation, the panel discusses everything from how the hypobaric chamber works to pick windows for fresh-hop varieties, the variability of rates of aging for different hop varieties, brewers’ favorite fresh-hop varieties and combinations, the hub and spoke distribution strategy, innovative ways brewers are taking advantage of the opportunities that RipeLocker allows, and ways that this technology may impact fresh-hop brewing in the future.

Visit https://ripelocker.com for more information, or visit https://oasisfarmsfreshhops.com to explore the ways you can use fresh hops from Oasis Farms preserved in RipeLocker chambers in your fresh-hop beers this upcoming harvest.

(Sponsored Content)

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Dave Pascual, head brewer for longtime Las Vegas brewery Big Dog’s, takes a methodical approach to running the brewhouse, even if it doesn’t feel out-of-the-ordinary to this longtime brewer. Running a clean and organized brewery is just how it’s done. Despite how obvious some of these little things may appear, it’s the sum of all those professional details that’s helped cement Big Dog’s legacy as a consistent award winner in categories as diverse as English-Style Brown Ale and Belgian-Style Tripel.

In this episode, Pascual discusses his approach to creating recipes and brewing award-winning beers, including:

• brewing light lager with two-row instead of pilsner
• tasting and comparing, consistently
• dialing in hops in very light lagers
• building a full-spectrum malt bill for brown ale
• achieving pleasant fermentation notes in Belgian-style beers
• changing medal-winning recipes
• wood-aging barleywine
• building a team that consistently focuses on excellence

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Yakima Chief Hops (https://yakimachief.com). As a global preferred supplier of NZ Hops, Yakima Chief is the source for the pronounced bright and tropical aromas New Zealand hops are known for, adding a rush of exotic fruits and zesty citrus to your recipes. NZ Cryo is now available, learn more at yakimachief.com
OPA Design Studio (https://designopa.com): The architects at OPA Design Studio are your partners in developing the unique design you need. With over a decade of experience designing breweries, the folks at OPA are here to serve as your trusted experts from start to finish. Visit designopa.com to set up your no obligation introductory consultation today.
Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast (https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/): If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

In this first of a three-episode miniseries on Las Vegas brewers, timed to give you more local knowledge as you head to the desert for this year’s Craft Brewer’s Conference, Able Baker Director of Brewing Matt Marino discusses his evolving approach to modern West coast IPA and hazy session IPA. Through the conversation, he touches on:

• brewing oversized batches at high gravity to maximize output from their 15bbl brewhouse
• pushing extreme attenuation to hit a 1.4-1.6°P finishing gravity in a 7% ABV IPA
• making the move from 2 row malt to pilsner malt
• selecting hops and hop formats for survivability and efficiency
• fermenting with non-diacetyl-producing yeast
• recirculating while dry hopping to maximize extraction in West coast IPA
• the constant evolution of recipes for the brewery’s most popular brands
• blending to create new beers
• the best beer-related (and non-beer-related) things to do while visiting Las Vegas

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Yakima Chief Hops (https://yakimachief.com). As a global preferred supplier of NZ Hops, Yakima Chief is the source for the pronounced bright and tropical aromas New Zealand hops are known for, adding a rush of exotic fruits and zesty citrus to your recipes. NZ Cryo is now available, learn more at yakimachief.com
OPA Design Studio (https://designopa.com): The architects at OPA Design Studio are your partners in developing the unique design you need. With over a decade of experience designing breweries, the folks at OPA are here to serve as your trusted experts from start to finish. Visit designopa.com to set up your no obligation introductory consultation today.
Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast (https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/): If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Notch founder Chris Lohring loves the fact that more craft brewers are embracing lagers—but he has some strong opinions about the best way to brew them.

“‘Crispy boys’ don’t exist,” he says. “Lagers aren’t dry. Clean lager yeast is boring to me.”

Refinement and distinction are his goals, not minimalism, and he and his team use all the tools in the brewer’s toolbox to achieve them—such as adjusting mash schedules and malt bills to build body in low-ABV beers; moving lager mid-fermentation from quasi-open fermentors to conicals before later moving to horizontal tanks; reducing and timing decoctions to fit the goals of individual beers; and considering the impact of mash rests on fermentability, among many other things. It’s not one thing, after all, that makes a lager distinct—in his words, “there’s no magic bullet.”

In this episode, Lohring discusses:

• why Czech pale lager is a category, not a style
• how variable processes in the cellar lead to different expressions of diacetyl
• manipulating a mash schedule to build body and character with more expressive lager yeasts
• what decoctions do and don’t do for lagers
• using small percentages of crystal malt in Czech-style pale lagers
• fermenting with no head pressure, and skimming to optimize flavor and hop character
• the difference between černé pivo and tmavé pivo
• using American hops in Czech-style lager

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Ss Brewtech (https://SsBrewtech.com). Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com
US Water Systems (https://uswatersystems.com): Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis.
Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast (https://spiritsanddistilling.com/podcasts/): If you’re a distiller or curious about it, check out the Craft Spirits & Distilling podcast. Click on the link and subscribe from your favorite podcast platform.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Will and Joe Quinlan, brothers and cofounders of The Big Friendly, just make beer. Will loves saison so they make a few saisons every year. Joe loves barrel-aged stout so they make a few of those every year. Their distribution is minuscule so their production is very small, but they do take a meticulous approach to beer making despite their small size.

In this episode, the brothers each recount their approach to the beers they make, and in the process they discuss:

• building mixed fermentation cultures out of separate stock strains
• resting and conditioning saison
• using flavor- and aroma-forward New Zealand hops in saison
• tuning sourdough yeast for beer fermentation
• barrel-conditioning saison
• editing malts in barrel-aged stouts

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Ss Brewtech (https://SsBrewtech.com). Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com
US Water Systems (https://uswatersystems.com): Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

Kelly McKnight could have done a lot of other things—she was a sponsored pro skateboarder and snowboarder in her younger years, and she studied pre-med at Harvard—but she found such solace and relief in brewing that she changed paths to brew professionally. Now, she’s lead R&D brewer in one of the beer world’s most successful innovation programs, using all of tools at the their disposal to understand flavor and expression in beer.

In this episode, the New Belgium brewer touches on:

• bench testing new ingredients
• the process behind reinventing Fat Tire
• chemical analysis of hops and hop blends
• using natural flavors in IPA
• process engineering to move ideas to large-scale production
• exacting dry-hop automation
• offbeat fruits that work well in beer
  

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Ss Brewtech (https://SsBrewtech.com). Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com
US Water Systems (https://uswatersystems.com): Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

There is the East Coast and there is the West Coast, but aficionados of hazy IPA know not to sleep on the Gulf Coast, thanks largely to Parish Brewing in Broussard, Louisiana. Parish’s Ghost in the Machine has become a juggernaut in the world of hazy IPA, earning accolades such as a 2019 Beer of the Year from Craft Beer & Brewing and a mention on critic Alex Kidd’s top ten list in 2020. More recently, Parish won a spot in the top 20 small regional breweries as voted on by the readers of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®. Nor is their success limited to IPA—Parish also picked up a silver medal at the 2023 Great American Beer Festival for its top-selling wheat beer, Canebrake.

In this episode, head brewer (and Master Cicerone) Ryan Speyrer joins the podcast to discuss the ways they brew their iconic hazy IPAs, touching on:

• the evolution of Ghost in the Machine, from West Coast to hazy
• the roles that wheat and oats do (and don’t) play in hazy IPA
• balancing specific hop varieties between whirlpool and dry hop to maximize the expression of each
• using classic hops such as Cascade along with Simcoe in modern, fruit-forward IPA
• the importance of extended cold-conditioning

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) “ProBrew is changing the game at this year’s CBC in Las Vegas. Visit go.probrew.com/CBC24 or contact us at [email protected] to schedule time with one of our subject matter experts at Booth #1783 at this year’s show.”
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Berry Blend, Blood Orange, Lemonade, and Tart Cherry are the latest additions to our lineup of flavored craft juice concentrate blends. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Ss Brewtech (https://SsBrewtech.com). Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com
US Water Systems (https://uswatersystems.com): Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

This special fermentation-focused episode of the podcast is brought to you interruption-free by the yeast and fermentation specialists at White Labs. If you brew beer, you’re familiar with White Labs, as they’ve been supplying brewers with the highest quality yeast and fermentation aids for many years, and they now serve brewers around the world from outposts in San Diego and Asheville in the United States, as well as Copenhagen and Hong Kong.

Throughout this episode, we focus on the keys to effective fermentations, from yeast health to enzymes and more. Joining for the conversation are Chris White, founder of White Labs; Julian Shrago, co-owner and brewmaster of Beachwood Brewing in Long Beach, Huntington, and Garden Grove, California; and Garrison Fratoni, head brewer for Russian River in Windsor, California.

During the podcast, these three discuss the work they’ve been doing in maximizing yeast health while dialing back on the excessive use of yeast nutrients and enzymes. Increased attenuation and efficiency, despite decreased enzyme and nutrient additions? It’s possible, with the techniques and approaches that these brewers discuss.

White Labs never settles for “good enough,” and their innovative spirit continues to advance the craft of fermentation, guaranteeing products that defy the status quo. They fuel the brewing community by offering new product innovations, educational resources, and a collaborative atmosphere—empowering brewers to make the best beer possible.

To learn more about the range of top-quality yeast, nutrients, and other fermentation solutions that White Labs offers to brewers, visit WhiteLabs.com.

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Black Caddis began as one of Preston Theony’s homebrew recipes, but rather than create a take on an existing style, he started with the flavor he wanted to achieve and built a recipe to realize that. Now, after brewing the beer commercially at Wren House for the better part of the past decade, he’s still not done experimenting with changes to not just the recipe, but the core of fermentation itself. More recently, the beer has moved from ale fermentation with a Kölsch strain to lager fermentation with a 34-70 strain, in order to amplify the “clean, cutting characteristic” that Theony sought. It’s dark beer in the 4% ABV range sold in one of the hottest of the United States, and drinkability is paramount.

Similarly, Theony has never stopped tinkering with their hazy IPA recipe, despite core beer Spellbinder’s gold medal in the juicy or hazy IPA category at the 2020 GABF. Note that anything he mentions doing or using in this podcast is subject to change, and this is only a snapshot of where they are at this brewing moment. But with that said, through the conversation, he touches on:

• switching to lager fermentation with a shorter lagering time to give Black Caddis porter more edge
• layering Carafa, C120, Carafoam, and Chocolate Rye malt for broad flavor in a small beer
• hyperfocusing on pH throughout the brewing process
• reducing whirlpool hops and boosting dry hops to improve drinkability
• using Galaxy as a bridge between Citra and Mosaic
• dry hopping early and capping the tank
• their approach to awards season as a time to reflect and improve beers
• evaluating competition feedback

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): At G&D Chillers they always strive to Build Great Chillers. Partner with them as you Build Great Beer. Choose G&D Chillers on your next Expansion or Brewery start up and receive 1 free year of Remote control and Monitoring of your new G&D Chiller!
ProBrew (https://www.probrew.com) Turnkey brewery systems. Production line design services. Retro-fitting processing systems. ProBrew™ can do all this and more with any brewery, old or new, small or large. For more information, fill out our contact form on www.probrew.com or email [email protected].
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Old Orchard has supplied flavored craft juice concentrate blends to over 46 states for the production of fruit-forward beer, cider, seltzer, wine, spirits, and more. To learn more and request your free samples, head over to oldorchard.com/brewer
Omega Yeast (https://omegayeast.com): Streamline efficiency with Omega Yeast’s Diacetyl Knock Out series. The DKO series is comprised of 8 familiar yeast strains engineered to knock out the formation of diacetyl before it starts. The strains you know, now better. Contact Omega Yeast today at omegayeast.com.
ABS Commercial (https://abs-commercial.com). ABS Commercial are proud to offer brewhouses, tanks, keg washers, and preventative maintenance parts to brewers across the country as well as equipment for distilling, cider-making, wine-making, and more! Contact them today at [email protected] to discuss your customized brewery needs.
Ss Brewtech (https://SsBrewtech.com). Ss Brewtech was founded by a group of home and craft beer brewers, dedicated to bringing an engineering-first approach to brewery equipment. Ss brewhouses are used to formulate new beer recipes at some of the world's greatest breweries. To learn more, head over to SsBrewtech.com
US Water Systems (https://uswatersystems.com): Depending upon the city and day, water quality can vary 40% to 50%. The best method is to start with the same water every time and Reverse Osmosis gives you that power. Visit USWaterSystems.com for a free expert analysis.

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