154: Jake Gardner of Westbound & Down Breaks Down Complex Brewing Challenges

Explicit content warning

09/29/20 • 82 min

For Jake Gardner, Head Brewer of Westbound & Down (Idaho Springs, Colorado), brewing means defining goals for a beer and mapping out the way to achieve those goals, naming the challenges and articulating solutions at each step of the process. Proceeding in a thoroughly planned and detailed manner brings clarity to the process, and the methodical approach has served Gardner well over his past decade in professional brewing.

After chasing a medal in the hotly contested Imperial IPA category at GABF and World Beer Cup, Gardner’s patience and approach was rewarded in 2019 with a silver medal. But the Westbound & Down approach is anything but conventional—with English yeast strains and specific bittering hops that scrub off the palate quickly, the brewery has carved out a soft and fruity yet bright and tightly controlled niche in the broader world of West Coast IPA. They continue to expand that niche with creative explorations of contemporary hops, yeast experimentation, and focusing on the minutiae of brewing that make a big impact on the finished beer.

In the barleywine category, Gardner has called upon his background in brewing English-style ales at Hogshead in Denver, and discusses the various design concerns for these barrel-aged beers designed to age. From managing free amino nitrogen to double mashing and dialing back oxidative malts, Gardner discusses the ways they’ve built their medal-winning Louie barleywine to taste great not only when fresh, but also with a few years under its belt as it ages and oxidizes gracefully.

*This episode is brought to you by: *

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BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): BSG is partnering with Leopold Bros. to bring a new line of small-batch, handmade malts to brewers and distillers. Leopold Bros. is a family owned floor malting operation and distillery and 2020 James Beard Award Finalist, located in Denver, Colorado. Since brothers Scott and Todd Leopold first opened their doors in 1999, they have created everything from classic unfiltered lagers to a number of spirits, including a wide array of whiskey styles. Learn more about the upcoming malt line by going online to BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739.

Mountain Rose Herbs (https://mountainroseherbs.com): This episode is brought to you by Mountain Rose Herbs, purveyors of the highest quality, organic herbs, spices, and teas. Whether you want to add depth to your next golden tripel with classic notes of cinnamon, pepper and clove, or artfully layer exotic, zesty grains of paradise into a perfect ale, adding botanicals to your brewing is an easy way to customize a delicious flavor profile. Mountain Rose Herbs has been providing organic herbs and spices to chefs, herbalists, and dedicated brewers for more than three decades. Learn more at mountainroseherbs.com and get 10% off of your first order with the code “craftbeer10”.

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153: Grains of Wrath Head Brewer Mike Hunsaker Strives For Quality That Fellow Brewers Respect

Grains of Wrath’s Mike Hunsaker has never been afraid to work for his success, and that journey of working and learning has led him to brewing gigs from Virginia to Cleveland and Oregon. Today, as Cofounder and Head Brewer for Grains of Wrath (Vancouver, Washington), he’s focused not just on commercial success, but also on making beers that his peers respect.

“I’m happy with making a little less money, but having more respect, as far as what we’re doing here and how we go about our business,” says Hunsaker.

In this episode, Hunsaker discusses both his approach to new-school West coast IPAs, and his approach to lagers like his twice GABF medal-winning Vienna Lager. The conversation covers:

Tweaking the malt blend in IPAs based on the oil content of hops
Regional variations in approaches to malt in IPA
The impacts of Munich, Vienna, and Carablonde when blended in West coast IPA
Blending hops for maximum impact
Hot and cold side hopping regimens
Planning for hops creep and adjusting recipes and techniques
With each new crop year, testing varieties for hops creep culprits
Bittering lagers with low-alpha hops
And much more

*This episode is brought to you by: *

BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/): Haze for days in your IPAs! Kerry BioHaze from BSG adds that perfect stable cloudy appearance for your hazy recipe. Made with all-natural materials, BioHaze is a free-flowing microgranular powder that binds with protein molecules in beer that form polyphenol-protein complexes to produce a cloudy haze. This unique product can be added to final beer to give your beer that famous haze. Find out more about BioHaze at bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739.

ABE Beverage Equipment (https://ABEequipment.com): ABE Beverage Equipment provides complete brewing and packaging solutions worldwide. Whether you are just starting out or are looking to expand, ABE offers brewhouses, tanks, canning lines and more for small to medium sized brewers. ABE has equipped over one thousand breweries worldwide and has the best customer service in the industry. Call ABE Beverage Equipment at 402-475-BEER or visit ABEequipment.com to learn more. That’s ABEequipment.com for complete brewing and packaging solutions.

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155: Zebulon's Mike Karnowski Sees the Future in Beers of the Past

"I’ve become a traditionalist. I’m more interested in going backwards,” says Mike Karnowski, founder of Zebulon Artisan Ales. “As I see what craft beer is turning into, I’m turning around and running back to the 1800s.”

Karnowski loves exploring the rich history of brewing, working together with brewing historian Ron Pattinson to re-create recipes from the forgotten brew logs of the past three centuries. At a time when “innovation” tends to mean jumping on the latest trend, Zebulon instead looks backward, creating engaging beers that tell stories and shine light on periods in brewing history. It’s an unusual approach to “innovation,” but it's one that has found a growing audience, as a subset of beer fans pivot from the pop hits of today and seek connection to brewing’s past.

To realize that creative vision, Karnowski has kept Zebulon purposefully small—a seven-barrel brewhouse produces limited runs of each beer, and the brewery employs just Mike and his wife Gabe. Together, they do it all, from brewing to packaging to compliance to taxes, and even manning the bar for the limited taproom hours every week. They may be focused, but they’re not crazy; they understand that the key to being free to explore these pathways in brewing is to keep the overhead low.

In this episode, Karnowski talks about his experience brewing a number of historical beers, from imperial-strength 19th century “mild” that bears little resemblance to its current definition, to 1750s beers with smoked malt, an extremely low-ABV WWI-era beer that resembles beer-flavored seltzer, and post-war IPA that would be unrecognizable to IPA drinkers today.

Along the way, he discusses producing diastatic brown malt, how to create invert sugars necessary to brew historic English styles, using black malt without the associated off flavors, and more.

*This episode is brought to you by: *

BSG (https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/) This episode is brought to you by Rahr North Star Pils. A new base malt to set your compass by. Rahr North Star Pils is crafted for brewers looking for a domestic pilsner malt with low color and low modification. North Star Pils carries overtones of honey and sweet bread, supported by flavors and aromas of hay and nutty character. Suitable for any beer style, but particularly craft brewed versions of classic lagers. Let Rahr North Star Pils guide your craft by visiting BSGCraftbrewing.com, or contact BSG at 1.800.374.2739.

Five Star Chemicals & Supply (https://fivestarchemicals.com): Five Star Chemicals & Supply Inc. is your leading provider of cleaning, sanitizing and adjunct chemicals for breweries, throughout North America and internationally. All products have been formulated with safety, equipment material, and quality in mind. Interested in trying our products? Contact [email protected] to inquire about a free Craft Brew Sample Pack and only pay the shipping. Cheers to Beer!

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