Brewers Journal Canada - Summer 2021

THE

MAGAZINE

FOR

THE

CANADIAN

BREWING

INDUSTRY

BREWERS J O U R N A L

C A N A D A

SUMMER 2021 | ISSUE 21 ISSN 2398-6948

FENELON FALLS BREWING CO. Growing the Kawartha Craft Scene 26 | SCIENCE: THE DIVERSITY OF CIDER PROFILES

28 | LIQUID FLAVOUR: ADDING IT TO BEER

60 | HOMEBREWERS JOURNAL: FERMENTING SOMETHING NEW

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BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

ADJUSTING & READJUSTING

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ello, and welcome to the latest edition of The Brewers Journal.

They’ve opened during a pandemic and are already making waves in their local community.

Wow, where has the year gone? Call it clichéd, but it genuinely feels like 2021 is flying by.

Another business, Fenelon Falls Brewing Co, has also had its formative years during the global pandemic.

However, it’s understandable. We’re all in the same boat, not just in Canada but across the globe.

Officially opening the doors to their brewery during this time was, unsurprisingly, not without its challenges, However, the team at Fenelon Falls Brewing Co have risen to the task. Named after the “Jewel of the Kawarthas”, the village it calls home, locals and visitors alike now have a brewing gem to call their own.

LEADER

Adjusting, and readjusting, to changing rules and regulations is an exhausting, but necessary, affair.

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Ensuring your business is dynamic enough to, just guessed it, pivot often overnight all while maintaining the levels of production, quality and service you’re known for makes the weeks and months disappear in the blink of an eye.

And with Village Brewery of Calgary, Alberta, they’ve completed a project to be proud of be reviving a cornerstone of Canadian brewing history in the form of Calgary Beer.

But I’ll reiterate what I say on a daily basis and that’s how impressed I am with the brewing sector’s ability to adapt and thrive through the most challenging of circumstances.

In resurrecting Calgary Beer, they have reintroduced a seminal piece of the city’s brewing history to brand new eyes. We spoke to Jeremy McLaughlin, Village’s head brewer and operations manager, gives us an insight into the project and tells us there’s much more to the brewer besides.

And in this issue, you’ll find three breweries that have demonstrated those strengths in abundance.

Armed with a wealth of experience in hospitality, Shillow Beer founders Ben and Jamie Shillow know all about making an impression. And following seven years operating as a contract brewing operation, the duo now have a home in Ottawa.

As we look ahead to September, we have the return of The Brewers Lectures!

Taking place on the 22-24 September, we’re thrilled to welcome a wealth of incredibly talented figures from across the wonderful world of brewing.

For more information on the event, and how to register, please visit brewerslectures.com.

Thanks again for your support and good luck in the coming weeks and months.

Tim Sheahan Editor

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CONTENTS

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Comment | Ingredients Why some experimentally minded brewers are dry hopping during active fermentation

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Science | Yeast Why yeast strains may have a huge impact on cider profiles

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Comment | Insurance How to protect your business

28

Focus | Flavour The Pros & Cons of adding liquid flavour to beer

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Crossing Continents | Belgium Paul Davies tells the story of Brewery D’oude Maalderij in Izegem, Brewery Tour | Shillow Beer Co.

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Following seven years since starting out as a contract brewery, Shillow has just opened the doors on a new brewery of its own Science | Jockey Boxes

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A master class on jockey boxes 48

Comment | Accessibility Julie Sawchuk explains how businesses need to take a long hard look at their commitment to accessibility

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Homebrewing | Homebrew Journal Fermenting something new

26 Sector | Canning

A look at some of the latest innovations, opinions, and installations taking place in the ever-popular canning space

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Meet The Brewer | Fenelon Falls Brewing Co.

Vihn and Agatha Mac on bringing craft to the Kawarthas

CONTACTS Tim Sheahan Editor tim@brewersjournal.ca +44 (0)1442 780 592 Jakub Mulik Staff photographer Johnny Leung Canada Partnerships johnny@brewersjournal.ca Sheena Strauss Homebrew Journal knwl.on.tap@gmail.com Richard Piotrowski Publisher Richard@brewersjournal.ca Magdalena Lesiuk Graphic Design GraphMad@gmail.com CFJ Media

32 Focus | Sustainability

New Belgium’s approach to water management

2275 Upper Middle Rd E #101, Oakville, ON L6H 0C3

SUBSCRIPTIONS The Brewers Journal Canada is a quarterly magazine mailed every Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Subscriptions can be purchased for four or eight issues.

Prices for single issue subscriptions or back issues can be obtained by emailing: johnny@brewersjournal.ca

CANADA One year: $39 INTERNATIONAL One year: $49 The content of The Brewers Journal Canada is subject to copyright. However, if you would like to obtain copies of an article for marketing purposes high-quality reprints can be supplied to your specification. Please contact the advertising team for full details of this service. The Brewers Journal Canada is printed at Print Buy, 15 - 1253 Silvan Forest Drive, Burlington ON, L7M 0B7

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Meet The Brewer | Village Brewery Reintroducing a seminal piece of Calgary’s brewing history to brand new eyes while promoting experimentation and pushing the boundaries

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be: reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The Brewers Journal Canada ISSN 2398-6948 is part of Reby Media, 42 Crouchfield, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP1 1PA. It is published quarterly in Canada by CFJ Media, 2275 Upper Middle Rd E #101, Oakville, ON L6H 0C3, Canada. Subscription records are maintained at CFJ Media, 2275 Upper Middle Rd E #101, Oakville, ON L6H 0C3, Canada. The Brewers Journal accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of statements or opinion given within the Journal that is not the expressly designated opinion of the Journal or its publishers.

Those opinions expressed in areas other than editorial comment may not be taken as being the opinion of the Journal or its staff, and the aforementioned accept no responsibility or liability for actions that arise therefrom.

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COMMENT

WHY SOME EXPERIMENTALLY MINDED BREWERS ARE DRY HOPPING DURING ACTIVE FERMENTATION

BY REFUSING TO WAIT UNTIL FERMENTATION HAS FINISHED TO DRY-HOP THEIR BEERS, BREWERS ARE EXTRACTING SURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT AROMAS, FLAVORS AND APPEARANCES

DIFFERENCES IN RESULTS FROM DRY-HOPPING DURING FERMENTATION In 2016, Manchester, England’s Cloudwater Brew brewed up an experiment: two exact-same double IPAs, save one dryhopped during primary and the other afterwards. The differences presented clearly.

Draft Magazine Beer Editor Zach Fowle reviewed, “It’s as stark a visual contrast as you’d get putting a bright West Coast-style IPA up against a turbid Northeast variety,” and called v4 (dry-hopped during fermentation), “catty, funky and herbal, but with nice tropical notes,” and v5 (dry-hopped after), “lemonade-citrusy and full of additional orange peel, orange blossom, honey and lime notes.”

HOW YEAST IMPACTS DRY-HOPPING

Submitted by Precision Fermentation Inc.

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n addition to “hazy” and “tropical,” “dry-hopped” may be the word-du-jour ricocheting around the IPA landscape. Most dry hopping — which must happen postboil for the hops oils to retain their delicate volatile compounds — occurs during secondary fermentation, though it’s not altogether uncommon for brewers to drop hops into the primary fermenter after the yeast has completed its work.

However, in what’s gaining ground as an alternative dry-hopping technique, some brewers are adding hops during the active phase of primary fermentation, specifically as the liquid drops from half- to-terminal gravity. This results in an altogether different beer, not just in aroma but appearance and flavor as well

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Research into yeast action on hops has ramped up in recent years and scientists are finding that certain strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can alter and/or liberate some flavor compounds in hops oils, causing the disparity between the Cloudwater beers. Put simply, these yeast strains don’t limit themselves to just metabolizing sugars. They can also act on other compounds, including those found in hops oils.

In a natural process called biotransformation one organic compound can chemically change into another. In dry hopping, fermentation can alter some oil compounds, like terpenes, into more volatile and flavor-active ones. Brewers commonly cite the transformation of geraniol to ß-citronellol as an example.

Another pathway involves an enzymatic reaction in which the active yeast hydrolyzes (breaks down) glycoside, a non-aromatic type of sugar molecule, into two components: digestible sugars and terpenoids, a highly aromatic class of organic chemicals.

Firestone Walker Brewing Brewmaster Matt Brynildson, who prefers to dry hop during fermentation, explains, “In simple terms, some of the flavor-active compounds in hops are tied to plant-derived sugars. Yeast can’t necessarily consume these sugars but they produce enzymes that work to break chemical bonds, which can liberate the sugar (what the yeast is interested in). At the same time the associated flavor-active compound is liberated into the beer and ultimately enhances its aromatic quality.”

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES Because yeast consumes the available oxygen during fermentation, dry hopping this way allows a brewer to avoid oxidizing the beer when she introduces the hops into solution. That said, the procedure can prove far more difficult than dry-hopping after the beer reaches its terminal gravity, no thanks to two realities of carbon dioxide. The first: the CO2 created by fermentation can strip away those desired volatile compounds. The second: the dreaded geyser (AKA “beer volcano”) – a wet, gassy eruption that can occur when too many CO2 bubbles cluster into nucleation sites in the hop particles and burst out of the tank.

Whole hops don’t behave as temperamentally as pellets, though it’s smart to leave some room at the top of the tank and add the hops slowly, whichever type is used.

Instead of dosing their actively fermenting beers directly with hops, brewers at places like New Belgium, Troegs and AleSmith attempt to manage these challenges by mixing up a hop slurry, which they concoct by combining the hops and a small amount of beer, that they shoot into the full batch.

PRECAUTIONS One final caution: recent research has found dry hopping to raise the liquid’s pH in a fairly linear path that follows the quantity of hops used. The higher the pH, the higher the perception of bitterness, and vice versa.

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

NEWS

BREWERIES JUMP ON CRAFT SODA TREND

Calgary brewers are excited to add to their existing roster of beers with the new and upcoming trend many are jumping on. The steady increase of craft sodas are seeing a spike in sales and availability to consumers.

Annex Ale Project in Calgary features flavours such as root beer, Saskatoon lemonade and craft cola. “We want to basically take the craft ideals behind craft beer and apply that to sodas,” said Andrew Bullied, director of brewing operations at Annex Ale Project. “We’re trying to basically bring sodas back to being this homemade and artisanal thing.”

Although beer is still the main business, the craft sodas — which are handmade and made with whole ingredients whenever possible — now make up a quarter of the brewery’s sales.

And they aren’t the only one’s jumping on this trend. Dandy Brewing Company started making soda this summer and now their product is being sold at 25 locations.

“People look to craft beers for ingenuity and what’s coming next, and there’s an expectation of quality,” said Ben Leon, Dandy co-owner.

“That procedure and everything is the best it can be at a craft brewery — but it doesn’t have to just be beer.”

“More consumers are looking for alternative options when they go to restaurants, in part because it’s now more socially acceptable to seek non-alcoholic options for a variety of reasons,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhouse University in Halifax. “It’s smart for businesses to expand and carry non-alcoholic options so they do not lose the patronage of those who do not consume alcohol,” said Charlebois.

Leopold’s Tavern carries a number of locally-produced craft sodas.

“We’re just a gathering spot — we’re a spot for the community to come together and spend time, hang out and have fun and feel like a part of the mix,” said regional manager David Sauve.

Photos courtesy of Annex Ale Project/Facebook and Dandy Brewing Company/Facebook

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SCIENCE

CIDER

EXPLORING THE DIVERSITY OF CIDER PROFILES

YEAST STRAINS MAY HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON CIDER PROFILES, NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF FERMENTATION PERFORMANCES AND ANALYTICS BUT FOR SURE ALSO FROM A SENSORY PERCEPTION STANDPOINT. AS SUCH, THEY CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A POWERFUL TOOL TO DIVERSIFY THE CIDER OFFER IN THE MARKET AND CIDERMAKERS CAN PLAY WITH THEM TO ACHIEVE THEIR FINAL PRODUCT TARGET, EXPLAINS ETIENNE DORIGNAC, THE TECHNICAL MANAGER OF FRUIT FERMENTATION AT FERMENTIS

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lthough the global cider market has been constantly growing over the past 15 years, the growth rate has progressively slowed down in the last five years.

In fact, we see from the last data published (AICV) that the significant increase of consumption observed between 2005 and 2015 — from 13.5 million hectoliters (MhL) to 24 MhLs — mainly driven by new regions such as North America, Australasia and Africa versus older markets such as West Europe and Latin America, progressively flattened out to reach about 26 MhLs in 2019.

In addition, the distribution between regions has not been changing much in recent years… In this context, cidermakers are facing competition challenges and need

to find new ways to boost their market by standing apart from each other.

Among the main diversification tools they have in hands, the choice of the raw materials and the recipe; but also the selection of the yeast strain and the conditions applied to carry out the fermentation can drastically affect cider organoleptic profiles.

In this way, Fermentis R&D selected 4 new yeast strains dedicated to ciders whose characterization will be presented in this article.

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT YEAST STRAINS THROUGH DIFFERENT TYPES OF CIDERMAKING u Cider What could be considered as a “cider” is actually very variable depending on the

Tab. 1 Types and characteristics of the cider recipes carried out for the study. Main differences highlighted in bold red. *DAP: diammonium phosphate as source of ammonium ions, **SpringFerm™ and SpringFerm Xtrem™ represent respectively partial and total yeast autolysates as sources of amino acids as well as lipids, vitamins and other oligoelements.

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ciency, low temperature… Figure 1 shows the kinetics as well as the remaining sugars at the end of the fermentation in the hard cider.

The strain SafCider™ TF-6 clearly stands apart from the other strains as it was not able to finish the fermentation and typically left ~25 g/L of sugars, among which fructose was a major part.

This feature was observed in most

Fig.1 Kinetics follow-up through the American hard dry cider of all matrices, as TF-6 was only recipe.

countries and the substrates: 100% apples, types of apples, addition of other fruits such as pears, usage of juice, concentrates or external sugars,… In addition, the number of recipes can hugely differ, what makes a standard study almost impossible.

As a consequence, the characterization was based on 4 major recipes that could embrace the main problematics faced by cidermakers around the world: types of apples used, source and quantity of sugars, completion or voluntary stop of fermentation (to eventually leave some residual sugars) and fermentation temperature.

The different recipes are detailed in Table 1.

All fermentations have been carried out at the experimental cellar of the Institut Français des Productions Cidricoles (IFPC), French research institute specialized in cidermaking; in 15L glass vessels, with a standardized oxygen rate addition (1.5mg/L) and under inert atmosphere (N2). u Strain characterization It is easily understandable that, from the traditional French sweet cider to the American hard dry cider, most of the fermentation conditions are becoming increasingly difficult even though nutrition and temperature were adjusted.

It was then interesting to try different yeast strains through all these recipes in order to select the most diverse and interesting ones. From more than 20 strains evaluated, we’ll highlight the main results for 4 of them (SafCider™ AB-1, SafCider™ TF-6, SafCider™ AS-2 and SafCider™ AC-4) , more specifically as it relates to their robustness; and their analytical and aromatic profiles.

Robustness To assess the robustness of the strains towards difficult fermentation conditions, i.e. high sugar concentration (and content in the most difficult to assimilate fermentable sugars, i.e. fructose), low pH, nutrient defi-

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able to finish the fermentation till dryness in the English cider (high YAN, low tannicity, then less inhibition and more O2 availability, high temperature), highlighting the bigger needs of this particular strain and the fact that the selection can be crucial depending on the cidermaker target. A higher sensitivity to high concentration of SO2 (50 mg/L maximum) is as well to be noticed for this strain.

Analytical profile All basic analytical parameters at the end of the fermentation have been determined.

Among the most interesting ones, the acidity profile is of particular interest as it reflects the metabolic behavior of the strain that could have a real impact on the organoleptic profile. Figure 2 shows the acidity profiles of strains in the English cider recipe.

Most significant with SafCider™ AB-1 and maybe not as much with the other strains, we could see that some strains are able to consume the major organic acid present in apples, i.e. the malic acid, in significant amount through the malo-ethanolic pathway; and thus decreasing the total acidity and its feeling.

To the contrary, some strains, such as SafCider™ AC-4, are preserving this acidity and maintain a crispy feeling (observed but not shown here). Moreover, the ability of strains to produce acetic acid during fermentation from the glycolysis pathway can also affect the aromatic profile, degrading its quality at too high concentration (vinegar flavours).

of aromatic compounds are produced by yeast strains during fermentation and have a significant impact on the aromatic profile of all beverages: (1) the acetate esters, whose most famous and abundant one is the isoamyl acetate with its distinctive banana and candy notes and which is recognized as an overall aroma enhancer; and (2) the ethyl esters, whose most abundant ones are the linear chain ethyl esters from 4 to 10 carbons (C4-butanoate, C6-hexanoate, C8-octanoate and C10-decanoate) and which confer more discrete but more complex floral and fruity characters.

Huge differences in the release of these compounds can drastically affect the flavour perceptions of beverages, the same applying for ciders. In Figure 3, all matrices have been taken to compare the aromatic behavior of the strains in different conditions.

We noticed big differences between strains; and even if aromatic compounds concentrations were of course impacted by the recipe and more specifically the amount of sugars fermented (especially for isoamyl acetate whose acetate part is directly linked to the glycolysis pathway), we could extract common trends. Except for the English cider, SafCider™ TF-6 showed always higher production of isoamyl acetate than others. This will be illustrated in terms of flavour but also aromatic intensity in the last paragraph of this article. For the English cider only, SafCider™ TF-6 was indeed able to dry the sugars and not leave any residual sugars, suggesting a strong relationship between the stress generated at the end of the fermentation and the aroma produced. SafCider™ AC-4 showed particularly high but quite stable ethyl esters production (driven by ethyl octanoate – fruity/floral), hypothesizing a reliable complexity in the flavours. SafCider™ AB-1 and particularly SafCider™ AS-2 increased their ester production along with the difficulty of the recipe with SafCider™ AB-1 being on the low values, more respecting the raw material.

For this attribute, all strains were selected for their low production with always the SafCider™ TF-6 being a “clean” strain towards deviations like SO2 and acetaldehyde production as well.

Aromatic profile In addition to higher alcohols, two major types Fig.2 Acidity profiles through the English dry cider recipe.

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FOCUS ON FRENCH TRADITIONAL SWEET CIDER – STRAIN BASELINE

Cider™ AB-1 was mainly centered on apple.

Relying on the expertise of IFPC and their trained taste panel specialized on French traditional sweet ciders, professional tastings have been carried out on French cider experiments, both stopped with around ~30 g/L of residual sugars (called “Brut” ciders in French).

Both these general and detailed notes are actually quite well related with the production of aromatic compounds highlighted in the previous paragraph; with higher production of isoamyl acetate by SafCider™ TF-6, offering thus more aromatic intensity but enhanced aromatic complexity towards the other fruits as well; followed by SafCider™ AS-2 and SafCider™ AC-4, the latter producing mainly ethyl esters such as ethyl octanoate; which could explain these red fruits and specifically floral notes. SafCider™ AB-1 was the less exuberant and expressing more the raw material thanks to its quite discrete aroma production.

The specificity of this tasting was to assess first the global fruitiness of the ciders with two major descriptors: (1) “Fruity/Floral” corresponding to fresh fruit (apple, pear, banana…) feeling; and (2) “Cooked fruits” related to ripe or processed fruits (like compote), aromas that are not necessarily looked for but adding complexity to the final cider.

After this evaluation, it was then asked to tasters to detail fresh and cooked fruit notes to identify the aromatic drivers for each strain and to evaluate off-flavours as well, such as phenolic and sulfury aromas. Finally, a simple evaluation of the basic tastes was done: Sweet, acid, bitter and astringent.

From these tastings, SafCider™ TF-6 (especially) and SafCider™ AS-2 were scored as the highest in fresh but also cooked fruits, whereas SafCider™ AC-4 was judged less expressive and predominantly oriented towards freshness; and SafCider™ AB-1 was more discrete (data not shown).

More interesting were the detailed fresh fruits perceived by tasters as shown in Figure 4. Obviously, sensory characterization of all ciders was driven by detection of apple notes, but SafCider™ TF-6 scored high for most of the fruits, especially banana-pear and red fruits. SafCider™ AS-2 and SafCider™ AC-4 respectively exhibited more citrus and floral notes, whereas Saf-

Together with mouthfeel attributes assessment (data not shown) confirming higher acidity feeling for SafCider™ AC-4 in line with its acidity maintenance and the sweetness feelings for SafCider™ TF-6 and SafCider™ AS-2 possibly linked to their high candy-like aromatic intensity and their higher remaining fructose level (higher sweetening power than glucose or saccharose), Fermentis suggested the map in Figure 5 to describe the impact of these 4 yeast strains and to serve as a baseline for cidermakers in their choices.

CONCLUSION Yeast strains may have a huge impact on cider profiles, not only in terms of fermentation performances and analytics but for

Fig.4 Detail of fruity/floral notes for the French sweet cider.

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Fig.3 Strain aromatic profiles for all recipes regarding isoamyl acetate and ethyl esters (C4, C6, C8 and C10) odor active values (= concentration/perception threshold). *: Sole recipe in which TF-6 was able to dry the sugars. NA = Non-Available.

sure also from a sensory perception standpoint. As such, they can be considered as a powerful tool to diversify the cider offer in the market and cidermakers can play with them to achieve their final product target.

For this purpose, Fermentis focused its research on the selection of valuable strains dedicated for ciders. SafCider™ AB-1 (Apple Balanced) will suit for all types of balanced ciders even under difficult fermentation conditions. SafCider™ AS-2 (Apple Sweet) will bring to sweet and dry ciders complex aromatic profile between fresh and cooked fruits and a rounder mouthfeel. SafCider™ AC-4 (Apple Crisp) will be applied for highly fresh and crisp sweet or dry ciders. SafCider™ TF-6 (Tutti Fruiti) will be dedicated to intensely fruity but rather sweet and round ciders!

Fig.5 Fermentis cider strains baseline map based on French sweet cider recipe.

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

COMMENT

INSURANCE

PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS

AS A BREWERY OWNER, IT’S IMPERATIVE YOU PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS. AND IF YOU DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES THE INDUSTRY PRESENTS, IT IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS THESE DIVERSE RISKS, EXPLAINS DEREK FORD AND DON PRICE FROM BIG – PORT PERRY.

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ver the past decade, the craft brewing industry has been considered one of the fastest growing sectors of manufacturing in the country. In 2010 Ontario was home to less than 100 craft breweries, while today that number has grown to over 300. Fantastic!. Congratulations to all craft brewers and your supporting associations!!

In addition to the differing production capacity of craft breweries, the way in which revenue is generated also differs tremendously.

Our craft brewery insurance program was designed to include everything your brewery needs such as:

Although most of their revenue is generated through manufacturing, craft brewers also generate income through tourism, retail, and hospitality. More importantly, even the way in which beer is sold differs from brewery to brewery, making it difficult for insurance companies to fully understand the risk.

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Some breweries have more than ten revenue generating streams when it comes to alcohol sales and other ventures including: tap room tours, on site retail, off site retail (LCBO, Beer Store, etc..) home delivery, suppling restaurants or bars, international exports, on-site food sales, events or trade shows, merchandise and so on.

Cyber attacks are increasing at an alarming rate, as are cases involving accusations and legal action against directors & officers by employees, for discrimination, abuse and sexual misconduct. It is crucial you have these coverages included in your policy.

If one does not fully understand these complexities it is virtually impossible to accurately identify and address these diverse risks.

At BIG Port Perry we understand these unique exposures that craft breweries represent, both large and small. That is why we have crafted an insurance package that will ensure all your needs, from production to sales, will be covered.

Through understanding these risks, we can ensure that each unique venture is properly presented to insurance companies so that the right coverage and the right premium is provided.

Stock spoilage Liquor Liability Equipment Breakdown Cyber Attack Product Recall Business Interruption Commercial Auto Coverage Directors & Officers legal liability coverage.

We are associate members of the Ontario Craft Brewers Association, we support your industry, and strongly recommend you join your provincial association.

There, you will receive advocacy, free membership in CFIB and the CCBA, great technical and learning support, and a network of expert brewers to help you build your business!

We are here to help!

Contact Derek Ford or Don Price at: Derek.ford@thebig.ca Don.Price@thebig.ca 905-985-0367 1-833-885-0367

Ontario’s craft brewing industry is extremely diverse, making it one of the more difficult business ventures for insurance companies to fully comprehend. Production capacity for example, differs immensely from brewery to brewery.

Ontario’s largest craft brewers production output comes no where near that of a company like Anheuser-Busch, but in some cases can be more than one hundred times that of the smallest craft breweries in the province. Craft brewers focus on quality, offering unique and seasonal brands of beer to beer connoisseurs .

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FENELON FALLS BREWING CO OFFICIALLY OPENING THE DOORS TO YOUR BREWERY DURING A PANDEMIC IS, UNSURPRISINGLY, NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES, HOWEVER, THE TEAM AT FENELON FALLS BREWING CO HAVE RISEN TO THE TASK. NAMED AFTER THE “JEWEL OF THE KAWARTHAS”, THE VILLAGE IT CALLS HOME, LOCALS AND VISITORS ALIKE NOW HAVE A BREWING GEM TO CALL THEIR OWN.

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cursory glance at the current lineup available from Fenelon Falls Brewing showcases no fewer than 14 different beverages. From Vienna Lager to New England IPA, Belgian Farmhouse Saison to Rauchbier and a selection of Hard Seltzers. There is something for everyone.

The brewery is an exciting and welcome addition in Fenelon Falls, which is located on the Kawartha Lakes, a chain of - fittingly - 14 lakes in southeastern Ontario, Canada.

Something about it just feels right.

The Kawartha Lakes stretch across Peterborough and Victoria counties, just north and west of Peterborough and 50–115 km northeast of Toronto. Ranging in size from 5 to 47 square km, the lakes form a major link in the Trent-Severn Waterway, a which connects Georgian Bay in Lake Huron with Lake Ontario.

And following a soft taproom launch towards the end of 2019, the brewery, founded by husband and wife Vinh and Agatha Mac, the brewery on the lakes has gone on to thrive in the months since.

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The team, alongside head brewer Russell Gibson, knew challenges would lie ahead, but they’ve met them head on.

“Our bricks and mortar brewery opened in a COVID year,” explain the duo. “What a way to start our journey making great beer in the Kawarthas?”

The couple cite the incredible community support early on as invaluable when carrying them through the toughest stretches of lockdown.

“We turned into an online bottleshop, which wasn’t suppose to happen until later on,” they say. “However, we saw this as a shining moment as Ontario-wide deliveries brought our customers closer to the brewery. The people who wouldn’t have Fenelon Falls Brewing on their radar.”

And Fenelon Falls Brewing Co have embraced the opportunities afforded to them by achieving the dream of having a brewery of their own.

They explain: “We’re on track to making the brewery into something local residents, cottagers, and even nearby cus-

tomers would be proud to recommend to friends and family. That’s our goal.

“We want to create a buzz for the town we’re in by producing quality beers and offering awesome customer service. The brewery’s name represents what’s best in the Kawarthas and our aim is to make the brewery a destination within the Ontario beer community, to be the hub for amazing beer, experience and hospitality.”

And when it comes to the beers they produce, they’re in safe hands thanks to Russell Gibson, who joined the business in its formative stages back in May 2019.

“We want to create a wide range of beers that anyone can enjoy. Many members of our immediate community aren’t typically the craft beer aficionado type, so a broad range was important to allow an eventual branching out,” the duo say. “We were taken aback by how well our Fenelon Vienna Lager and West Coast Red Ale was received. Others have enjoyed the range and we want to continue to be the stepping stone for trying new things, while still staying true to the community.

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

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MEET THE BREWER

THE JEWEL OF FENELON FALLS

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Growing the Kawartha craft scene is a priority,”Agatha and Vinh Mac

“Plus, the more we start to branch out, we hope to increase traffic in the area by making this small cottage town a destination location, where the brewery is not necessarily the feature, but an important part of it.”

While head brewer Russell Gibson has his own connections to the area, with his grandparents owning a house nearby when growing up, his journey in beer has taken him across Canada.

And via Gibson’s beers, which include IPAs, Lagers, Pale Ales, Sours, Stouts and also Hard Seltzers, they are striving to grow the area’s brewing reputation.

He graduated from Mount Allison University, a liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick. Majoring in Biology, he also departed with a minor in music, too.

They add: “Growing the Kawartha craft scene is a priority. It’s not quite as established as some other areas, so we want to build it up as much as possible. By continuing to be experimental and bring new product to our community, we hope that we can broaden the customers palettes and taste for quality made craft beer.

“I suppose I was sort of at a crossroads about what to next,” he recalls. “So I applied to a bunch of different postgraduate programmes and ended up being accepted onto the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management Program at Niagara College in Ontario.”

“Our brewery is in the heart of a tourist area, seeing people visiting from all over Ontario.

We want to ensure customer leave us with an amazing craft beer experience and take a bit of Kawartha beer with them into their circles.”

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Gibson describes himself as an individual that enjoys many different interests, rather than focusing on on particular field.

“I have a bit of experience in a lot of different areas rather than a lot of experience in

one thing. But I’m always determined to learn more,” he says.

“My degree in Biology helped me get onto the Niagara College course, but I was aware I didn’t have any practical experience in beer, so I started homebrewing because I didn’t want to be asking too many silly questions in class!” Gibson smiles.

“Thankfully, the course’s academic workload was easy for me to grasp and contend with, so it all worked out.”

Gibson grew up in Oakville Ontario, and it’s Ontario where his professional brewing journey would start, some 400km northeast of Oakville in Kanata, Ottawa.

He explains: “I finished the course in December 2016. I knew I had improved my academic knowledge but wasn’t sure I should be looking at an advanced position so early on. I knew there was so much more to learn first.

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“So I applied for a role at Big Rig and thankfully got the position.”

Gibson would start working in the cellar-side of the operation, something he considered important to get an invaluable perspective in production.

He recalls: “There was a great mix of responsibilities. Yes, it was hard work but you learned a lot along the way. Even if that meant cleaning an 80HL FV on one of my first days!”

Gibson would soon end up becoming a closing brewer, finishing the last brews and ensuring everything was ready for the brew team that came in for the following shift.

“I’d be brewing every week and during my time, Big Rig would expand its lab and quality control programmes, so I learned as I went,” he says. “Getting that experience right off the bat was essential.”

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But the time would eventually come for Gibson to further his career elsewhere.

He felt he had reached the ceiling in his current position and it just so happened that a brand new brewery called Fenelon Falls Brewing Co was advertising for a head brewer.

The team at Fenelon Falls opted for 15bbl 2 vessel a brewhouse from Criveller Group in Niagara, Ontario. And the maiden brew to take place on the system in November 2019 was a Dry Irish Stout, a beer that proved to be a massive hit with patrons.

“I applied, and was grateful to be offered the job at the start of 2019 before joining that May,” he says.

This beer would complement a Vienna Lager and a West Coast Red Ale, brews that were being produced via an existing contract brewing arrangement. Gibson would be swiftly tasked with formulating a trio of additional beers, too.

Gibson would move to Fenelon Falls during the brewery’s construction, often acting as a liaison between the owners and the construction team.

His tasks would include hooking up the soft piping around the brewery, responsibilities he looks back on fondly.

“It was like a big jigsaw puzzle that would all fit together,” he says. “It was a great experience.”

These would prove to be Kawartha Sparking Ale, a 4.7% golden ale boasting a sharp, crisp finish, a 5% East Coast IPA and also the Belgian Farmhouse Saison. The latter, now award-winning, is a 6.2% Belgian-style beer brewed with Kveik yeast.

And as of 2021, this range has grown considerably with fruited sours, Mexican La-

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gers, Marzens, Double IPAs, Rauchbiers, Italian Pilsners and much more besides.

It was like a big jigsaw puzzle that would all fit together,” Russell Gibson

“I like having such a variety to offer consumers. Out philosophy is that beer is for everyone and that everyone has different tastes. So we want to ensure we cater for that,” he explains.

And that offering extends to the brewery’s burgeoning hard seltzer range, too.

Introduced at the beginning of summer, Gibson worked with Durham College’s Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation (CCBI) on the project and they’ve gone from strength-tostrength ever since.

“We all agreed we wanted to offer hard seltzers and it was a rewarding experience work-

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ing with Durham College on their development,” he says. “They are fermentation-based with a bit of a malt base, and the feedback has been really positive. It really adds to the diversity of our lineup, too.”

That accessibility and openness is somewhat a raison d’etre for Gibson and the team, welcoming patrons regardless if they’re local, passing through or just in the area for the day.

And the head brewer is proud of the part he plays in making that happen.

“I take pride in my work, and I work really hard. It’s part of the reason I took this job, to always learn and always improve, he says. “It’s made me a much better brewer as a result.”

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SECTOR

CANNING THE CRAFT OF CANNING

BEING ABLE TO SELL AND DISTRIBUTE YOUR BEER IN SMALL PACK FORMAT HAS BEEN THE SAVIOUR OF COUNTLESS BUSINESS DURING THE LAST 18 MONTHS. AND CANNING HAS PLAYED A HUGE PART IN THAT. HERE, WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS, OPINIONS AND INSTALLATIONS TAKING PLACE IN THIS EVER-POPULAR SPACE.

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he canning sector, like the wider brewing industry around it, has been something of a rollercoaster during the last 18 months.

In the early spring months of 2020, countless breweries were forced to pivot (everyone’s favourite word) their packaging away from kegs and casks exclusively to small pack.

And for many outfits, that meant canning.

Those that had a canning line in-house were the lucky ones, while mobile canning businesses would end up working overtime and then some. But even if you had your own line, the sheer pressure on empty cans, labelling and ancillary packaging meant many breweries were unable to distribute beer even if they wanted to.

Thankfully, though, the supply chain is starting to right itself. However, the business models many breweries adopted as a result of the pandemic means these businesses will continue to place an increased emphasis on their small pack output, regardless of their ability to supply beer in cask and keg once more.

and packaging space as well as some recent installations where breweries are taking their packaging offering to the next level.

LOW-COST DEPALLETIZER FROM SKA FABRICATING Ska Fabricating has launched The Nimbus, a new machine designed to support breweries of all sizes and distribution models with the most portable, most customizable options the manufacturer offers.

The Nimbus half height depalletizer combines the best features from Ska Fabricating’s best-selling machines to create a new, low-cost depalletizer that’s optimized for small spaces and lower speed applications.

It expands the cutting- edge features of Ska Fab’s patented turntable design, providing additional accumulation and the ability to fold down and stow the rotary table—further reducing the machine’s footprint when not in use.

This innovation, combined with the Cani-Bus’ pallet lift and layer sweep design, creates a compact, efficient can depalletizer with a discharge height that allows for excellent can drop and many discharge angle options. This machine is essentially silent with no vibrator, and requires minimal real estate on a production floor.

CASK RELEASES “ULTIMATE MOBILE CANNING SYSTEM” Cask Global Canning Solutions has released a new system designed especially for mobile canners.

The ACS Mobile (Automatic Canning System) is said to be a highly agile version of Cask’s ACS V5. It delivers the speed and state-of-the-art automation of the ACS V5 on a frame that is just under 88 inches long.

It’s an especially timely new system, as large numbers of non-packaging breweries have had to shift to packaged beer to survive the pandemic.

Cask co-owner Neil Love, said: “Our goal with the ACS Mobile was to create the ultimate canning system for mobile canners and their customers.

“It gives mobile canners facing increased demand the best array of tools for efficiently canning distribution-ready craft beverages. For brewers turning to mobile canning for help during the pandemic, they get beers with extremely low dissolved oxygen and minimal product waste or low fills.”

And according to research from Modor Intelligence, the beer cans market witnessed a shipment of approximately 90.2 million units of beer cans globally in 2020 and is estimated to reach to 110.9 million units by 2026, registering a CAGR of 3.6% for the forecast period (2021-2026).

In this piece, we take a look at some of the latest innovation within the canning

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He added: “The ACS Mobile puts our industry leading fill technology on an immensely compact system that packages an array of beverages and can sizes and includes a weigh scale, auto-reject, and the other sophisticated automation that comes on a full-size Cask canning system.”

The ACS Mobile fills all Slim/Sleek/Standard cans up to 19.2 oz. and the system’s floating can-indexing wheel makes for the fastest available changeover between can sizes.

The system’s stainless-steel fill heads are compatible with beer, wine, kombucha, cider, mead and other beverage types, and can handle high-strength CIP measures to ensure no transfer of flavor or residue between beverages.

The system also has an easy to operate Windows 10-based operating program that enables a fast set up.

LABATT BREWERIES INVESTS TO BOOST RTD CAPACITY Labatt Breweries of Canada is kicking off a $119 million capital program that will significantly boost its Ready-To-Drink (RTD) capacity.

This comprises drinks such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Palm Bay, Okanagan Cider, and American Vintage.

Both Alberta and Edmonton will benefit from the investment with $69.2 million going directly into Labatt’s Edmonton brewery to expand production capacity and capability and meet the changing needs and tastes of Albertans, the company said.

“We’re proud of our history in Alberta with almost 60 years of brewing beer in Edmonton and serving Albertans across the province,” said Kyle Norrington, President of Labatt Breweries of Canada. “As the province continues its post-pandemic recovery, this investment is one more step in the right direction, with new jobs, economic growth and the type of innovation that continues to make Alberta a great place to live, work and do business.”

The Edmonton brewery investment will support new technology, equipment, product lines and upgrades to the brewhouse and control room.

It will also fund 30,000 square feet of new warehouse space and a 30,000 squarefoot ready-to-drink building to support expanded brewing type and capacity.

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“Today, our Alberta team helps us serve 3,000 retail outlets, bars and restaurants with products that come from 144 suppliers across the province,” added Peter Delamont, general manager of Labatt Edmonton Brewery. “We are truly Made in Alberta and we’re proud to be able to contribute to our communities and to our province’s economy through this investment.”

Built in 1963, Labatt’s Edmonton brewery has undergone four major capital investment programs since 2015. Today, the location employs more than 190 people, with the latest investment expected to create 25 new jobs.

WHY CANS BEAT BOTTLES FOR SUMMER ACTIVITIES Summer is the peak season for drinking beer. Whether it’s drinking on a back porch, trying your latest varietal in your taproom, or toasting at the top of Mount Evans, your customers want to enjoy a cold one almost anywhere. Unfortunately, not every container can be brought to all the places your customers might want to drink, explain the team at Twin Monkeys Beverage Systems.

Camping areas: all of Colorado’s wilderness areas prohibit glass containers of any kind, and most private campgrounds have the same rule.

Swimming pools: everyone loves to knock back a cold one by the pool, but virtually all pool areas prohibit glass containers.

The fact is, if you’re only distributing your beer in your taproom and in glass growlers, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

CANS VS. GROWLERS It’s true that glass growlers have some advantages over canning lines — they’re easy to fill up at the tap with no additional training or equipment and you can buy them for a few dollars each in bulk. Unfortunately, they’re also bulky, heavy, and fragile, and they don’t keep beer fizzy or fresh for very long. The best use of a glass growler is to bring it home, keep it in the fridge, and drink it within a day or two.

Aluminium growlers are an option, but they’re much more expensive, costing anywhere from $20 to $50 apiece. They’re also very heavy and cumbersome and suffer from the same freshness issues as glass growlers, making them difficult to bring anywhere remote.

Cans, or crowlers, are the best of all worlds.

They have a tighter seal than glass bottles or growlers, keeping them fresh longer and through a wider range of temperatures.

Cans are the most versatile, portable, and durable option for distributing your prized beers to as many people as possible, especially in the summertime. Here’s why.

They’re relatively light and portable, allowing your customers to take them anywhere.

Best of all, they’re inexpensive both for canners and customers alike, making them the most accessible option to bring beer to as wide an audience as possible.

GLASS VS. ALUMINIUM IN OUTDOOR SPACES

GETTING STARTED WITH A CANNING LINE

There are hundreds of places that your customers love to spend their summer where glass containers simply aren’t allowed.

Two of the most common objections to starting your own canning line are space and cost — most brewers are concerned that they don’t have room for canning equipment in their commercial space, nor can they afford the equipment necessary.

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Concert venues: the vast majority of concert venues like Red Rocks Amphitheater ban glass containers entirely, while aluminium containers are usually allowed.

Sports stadiums: most stadiums don’t allow outside drinks at all, but they’ll still distribute cans and aluminium bottles inside the stands. If you want your beer to be sold inside the stadium, it’ll have to be through kegs or cans.

Luckily, a canning line is more affordable than you think. Compact machines like the Mancos can fill 10-15 cans per minute in a footprint the size of a large tabletop, and more versatile machines like our Gunnison line can be paired with dozens of attachments to make them as simple or as complex as the needs of your brewery dictate.

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FLAVOUR

THE PROS & CONS OF ADDING LIQUID FLAVOUR TO BEER AS CRAFT BREWERS EXPLORE AND EXPAND THE BOUNDARIES OF FLAVOUR IN BEER, MANY TURN TO US WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT USING LIQUID FLAVOURS FOR THEIR BRANDS. IN THIS ARTICLE, FLAVORSUM SPEAK WITH STEPHEN RICH, A BREWER, CERTIFIED CICERONE, PRUD’HOMME BEER SOMMELIER, AND BJCP CERTIFIED BEER JUDGE, TO GET HIS PERSPECTIVES.

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ccording to Mintel, more than 100 new flavoured beers landed on North American retail and grocery shelves in 2020, representing more than 40% of total new product activity. With many breweries selling innovative new flavours directly to customers (and never hitting retail shelves), the actual number of new flavoured beers is likely much higher.

Breweries add value to their products, delight customers, and increase market share with flavoured beer offerings, but face a myriad of technical considerations when adding flavour to beer. Is it better to use raw ingredients or a liquid flavour? What

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sanitary and safety concerns should be addressed? When is the best time to add flavour to achieve the desired result?

To understand trends in the flavoured beer market and the nuanced pros and cons of adding liquid flavour to beer, the FlavourSum team spoke with Stephen Rich, Brewmaster, Certified Cicerone, Prud’homme Beer Sommelier, and BJCP Certified Beer Judge.

Where Are Craft Beers Headed in The Flavour Space?

Stephen Rich: Short answer? Some brewers are becoming increasingly interested in flavour, and others are not. Between 25,000 and 30,000 breweries operate globally and 12,000 in North America. And all of them, even in the craft beer market, have a wide range of values, goals, and purposes.

What might make a brewery of any size or experience choose to consider adding flavours, or any other new ingredient, process, or technology? Generally, craft breweries are driven by market strategies involving tradition, innovation, or local trends and influence.

Tradition-Centered: To my delight, more and more breweries are opening that focus on making classic beer styles—like English, German, Belgian, or otherwise. Because most of these brewers focus on traditional styles, ingredients, and techniques, they are unlikely to incorporate flavours into their beers.

Innovation-Focused: Many brewers are always interested and excited to learn about ways to create new, better, more efficient, or lower-cost beers. These brewers will see flavour as an opportunity to innovate to achieve their purpose—better, faster, safer, more efficient, etc. They are looking for new ideas and are more likely to consider flavour a way to reach their goals and build their brand.

Trend-Influenced: Other brewers (both large and small enterprises) want to capture the momentum and opportunity found in current or unexpected trends. These breweries will make a strong play for flavoured beer. With the relative ease of adding a liquid flavour, brewers can rapidly trial new flavour additions to existing beers and find a solution to quickly get to market. And in some cases, using flavour helps them hit critical capacity and distribution targets.

Competitive-Response: It’s no secret that hard seltzer and the broader ready-todrink (RTD) market are roaring through the packaged beverage alcohol market and stealing plenty of volume from beer along the way. This competition is predominantly on the backs of larger industrial beers, but craft beer is feeling the pressure.

Not only are craft brewers working on creating beers that compete with the easy-drinking and simple nature of hard seltzer, but they are also making their own hard seltzer.

Some of these brewers use whole ingredients such as fruit juice, honey, spices, etc., to create hard seltzers that emulate the general process and value set they apply to beer.

Other brewers use flavour to create seltzers that might look and feel like the big brands’ versions but have more interesting flavours or profiles.

The general influx of new beverages to the market is forcing many brewers to think about their products, ingredients, and processes more strategically.

FAST-GROWING TRENDS: FRUIT BEERS Across many of the brewery strategies, the growth and relative success of fruit beers is a burgeoning trend that I think bodes well for flavour use in craft beer.

These could include wheat beers with delicate fruit, sour beers with significant fruit, or generic ales built to represent the character

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of the fruit. Sales data proves that these styles continue to gain market share compared to other styles. Many consider the flavourful interest from the fruit and the generally lower bitterness and increased sweetness to be a big part of the trend’s popularity.

A similar approach is also being applied to hard-core craft beers such as Pastry Stouts.

Generally above 10% ABV (alcohol by volume), these beers commonly include flavours like vanilla and chocolate, but can even include smores, latte, almond, key lime pie, raspberry sherbet, caramel flan, etc.

Which Flavour Profiles Align by Beer Style?

Stephen: Brewers can certainly have fun using flavours to reimagine the aroma and flavour possibilities in their beers. But I would not forget about flavour’s ability to boost or act as seasoning to existing flavours.

For example, adding lots of vanilla could add a real vanilla character to a chocolate stout. Another option could involve adding a small amount of vanilla which could help boost chocolate and sweet perception without necessarily making it a vanilla stout.

Let’s consider these two general purposes for the use of liquid flavour: complement and addition.

COMPLEMENT Nearly any beer style on the planet could be considered a candidate for a complementary flavour addition. This will come down to the brewery’s values and goals for any specific beer. In this category, flavours can be used to enhance or emphasize existing flavours present in the beer. Think of it like capitalizing the alphabet. It’s all the same letters, but now they are emphasized as capitals. Let’s review a few examples.

a new layer of detail that could help enhance or differentiate your pilsner.

Another great example would be American India Pale Ale or IPA. IPA has many variants, but the classic American IPA is light on malt character, only supporting with a bit of bready caramel, but dense with grapefruit, citrus zest, and pine. Liquid flavour could help you refine that grapefruit note to specifically become pink grapefruit. Or perhaps you’d like the citrus zest to showcase more mandarin orange zest than navel orange. Maybe the pine isn’t just piney, but it’s that sweet resinous pine that leaks from the pine trees outside your brewery.

Here again, we’re not creating a new IPA, but complimenting its existing character to showcase its best traits a bit brighter.

ADDITION

Dark beers in general, specifically stouts and porters, are another great place to add new flavour to create a fun and delicious beer.

Chocolate, coffee, and vanilla have been used for decades now to add delicious complimentary sensations to stouts and porters.

But brewers are now exploring flavours like Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter Cup, Crème Brulee, Maple Bacon, Sour Cream Glazed Doughnut, Rocky Road, and the list goes on. The dark, roasty, and generally richer flavours of porters and stouts make them a great candidate for flavour additions. And craft beer consumers seek them out.

Where do most small-to-midsize craft brewers fall on the flavour spectrum?

Stephen Rich: I’d bet a perfect third of brewers are traditional, using only four or sometimes five ingredients to make mostly historical styles.

Increasingly, beers feature flavours that are not traditionally found in beer. A range of options can bring in flavour such as cocoa nibs, mango, coconut, dragon fruit, rice crispy squares, brownies, or even German chocolate cake. And yes, people are putting whole German chocolate cakes in their beer - lots of them. As the consumer’s palate for more extreme flavours in craft beer evolves, liquid flavour could play a vital role in its evolution. Let’s look at two more examples.

Another third of brewers make anything they feel like—old school, new school, adventurous, or innovative. They brew what they like and what they believe their clientele will like. Many small local brewpubs are great examples of this.

Back to that good old American IPA, a great base style that many brewers use to build a range of variations: Mango IPA, Peach IPA, Raspberry IPA, Blueberry Vanilla Sherbet IPA, Hazelnut Lavender IPA, Clementine Marshmallow IPA, or Pineapple Upside-Down Cake IPA. You can imagine the obvious challenges that could exist trying to make some of these highly flavourful IPA styles. Liquid flavour could provide a big advantage for someone thinking about how to get pastry into their beer.

I think the period of extreme experimentation is generally over. There may be a brewer or two making an Avocado Honey Ale, or a Lobster Stout because they have access to the local supply and it’s a fun project, but most brewers these days are experimenting with the flavours and character that fit the trends that are happening:

The last third of brewers focus primarily on richly flavoured beers—either traditional or innovative. They brew high ABV beers, barrel-aged beers, and many primed with all sorts of additives (which we generally term “adjuncts”).

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Hazy IPAs and tropical fruit

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Sour beers and juicy or exotic fruits

Pilsner is the world’s most popular and most replicated beer style. Some are simple and one-dimensional, while others are elegant and delicately nuanced. Regardless of interpretation, the base of every pilsner should be bread-like malt and grassy or herbaceous hops. The beer should never be too assertive, but those underlying characters should be present. Here’s an opportunity for liquid flavour to gently touch up the malt character of a Pilsner by adding bread crust, or light toast, or even going somewhere specific like rye loaf. Or you could add a hint of fresh-cut grass, lavender fields, or hayfield to enhance the hops. These additions would not change the malt or hop sensations, instead adding

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Imperial stouts with all sorts of dessert-like flavours

corresponding raw material. Any time brewers add anything, whether it’s a filtering medium, fruit, spice, or flavour, the risk of contamination should be a real concern.

Ingredients like cocoa nibs or vanilla beans are relatively easy to sterilize, but how would you ensure 500 pounds of raspberries, with a much more complex surface, are safe to add? Pasteurization isn’t ideal because it will affect the fundamental characteristics of the raspberry. Or let’s say you’re a small brewer who got the raspberries from a local farm down the road. You might not even have the opportunity to pasteurize them.

So from my perspective, depending on the raw material, a flavour addition may have the advantage of reduced contamination risk since liquid flavour is available in a sterile format.

and availability considerations that can create challenges for brewing flavoured beer.

How to Create Delicious Beer Flavours? u Stephen: Start by imagining beers and flavours that excite you, but don’t limit yourself to the beer or flavour. Excitement can come from your environment, friends, family, and visual cues. Think more about designing the beer drinking experience than designing a flavour.

Visualize the resulting drinking experience, then isolate the sensations that make that beer amazing and delicious. Think about the raw materials, process, sweetness, alcohol, body, and package—and build a parameter to define and achieve each.

Expect trial and error to be part of the process. Do your diligence to ensure all ingredients, processes, and records are executed accurately. Plan to critically evaluate the result with the intent of making improvements on the next batch. Always be honest with yourself and ask for honest feedback to ensure that you are always improving.

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Pro: Reduced Safety Concerns Using a flavour also carries fewer safety concerns, especially if the corresponding raw material is heavy and requires lifting into the tank. Of course, it will depend on the size of your production and your capabilities. Some brewers have systems in place for precisely those situations. In those cases, adding sizable amounts of raw material will be less of a concern.

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Pro: Reduced Risk of Hygienic Contamination Another benefit of adding flavours is the reduced risk of hygienic contamination compared to the

What are the Pros and Cons of Adding Liquid Flavours To Beer?

Stephen Rich: Any time I’m thinking about adding a new raw material, ingredient, process, or technology to the brewing process, I review the pros and cons with my team and with suppliers. Specifically, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages in the context of our values, what we do, and why we do it. We also examine the benefits and risks through the lenses of quality, safety, and flavour perception. u

Pro: Accuracy & Consistency of Dosing A big benefit of adding flavour is the accuracy and consistency of dosing capability compared to the corresponding raw material. As you know, a pound of raspberries may present a different amount of character this year than it does next year, or even this week than it does next week. The accuracy and consistency of using a flavour, which in turn affects the accuracy and consistency of the perceived taste, is among the most significant advantages of liquid flavour.

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Pro: Range of Customizable Flavours Another plus of using a flavour is the broad range of options and ready availability of supply throughout the entire year. When sourcing raw materials, you have seasonality, location,

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Pro: Ease & Flexibility of Adding Flavours Depending on the ingredient and the quantity, adding raw materials could present logistical and safety concerns. For example, how feasible is it to add 500 pounds of raspberries to your batch? Is it a safety concern to physically lift those raspberries into the tank? What about later in the process when you must get them out?

How easy will it be to clean any mess that is created?

Adding a liquid flavour or extract could be significantly easier and offers process flexibility. You can add liquid flavours to the tank, in-line between processes, during fermentation, during maturation, in the bright beer tank, pre-filtration, or post-filtration. Every brewer will need to define the addition stage that is best suited for their desired result.

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Pro: Improved Sustainability & Reduced Beer Losses Adding a flavour usually results in reduced beer loss compared to adding the corresponding raw material.

Let’s say you’re making 1000 liters of beer and decide to add 500 pounds of raspberries. Initially, you’ll be increasing your total volume, but the fruit will inevitably absorb some of the beer. After processing and separating the beer from the fruit, you’re going to end up with less than 1000 liters of raspberry beer. It will be richly flavoured, but typically, you’ll have less product to package.

So from a sustainability or conservation perspective, using a liquid flavour will allow you to reduce your losses in processing and reduce the amount of

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water it takes to make a liter of beer.

Historically, the water-to-beer ratio hasn’t been much of a concern, but more breweries are starting to reexamine this issue.

The environmental impact from shipping in raw ingredients is also something to consider. Getting local fruit from down the road is straightforward. But if you’re getting dragon fruit shipped from across the world, the carbon footprint can add up. If your brewery values sustainable production and seeks to reduce the ecological impact, then you’ll need to ask yourself if shipping fruit from across the world matches your values. u

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Con: The Potential for Negative Market Perceptions Now for the cons. The biggest downside of liquid flavour is nontechnical. Unfortunately, the perception (or optics) of adding a flavour isn’t always as favorable as the corresponding raw material. In some markets, this won’t be much of a concern.

But for small and medium-sized craft brewers, this negative perception around flavours could impact potential marketing opportunities.

Some breweries have developed a very strategic approach to flavoured beers.

Essentially, they pick three to five beers and use these as a base to create new variants by adding flavour. So instead of creating a new beer every quarter, they roll out a unique flavour for their imperial stout base, for example. They now have a system to make hundreds of variants quickly and strategically.

Con: Challenges with Delivering the Desired Perceived Flavour, Color, And Body It may sound counterintuitive but achieving the desired perceived flavour may be easier with the raw material. While adding 500 pounds of whole raspberries can include some challenges, fruit generally delivers a more robust, more nuanced flavour.

Delivering the same depth of taste with a liquid flavour may not be as simple. Finding a flavour with the right combination of notes requires technical expertise, including understanding usage rates. With flavour, adding more rarely produces good results. You risk incorporating non-desirable characteristics along with the flavour, like a medicinal or metallic taste.

The fruit also contains characteristics that the liquid flavour can’t always replicate, like a specific color, sweetness, or body.

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What Are ‘Watch-Outs’ Or Technical Considerations with Flavours?

Stephen: I’ve found the best place to add a liquid flavour is the last possible process, i.e., in the bright beer tank, after filtration or centrifugation, and before packaging. With this approach, the flavour goes through a minimum number of processes.

My goal as the brewer is to deliver the best experience with the final perceived flavour and aroma of a beer, whether canned, bottled, or on tap.

WEIGHING PROS & CONS Overall, the pros and cons of adding flavour are subjective and affected by your brewery’s purpose. The weights you assign to the advantages and disadvantages will align with your values and your market. For some brewers, the pros will significantly outweigh the cons. For others, the one or two cons associated with liquid flavours will drive them to use raw material.

OTHER TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

For any brewery, large or small, many of the pros as opportunities are worth examining to add value to their operation and brand.

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ABOUT STEPHEN RICH

Always be aware of dissolved oxygen and minimize its presence in your process to extend shelf life and improved taste.

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Always follow strict sanitary processes.

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Although adding flavour to the bright beer tank produces excellent results, you can explore the point at which you add the flavour. Will the outcome be different if added in the brewhouse, during fermentation, in maturation, or in the bright tank?

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During any experimentation, consider how downstream processes may alter the flavour impact of the beer or the flavour added, such as filtration, centrifugation, or pasteurization.

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Before adding flavour, assess whether it will react to any chemistry in the beer that may change its profile. Is there anything in the beer that may affect how the flavour is perceived, like lactose, acids, or bitter notes?

Stephen is a Brewer, Certified Cicerone, Prud’homme Beer Sommelier, and BJCP Certified Beer Judge. Starting in 2004 as an eager homebrewer, he now has over 10 years of professional brewing experience working with a range of brewhouses, cellar equipment and packaging operations.

Stephen managed one of Ontario’s most ambitious Brewery builds and rebuilt one of Ontario’s first Craft Brewpubs.

ABOUT FLAVOURSUM FlavourSum provides the flavour solutions, expertise, responsiveness, and infrastructure that growing food and beverage companies need to accelerate success. Part of our mission is making flavour sourcing more efficient, effective, and enjoyable. <10-day lead times and hundreds of floor stock products makes us one of the most responsive North American flavour companies. Work with us to create delicious new products while keeping your next launch on schedule!

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FOCUS

WATER A RESPONSIBLE APPROACH TO WATER MANAGEMENT

AS PART OF ITS SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE, COLORADO’S NEW BELGIUM INSTALLED AN ON-SITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM FROM EVOQUA THAT WOULD GENERATE AN EFFLUENT THAT FAR EXCEED THE CITY’S DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS.

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ince 1991, the New Belgium Brewing Company has been brewing craft beer at its brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

New Belgium Brewing’s core values include producing world-class beers and preserving environmental stewardship.

As part of its sustainability efforts, New Belgium Brewing wanted a more responsible approach to managing its water.

This included installing an on-site wastewater treatment system that would generate an effluent that far exceed the city’s discharge requirements.

Due to the limited amount of space available on-site and the fact that the facility is located near a residential area, the system needed to have a compact footprint and mitigate any odors associated with the wastewater treatment.

characteristics (a combination of process wastewater, spent yeast and hops), treatment requirements, limited space available, and the proximity of the wastewater treatment plant to a neighboring residential community.

The AnMBR system consists of a 330,000 gallon continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) paired with an 86,000 gallon membrane tank.

The system was designed to treat up to 142,000 gpd of wastewater and generate a final effluent with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations of less than 230 mg/l.

RESULTS

SOLUTION Evoqua’s ADI Systems was selected to design and build a customized on-site wastewater treatment solution for the Asheville brewery.

The ADI® anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) system was chosen as the best treatment solution for the brewery based on the design raw wastewater

The new treatment system that Evoqua’s ADI Systems designed for New Belgium Brewing is generating a consistent high-quality final effluent that exceeds the discharge limits of the local publicly owned treatment works.

The compact system is also meeting noise and odour limits, preventing any disruption to the surrounding neighbourhood.

New Belgium Brewing is the fourth-largest craft brewer in the United States and the eighth-largest brewery in the nation, producing popular brands including Fat Tire Belgian Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, and Citradelic IPA. CHALLENGE To keep pace with consumer demand, New Belgium Brewing expanded its operations by building a second brewery in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. The new facility is sized to produce upwards of 500,000 barrels of beer per year.

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BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

CROSSING CONTINENTS: BELGIUM MAKING THEIR MARK: THE STORY OF BREWERY D’OUDE MAALDERIJ THE D’OUDE MAALDERIJ BREWERY WAS FOUNDED IN 2011 IN KOOLSKAMP AND IT HAS ACHIEVED A GREAT DEAL IN THE YEARS SINCE. HERE, PAUL DAVIES, THE FOUNDER OF ALEHUNTERS BREWERY TOURS, CHARTS THE STORY OF ITS FOUNDER JEF PIRENS.

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rouwer met een bizar kantje, brouwer ‘met een hoek af’. Brewer with a bizarre side, a brewer ‘on the edge’. So said an article in De Zytholoog magazine about D’Oude Maalderij in Izegem recently.

The article in question recognises the achievement of brewer Jef ‘Hiq’ Pirens being made a knight of the mashing paddle at last year’s Belgian Beer Weekend, the feast of Gambrinus and Sint-Arnoldus.

What is amazing is that this accolade was awarded a mere eight years after releasing his first beer Qantelaar in September 2012.

So the rise of this wonderful craft brewery has been rapid indeed but its beginnings go back even further to 2001 when a young Jef Pirens, 18 years young, brewed a beer at KIHO College in Gent for his end of school project.

Displaying his ‘edgy’ credentials, his Geslacht beer was financed by selling

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it through his local youth club, Andere Geslacht – of which he was also President!

Born in Hasselt, young Jef grew up in and around Brugge. His dedication to fine beer owes itself in parts to discovering new beers at Daisy Claeys’ Brugs Beertje with friends. From there his interest in beer became much more serious, a passion in fact.

Following a period of home brewing, Jef finally released his first batch of Qantelaar (based on Kantelen, the word for tilting, how one gets after a couple of drinks) beer in 2012 and took on the name D’Oude Maalderij (D.O.M. Brouwerij) from the former old millhouse in Koolskamp where the home brewed beer was produced.

An unfiltered 8% bier bruin with wheat malt and candi sugar for a sturdy body, the beer remains a top seller for the brewery.

Jef continued to brew further batches of the beer at Brouwerij Maenhout in Meulebeke and was rewarded with 8th place in the consumer trophy at Zythos Bier Festival.

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The next project was to remove the old greenhouses and build a new building to house the new D.O.M. brewery, pieced together by Jef from many different parts of brewing kit – a true Frankenstein creation and inspiring the brewhouse name ‘Frankie’.

The only new piece of kit was the malt mill.

Four of the lager tanks and the bottling plant are from Alvinne, the pump from Van Honsebrouck, the yeast tanks are old farmers’ milk tanks and the labelling machine is from Fort Lapin.

Now, the nickname ‘Hiq’. No, it doesn’t relate to an insatiable thirst for dark beer, although this isn’t too far from the truth.

Apparently this is an old nickname given when he was younger and has its foundations in Pinball and the Transformers comic series. D.O.M. Brewery continued to develop slowly but steadily and ‘Hiq’ hosted numerous beer tasting evenings, pushing the reputation of his beer.

He also developed a slogan for his beer ‘Leer Proeven, Durf Genieten or Learn to Taste, Dare to Enjoy’.

Possibly a swipe at the Jupiler generation perhaps? The English version is ‘Dare to Taste, Learn to Enjoy’, an unintentional volte-face but one that works as the interplay can be switched around.

D.O.M. Brewery were also participating in beer festivals, Zythos, Poperinge, Koekelare but the first big festival featured a stand at the 2013 edition of BAB in Brugge due to a last minute cancellation by Domis Ignis.

Around this time, two further beers were launched – Redenaar at the 7th Brugs Bierfestival, a 6.5% bier blond and Hop The Brewer, another 6.5% beer but this one being an IPA.

This trio of beers, whose initials spelled out the D.O.M. Brewery, were sold in unique triangle packs so that all 3 could be tasted, compared and appreciated. It was 2015 and D.O.M. Brewery was gaining momentum.

A former flower shop became available in Izegem and Jef worked day and night from August of that year to install water and waste supplies and open his taproom.

Opening just before his 34th birthday, the taproom was furnished like those cafes from a bygone era with plenty of memorabilia, both beer-related and otherwise from Jef’s collection of antique curiosities.

Both D.O.M. beers and guests were offered alongside Jef’s collection of approximately 2.800 different vintage beers.

Local snacks were showcased alongside Thai food from Kai Fa and a new beer, Farang (stranger) was produced in collaboration with them – an 8% Belgian Tripel made with galanga.

The bar is a delight with plenty of beer-related heritage including old signs, religious artifacts, antique furniture while outside old dodgem cars and bikes compete with a (very) old campervan.

The fermenters are horizontal which is preferred due to the larger surface area and lower pressure. All bottles are filled under Jef’s expert eye and the brewhouse conditions are perfect for bottle conditioning with no added sugar required.

The brewhouse launched in September 2016, a year after the bier café opened, continuing a long-standing brewing heritage in Izegem.

Local fresh tapwater is used for all the beers, Belgian hops and sometimes herbs are added when necessary. On average D.O.M. Brewery produces 40 brews a year.

With a new brewery began a period of experimentation. The Homo Beerectus project with Brecht Kindt aimed to launch a new beer every 10 weeks, with 30 new beers produced over 6 years.

However, the project came to a sudden end with the untimely passing of Brecht in April 2019.

The beers were very popular and Eager Eagle became a regular beer, renamed Stoffoasje Tripel, 8% abv.

Jef had decided that he needed a Tripel in his range and this sturdy beer has become his second best seller.

In May of the same year saw the opening of The Mash eetcafe on the site with Jef’s girlfriend Liesbet Schoonvliet.

Beers were being produced by Jef at friends’ breweries, namely ‘t Gaverhopke, Gulden Spoor, Alvinne, De Leite and he also undertook a short brewing course at Glenn Alvinne’s brewery.

The next development would be the trio of dark beers, Deo a 4.8% porter, Optimo an 8% smoked stout and Maximo an 11.5% imperial stout.

Borne out by Jef’s love for dark beers, the message was to educate drinkers that not all dark beers taste like Guinness (a Hiq guilty pleasure).

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Focussing on tasty Belgian homecooking, you can create your own meal from choosing a Stoemp and a meat dish or go for a Mini Mash or Monster Mash, depending on how hungry you are.

It’s little wonder that Ratebeer has voted the café Belgian’s best brewpub for 3 consecutive years! I can personally vouch for Liesbet’s cookies made with spent grain – hot from the oven and delicious.

Another new direction brought a barrel-aged series of beers with an oak aged Qantelaar with Makers Mark and Wild Turkey bourbon barrels.

Putting the same focus on quality as with his other beers, Jef treats the addition of oak as a 5th ingredient in these beers.

At the end of the year sees the annual release of Dominator’s Potion with Martinique rum and Blair Athol whisky flavouring a 12% Maximo over a year.

However, Jef regards his Sea Monster series of beers as his showpiece. Inspired over games of Magic, The Gathering, these beers take their time to develop and are only released into bottle when they are ready.

At 14% abv Leviathan, Kraken, Chtulhu, Scylla, Lorelei and Charybdis are beers to be both respected and appreciated on special occasions.

Which brings us to the present. Being knighted is an honour not lost on ‘Hiq’ Pirens. Nominated as deserving brewers who make an important contribution to Belgian beer. Its a reward for him being creative and progressive with his beers, and not being afraid to experiment.

He feels that there is ‘no greater honour in the brewing world’ and you can see his medallion and framed charter on the wall in The Mash.

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This honour has opened new doors. D.O.M. Brewery was selected as one of eight brewers for the Barrel Boutique of Brouwerij Het Anker in Mechelen and launched at the Molenberg Fest. Fortunately 5 further barrels of beer remain at the brewery for an additional year’s ageing.

D.O.M. beers were also entered into their first international beer competition and picked up an impressive nine silver and bronze medals at the London Beer Competition.

In typical Hiq style a lockdown beer, ‘Antibirus’, was also launched this year plus a butternut squash Hallow’een beer. Further projects include a low alcohol tafelbier though an even more exciting development is underway.

Part of Jef’s Brewmance series of collaborations, the Mash of the Titans promises to be one of the most exciting project yet.

A series of six barley wines will be produced in collaboration with six equally creative Belgium brewers.

These breweries are Brasserie Minne in Wallonie, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet in Anzegem, ‘t Hofbrouwerijke in Beerzel, Brouwerij Alvinne in Zwevegem, Brouwerij Totem in Evergem and Brasserie Atrium, also in Wallonie.

Many of the beers have already been brewed and they are expected to be ready for sale by the end of March.

Apart from being such a creative exercise, Jef feels that it is important that everyone has fun making the beers and has the opportunity to learn from one another.

Equally important is that the beers are financially successful as this has been a very hard year for local breweries.

The project is also a statement to advertise the fact that these producers are

still around and continuing to make excellent beers.

Half of these beers will be available as a 1,000 only limited edition 6 pack. To whet the appetite even further, the remainder of the beer will be barrel aged and available at a later date.

On another note the old campervan has gone – sold – but Jef has added some classic cars to adorn the outside of the brewery as you can see below.

Finally – a date for the diary. On the 9th October 2021 D’Oude Maalderij will turn 10 years old and to celebrate The Mash will be hosting a party with a new D.O.M. beer launched every hour.

This promises to be a major event with many guests on hand to assist in hosting the beers with stories, etc. Liesbet will be on hand to supply tasty beer food throughout the party of course – just in case.

ALEHUNTERS BREWERY TOURS As a footnote Jef feels that his story has been one of steady momentum, not rushing ahead too quickly but making steady progress from small, local festivals up to the bigger ones and on to international events, spreading the name of this unique part of West Flanders.

To get a taste for what is happening in Izegem go and take a look for yourself and have a chat with Jef, sample his beers and enjoy Liesbet’s cooking. You won’t be disappointed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Paul Davies is the founder of AleHunters and hosts beer tours and events in London and Belgium. During the pandemic he has moved his beer tasting events online:

www.alehunters.co.uk

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

BREWERY TOUR

SHILLOW BEER CO.

ARMED WITH A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IN HOSPITALITY, SHILLOW BEER FOUNDERS BEN AND JAMIE SHILLOW KNOW ALL ABOUT MAKING AN IMPRESSION. AND FOLLOWING SEVEN YEARS OPERATING AS A CONTRACT BREWING OPERATION, THE DUO NOW HAVE A HOME IN OTTAWA TO CALL THEIR OWN.

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A PLACE CALLED HOME

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It’s a bit of everything. It can be fun, scary and exhausting,” says Jamie Shillow.

field, the duo would meet while working at the now-closed Michelle’s Brasserie in Yorkville, Toronto.

“I would say it’s almost unsettling when we’re super busy, but we much prefer it that way!” adds co-founder and husband Ben. “We’re in an interesting period where, after all of this anticipation, we’re searching for that rhythm. But I tell you what, it’s a wonderful feeling.”

Shillow Beer is the latest addition to Ottawa’s brewing landscape. And although they opened their doors in June 2021, the Shillow Beer story is one that’s seven years in the making.

Michelle’s Brasserie boasted around 120 different bottle listings, alongside 15 taps.

For the time, an excellent selection, and one the owner would encourage staff to sample and enjoy in order to better inform and educate their patrons.

“When you work around food and beverages, you start to develop an appreciation for the products you’re selling,” says Jamie. “And thankfully Michelle’s had an extensive beer list, which really opened our eyes to the diversity of styles in that world.”

Both Ben and Jamie have extensive experience in hospitality. And it’s in this

And before long, the well-trodden path of homebrewing would come calling.

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When you work around food and beverages, you start to develop an appreciation for the products you’re selling,” Jamie Shillow.

“We bought a few books, and I was really, really interested in it as a hobby,” says Ben. “So we started out with an extract kit and ended up with several bottles of horrible, terrible, carbonated beer.

“It was atrocious, and I realised pretty quickly that brewing was not my calling!”

But Jamie wasn’t going to be defeated quite as swiftly.

She explains: “I’d find myself reading books on the subject and thinking ‘Ok, if we’re going to let this hobby take up space in our little apartment then the least we can do is try and make a better job of it and enjoy the beer’s we’re drinking’.

“I’d make trips to the Home Depot to help me build a little system at home. As a result, I began to enjoy the creative and scientific process of making beer.”

Working in restaurants, the duo had often talked about the idea of opening their own establishment. But as they got more into beer, those discussions turned to potentially opening a brewpub.

“We’ve always had this entrepreneurial drive, wanting to do our own thing,” says Jamie. “And things have just developed from that.”

To take her knowledge to the next level, Jamie would enrol in the Niagara College Brewmaster Program.

In the meantime, Ben would patiently and diligently converse with the owners at Beer Bistro, located on King Street in Toronto, about the merits of having a house beer on tap.

“I told them they should really have a house beer and Jamie, who previously worked there, should really be making it for you,” he smiles.

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As Shillow Beer grew, one thing remained constant and that was the duo’s desire to open a bricks and mortar operation. And following years as a contract brewing business, they have seen both the pros and cons of this side of the industry.

“They were on board, but I told them to at least let me finish my brewing program first,” laughs Jamie.

“It helped me learn a lot about the supply chain, navigating the LCBO and building crucial relationships with people across all aspects of the brewery,” says Ben. “But the inability to truly control your rate of production means you’re always needing to pivot.”

And following the conclusion of her studies, Shillow Beer was founded in 2014.

A contract brewing operation, initially designed to produce and supply beer for Beer Bistro.

Jamie adds: “It is a bit of an uphill battle because you’re outsourcing every single facet of the process, which means it’s not a sustainable business plan unless you’re able to really hit high volumes.”

“Starting out on a really small scale, producing small batches of beer for one client, helped us gain experience in the fields of logistics, transport, and licensing,” says Ben. “They were steps we needed to go through, but doing so with a customer we were already familiar with helped a lot.”

Shillow Beer works with Junction Craft Brewery in Toronto, and says the beers produced there have never tasted better.

But Ben is also keen to highlight some less desirable aspects of the contract brewing scene.

That maiden beer for Beer Bistro was an American Brown Ale.

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“When you’re supplying a beer-centric restaurant, you need to ensure you’re producing a beer that ticks a lot of boxes,” says Ben. “They would cook a lot with beer and pair it with dishes, so we knew we wanted to brew something engaging. For me, while it’s not overly esoteric, an American Brown Ale is a step up from lots of other house beers.”

“We’ve often found that there are some people who are pretty vocal about demonising contract brewers,” he says.

“There’s definitely some some gatekeeping happening where they don’t want to consider you legitimate until you’ve pur-

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chased your own equipment and made a big financial investment.

a little bit of momentum so, of course, we didn’t want to stop.”

He adds: “Not everyone necessarily has the money to invest in their own operation straight away.

Jamie would rewrite much of their business plan, observing how other breweries were navigating the pandemic by selling more direct to the consumer. The duo would part ways with the existing bank and source a new funding partner.

But unfortunately, there’s it’s a bit of an uphill battle with certain people who look at all contract brewers in the same way.

“Sure there are people that just want to develop a brand and make money fast.

I call them the nefarious marketing projects. But to be honest, I’ve seen that type of approach play out in bricks and mortar environments, too.”

And for the Shillow’s own bricks and mortar operation, they opted to open in Ottawa.

“The main thing was that we found a solution and could get ourselves up and running,” she says.

Shillow Beer is located at 1458 Cyrville Rd in Gloucester, and Ben is complimentary about the flexible nature of their new landlord.

“Toronto was getting very expensive, especially when you’re raising a family. Ottawa appealed both professionally and personally,” says Jamie.

“We were in a tight situation and they offered every extension possible to get our ducks in a row. We really want to make this work so knew we had to take the leap, sign the lease and push on with our plans,” he says.

Ben adds: “And when it came to opening our own place, we wanted somewhere we could easily commute to, and Ottawa offered that. It’s also a city that has proven itself to be somewhere that supports local business.”

When it came to kitting out their new brewery, Ben and Jamie wanted to buy local, so opted for a 10bbl kit from Criveller. Shillow Beer has opened with four FVs and two brite tanks, with plans to bring canning inhouse sooner rather than later.

The duo had settled on their new home.

But one thing they couldn’t account for was the onset of a global pandemic.

The first beers brewed on-site in mid May were Plain Sour Ale (4.2%), Amber Wheat Ale (5.9%), Summer IPA (5.8%), and Brown Ale (6%), while releases like Blood Orange IPA and Mango Sour followed, with plans to broaden the range in coming weeks and months.

“In March 2020 we were actively shopping for locations and had already refinanced our house to make that possible,” says Jamie. “We were in discussions with the bank about fundraising who were initially supportive despite the impact of the pandemic but would soon suggest we put our plans on hold.”

Ben adds: “We had been working towards this for a long time, and had finally got

brewersjournal.ca

Jamie explains: “It takes time to get to know a new system. I wanted to make sure that everything was running smoothly before I look to brew any ‘wacky’ beers.”

But regardless of the beers Jamie brews, one aspect that’s of key importance to her

and the team is transparency, as evidenced by the clear and informative impactful branding of its small pack.

“I think that’s where some of our hospitality background has kicked in,” says Ben. “You want to communicate what you’re doing in a clear and and straightforward manner.

“I’ve also seen it in the wine world where there’s been a move from the geographic information on labels that aids consumer choice. We believe such detail, alongside dietary detail should be on there. If I can’t be certain of what’s in something like a beer, then I’m not buying it.”

The brewery’s beers are available via a number of channels, while the duo hope to start construction on their taproom during 2022. In doing so, they’ll be able to welcome more of the community to their new home.

Although even without the taproom, they already feel welcomed by those around them.

“During construction, local brewers would tell me to call anytime if we needed help, which was very supportive,” says Jamie.

“We’ve also felt that backing from the local community, too.”

And for Ben, being part of a growing brewing scene in Ottawa can only be a positive.

“From my restaurant background, I find that it’s better to be part of a restaurant scene than be a one restaurant town, and the same thing applies to breweries,” he says.

“We’re all offering something different, so visitors will have completely different experiences wherever they go.

“We’re very happy to call Ottawa home.

And we’re looking forward to more people trying and enjoying the beers we make.”

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SCIENCE

JOCKEY BOXES

BEERFEST AND CHILL: A MASTERCLASS ON JOCKEY BOXES

FESTIVALS ARE A STAPLE OF THE BREWING INDUSTRY, AND REPRESENTING YOUR BUSINESS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE MANNER SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING. AND A CENTRAL PART OF THIS IS ENSURING THE BEER YOU’RE POURING TICKS EVERY BOX. ONE WAY OF ENSURING YOU DO JUST THAT IS INVESTING AND SPECIFYING A HIGH-QUALITY JOCKEY BOX, HERE, DAN BROADDUS, MASTER DRAUGHT BEER DISPENSE TECHNICIAN, TELLS YOU HOW.

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ith the Late-Start Summer we are experiencing, as well as continued restrictions on gatherings, one imagines that there will be a lot of Late-Summer beer festivals this year. I envision a mash* of Summer festival and Oktoberfest, with little to no pause betwixt them.

I imagine them blending into one strange monster: A foamy-haired, Mustachioed Beast, that reeks of Dry Hopped Sours, pomade, and Artisan sausages made from Middle-White pork, that was hand raised, and carried about on a covered, sedan chair, by gelded wolverines. This magical pig was fed only foie gras, arctic kelp, and grizzly bear milk.

Finally, the sausage was cold smoked over Caribou turds in the skull of a whale that was ethically harvested by Inuit. Yours for only $48. Bun Extra.

Whatever shape the season takes, Jockey Boxes will abound. Keep in mind, many of them have been in storage since St. Patrick’s Day, 2020, or the New Year’s celebration preceding it. Some will just need a good clean. Others will need an overhaul.

The rest will need a shallow grave, and maybe an “In Memoriam“ Instagram page, or a TikTok clip of an Office-Space-Style beat down. Blood in, blood out, Homie.** Or, mayhap, you are a newcomer to the festival/event side of the business, and need guidance in the acquisition of such a device.

Hell, you might not even know what a Jockey Box is [unlikely for Brewery types] but where to begin...and how? Just in case you don’t know what a Jockey Box is, except for the visual provided by the preceding photo: A Jockey Box is a cooler, or other bin, used to flash chill beer, or other beverages, in a setting where one cannot have a refrigerator, or maybe even electricity.

Most commonly, it is a chest cooler in the 45-55 qt/L size range, with 1-4 beer faucets coming out of it. The idea is, even if your product is warm, the box can be used to make the beverage drinkable, using ice, water, and some method of heat exchange. We will cover the mechanics in a bit, but let’s start where folks usually start, with the eye candy.

As stated, a picnic/camping cooler is most commonly used to house the chilling and dispense apparatus. There are a lot of ways to go here, so first we need to ask a few basic questions.

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What level of fancy do you require, for the look of the device? Do you want it to be branded? Some units can be printed or decaled. Others can be wrapped in vinyl. You can permanently brand the lid, and then put a chalkboard, whiteboard, or magnet-sign set up on the customer side.

Some folks don’t bother, and count on the tap handles for the visual. I recommend some sort of generic quality branding, noting the brewery/business, if for no other reason than making it less likely to go home with another brewery, rental agency, or event company. Every other company has the same, plain red, blue or stainless steel cooler. It’s hard to prove It’s yours, once It’s in someone else’s van.

ers that are designed for picnics and camping, such as Coleman, Igloo, Rubbermaid and Playmate, or equivalent, are usually sufficient for dispense.

Just be wary of knock-offs that are significantly less expensive, as these often have very poor insulation, are prone to sweat a lot, and often fall apart after only one season of use. Buy a brand and name you trust, but keep in mind there will be no warranty, the second you put a hole in it, unless offered by the person who builds the box out, for you. Don’t pay for any warranty you don’t have to, and if you can get your cooler gently used, or scratch and dent, all the better.

Some people go with retro coolers, or the big, roll around, stand-up, ice tubs. I’ve seen horse troughs, or the insulated poly bins they use in commercial, and industrial food production. I’ve seen people use plain, uninsulated storage tubs.

Another thing to consider is buying a durable, but attractive cooler for dispense, and spend the big money on a large marine grade cooler to store your extra ice. If the event doesn’t offer ice service, and you are the one that will be hauling ice in from wherever, buy the cooler rated for marine or extreme use.

If the cooler or bin can fit a coil or plate, and hold some ice, it can flash chill. But all are not created equal. “Marine Grade” coolers store ice the best, but remember that most of the melt-heat will come from the product, Itself. Regardless, if the event is exceptionally warm, sunny, remote, or long in duration, marine grade can help you stretch your ice.

Something in the 80-120 QT range, and with wheels, will be your best friend. These high-end coolers cost a lot, but if you buy them on clearance, at the end of the season, you can save a few bucks. Unlike a regular picnic cooler, they can keep ice frozen for 5-10 days, if managed correctly.

They also tend to be the most durable….and expensive. Regular, trusted brands of cool-

Another thing to consider is buying a durable, but attractive cooler for dispense, and spend the big money on a large marine grade cooler to store your extra ice,” Dan Broaddus brewersjournal.ca

At the end of a busy and hot season, the amount of money you save in ice, and in fuel or fees to go get more ice, and time lost promoting and selling because someone has to go for ice….a marine cooler for ice storage will likely pay for Itself halfway through your first, full season.

And you can get it branded, keep your food in it, and it makes a great bench. How many beers do we want to pour from this. What kind of volume do you expect to do? How difficult will ice supply be? Last, what is the temp differential expected to be?

brewer, in wellington boots and overalls, will be leaning on this box or table.

And this doesn’t account for the weight of their beards, mustache wax, pomade, SteamPunk pandemic mask, ego, regret and self doubt…...in short, buy or build a strong stand. Personally, I would recommend a cart, with large tires, like you find on a garden wagon. You can skirt it, or put a cabinet under, that you can put kegs and CO2 Cylinders in, along with a tool kit.

Let us say that a customer called me, looking for a 4 Product Jockey Box in a standard cooler format. They expect to pour a lot of 4-6 oz samples of 2 of the beers, and half or fewer of the other two. They don’t wish to buy a massive cooler because it wont fit in a regular car, or the salesperson can only lift and carry about 50 lbs, and will work out of 20 L kegs.

For this, I would prescribe a pair of 120 ft coils, pictured upper left, and a pair of 50 ft coils, like on the right. If usage was to be moderate, to light, and fairly even between products, I might go chill plate, as seen across the bottom.

Chill plates stay cold longer, but recover more slowly. Coils warm quicker, but recover almost instantly. And as you can see, not all coils are created equally. Both coils are 304 Stainless Steel, 5/16” O.D. restricting at 0.3 lbs/ft. Both are a double-coil, but note the spacer “combs” on the 120 ft coil.

This allows ice water to flow between the coils, creating a more even temp and more surface contact between ice water and Stainless Steel. The 50 footer is built to be compact, so this spacing is sacrificed, along with some of the efficiency and overall consistency of performance. If you can manage it, groovy. It is about function.

There are a few factors to consider, as to # of offerings. How big a cooler do you want to have to deal with. Think of the physically weakest person in your organization, who might need to move this thing around.

These units get heavy, quick. Also, make sure you have a stout platform to put it on.

Fully loaded, an average 2 faucet, 54 qt, steel belted Jockey Box will weigh between 100 and 150 pounds, roughly equivalent to a 50L keg. Make sure your table or cart is rated to support 500 pounds, because at some point, a 300 pound

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An additional advantage of the coil-in-coil approach is a lower dry weight. Once Ice and product are removed, you shave about 15 lbs by going with coils.

I am of the school of Murphy, who states, “Given any possible chance, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” I design, load, and build, with this in mind. Festivals vary, as far as keg storage. Best case, your kegs are in a proper, 2°C/36°F fridge, and are delivered to you, on demand, at a moment’s notice.

There are also tubs of unlimited ice, or reliable power, and reach-in refrigerators at your station, allowing you to keep the beer cold for the life of the keg. Oh...and all of this is included in the reasonable vendor fee you paid several months/ weeks prior. Worst case, It’s the craft festival equivalent of the Bloodsport Kumite but held in Thunderdome.

Reality is usually something just south of halfway between. I never count on any ice or CO2 gas I don’t bring. I further assume that I will need to be able to flash chill beer that is the same temp as the outside air, whatever that is. This means I buy a Jockey Box design that can do it. This usually means 120’ coils with combs.

And a secondary marine grade cooler or 2, just for Ice. I also locate every business that sells Ice within a reasonable drive. The ones easy to find, I will call, and warn of the festival. The hidden ones, I keep to myself, and maybe make a hedge buy, on spec.

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Gas tubes should be reinforced hose, rated for at least 120 psi. The hoses used most commonly have a 60 psi rating. Remember that all of these ratings are based on a 20°c/72°f or colder, ambient temp, and no direct sunlight. These hoses have been known to do an impression of unsliced bologna, from time to time, with just a little extra heat.

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Rinse out the product lines after each day’s use, and chemically clean the lines, between events.

Cap or bag faucets and Couplers when not in use.

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Other things to be wary of, and ask questions about, are how the box is put together, and with what materials. Here are some tips: u

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All metal components, through which the product travels, should be made of 304, or 316 Stainless Steel. This includes keg coupler probe, all tailpiece fittings at coupler, shanks which pass through the walls of the cooler, and perhaps most importantly, the faucets.

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Beverage soft jumper lines, from keg to box, and from shanks to cooling apparatus, should be flexible, and long enough to allow easy cleaning, and shifting of components. Quick release devices are also helpful, in this regard.

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Avoid coils which are welded, soldered or brazed, as it is impossible to ensure that the interior of the weld is seamless, and smooth. Most of these welds are made by flaring one of the tube ends, to overlap the other, and then heating the pipe and sealing the overlap with a filler alloy, that melts at a temperature which is high, for solder, but low, for welding. Plumbers call this technique “Sweating”.

The issue is, the end of the interior pipe is butted to the angled, interior wall of the flared pipe end. This gap,[Green colour] is a place for gunk to build up.

This can also create a turbulent eddy, within the pipe, that results in excess foam.

Sanitary, double flare fittings are acceptable, but the best join on a product is, no join at all. Several companies produce coils that are of a single, contiguous tube, which has spacer combs, and if long enough, is doubled on itself.

Remember that you are surrounded by people with whom you share a lot of commonality,” Dan Broaddus u

There is no reason to include points at which leaks, flow disruptions, or potential microbiological festering might occur. Keep it simple. Don’t punish yourself, because a particular manufacturer is unwilling to evolve.

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Buy the type of regulator wrench that cannot be removed while the reg is attached to the bottle. If you don’t, Murphy will rain down his vengeance, and your Crescent Wrench or Slip Joint Pliers will go missing….on day one of a four day event, which is 1.5 hour drive to the nearest place you can buy a new wrench. Or you can spend $3 for a Wrench that cannot walk away.

Guess what my vote is.

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Make sure the regulator has a gauge guard. Gauges are fragile, and can be broken internally, or even sheared off, should someone knock over the cylinder. Gauge guards are $10-$25.

A new regulator is $65-$100, plus lost gas, lost sales, lost time, and lost fuel/shipping.

A few other tips and tricks I have are as follows. Call them Dan B’s Laws of Festival Preparedness, as informed By Murphy. u

Whatever amount you expect to need, add 20%-25%. This is for everything: ice, product, ice, business cards, ice, flyers, ice, merch, ice, CO2, ice, food and snacks for you and your staff, ice, toilet paper, ice, sunscreen, ice, bug spray… and don’t forget… extra ice.

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All Its own category, because it is so important, you need 4L or 1 gallon of drinking water, per day, per person working the event. This water is ONLY

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

FOR DRINKING, to make coffee and Tea, and for brushing teeth. Washing and cooking water must be separate of this. And while true, normal guidelines are 2L a day, for an adult, you will be drinking, working 12 or more hours at a shift, physically exerting yourself, and likely out in the heat. You will need at least 3L, and the rest is buffer… for Murphy. u

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Use pure CO2 for beer, unless it is, specifically, a nitro beer such as Guinness, Boddington’s, Murphy’s etc.

Most of these flash chill devices require pressures of 24-36 PSI, just to overcome internal restriction values created by the plates and coils. And you are correct in thinking that such pressures of Pure CO2 would normally over-carbonate your beer. That is, you are correct, if the beer is cold.

At these events, even if your kegs are stored cold, it is often stored at 4-6°C/40-44°F. If you try to pour a draft at these temps, Foam city. What is more, once the keg is dropped to your booth, it will begin to warm. A keg at 19°C/66°F needs a keg pressure of 30-34 PSI, Just to Maintain a carbonation level of 2.5 Volumes. And for every 1000 feet of elevation, add half a pound to that.

Additionally, you can fit many times the amount of CO2 into a cylinder as you can nitrogen or nitro blends.

The expansion rate of CO2 is nearly 3 times that of nitrogen, since CO2 stores as liquid, in a cylinder. A 10L cylinder of CO2 can dispense up to 3000L of beer at 28 psi. The same beer gas would do about 1660L. Plus, it often costs 2-3 times as much. This means you can haul nearly twice the amount of pure CO2 for the same amount of space, and save hundreds of dollars on the gas alone. With all that spare space and cash, you can bring more ice.

Have more tools than you think you will need. This includes two faucet spanner wrenches, 3 adjustable wrenches/slip joint pliers, two universal screwdrivers that have #2 and #3 flat and Philips, as well as 1/4” and 5/16” hex drivers. Also make sure you have any specialty drivers you might need, like Allen, Torx or Robertson drivers. Ands have tools to repair and maintain all the other gear, like canopy, trailer, tent, etc.

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Get a sturdy cart or garden wagon with balloon tires. Not all venues allow you to pull right up to the booth, and even if they do, it’s only at the beginning and end. Plus, there might be a long queue to get your car in and out, or you might have multiple vehicles to unload. You might also have a team member who is extra festive, and needs a pull to the washroom or to the First Aid Station. Trust me: you don’t want to carry them.

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Ensure you have a secure way to transport and store your CO2. If a CO2 cylinder falls over and cracks, or the valve head is broken, or sheared off, the CO2 in the cylinder is going to start to violently boil, forcing the gas out of the break at 1050 PSI. It doesn’t matter if it is steel or aluminium, it is deadly. Aluminium cylinders travel faster. Steel cylinders have more mass, so they hit harder. Either one can easily travel clean through a cinder block wall and lodge itself in another cinder block wall across a room. What do you think it might do to a human? Invest in a bungee cord, ratchet strap, or chain of some sort. It might save your life.

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If the event is likely to be extra hot, and your keg temperatures risk exceeding 30° C / 90° F, you will definitely need ice tubs for the kegs, and it wouldn’t hurt to have some rock salt along. On those rare occasions where heat is so high that jockey boxes can’t chill the beer enough, even with an iced keg, salt will increase the thermal conductivity between the water and the keg, drawing more heat out than would otherwise be possible with ice water alone.

Make sure to use ice water, not just ice. ice has pretty poor packing efficiency, and the name of the game

for heat transfer is “Surface Contact”.

Even with ice that packs efficiently, your best bet on Beer line surface coverage is about 40-50%. With ice water, it is 100% and you can also use larger pieces of block ice in the more open areas of the cooler. I’m a fan of freezing baggies or balloons full of water, to make giant, solid ice balls.

You can also freeze your bottled waters, and drink them once thawed. u

Have a roadside assistance plan for every vehicle, and make sure it is up to date, and covers a long tow.

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Schedule some fun. Make sure that everyone on the team has a chance to have fun for at least one hour, during the event. Schedule all of them out.

You can trade times, but everyone takes an hour. Not all of your potential networking opportunities are gonna make it to your booth. So get out there, try some beers, and hand out cards and jokes. I don’t know about you, but I think this is a pretty amazing industry, filled with awesome, interesting humans. So remember that fun is mandatory.

My biggest tip for festivals is to remember that you are surrounded by people with whom you share a lot of commonality.

People who sympathize, or can empathize.

People who love to help and be of service.

Let them.

Asking for help to succeed is less damaging to one’s pride than failing due to stubbornness. I will trade a small embarrassment over an epic, “It was all my fault, and I could have avoided it.” failure, any day.

John and Paul taught us that we get by with a little help from our friends.

If any of this is useful, you can name a beer after me. I like Wheats and Browns. Anything with layers of spice, reminiscent of Belgium, or Bavaria speaks to my very soul. The cost of licensing is 20L. Just please, no green or clear glass for packaging.

Cheers.

* mash; Pun not only intended, but lovingly crafted, to feed off of your moans, eye rolls, and retchings. Dad Power, Activate! ** Author grew up in Southern California, and Chicano Culture is a piece of his own cultural experience.

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COMMENT

ACCESSIBILITY

AM I WORTH IT?

“IF YOU EXPECT PEOPLE TO MAKE AN EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT IN YOUR COMPANY, THEN YOU NEED TO TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AT YOUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY. FIFTY PERCENT OF THE POPULATION WILL CHOOSE YOUR BUSINESS WHEN YOUR DECISIONS REFLECT A DESIRE TO SERVE EVERYONE,” EXPLAINS JULIE SAWCHUK, AN ACCESSIBILITY STRATEGIST AND THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF “BUILD YOUR SPACE AND BUILDING BETTER BATHROOM”.

we’ll just lift you up the stairs” and the other, “Changing the washrooms to be accessible will create too much red tape with the Health Unit.” Guess what? I’ve never been back to either place… and I live in a very small town.

ave you ever had a conversation where you thought you’d be able to get through to someone by sharing your own personal experience, only to discover that nothing you said would make a difference?

If I were to go out with any of my immediate family, that would be between two and 25 people deciding where to go. And guess what? If I can’t be comfortable there — safe, independent and be shown respect and dignity — then none of us go.

I’ll start with two short examples. First, “Putting in a ramp is the job of the next owner;

And that’s just my family. What about the dozens of friends or business acquaintances that I could meet up with? How about

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In the Spring 2021 issue of Brewers Journal Canada, we dove right into having “uncomfortable conversations” about accessibility in your space by specifically looking at the washroom. My intent was to grab your attention — hopefully it did. This time around, I’d like to build on what Wayne S. Roberts (founder of Blade Creative Branding) shared about Return On Emotion (ROE) in that same issue. Of the three Rs Wayne introduced us to, relationship is where the accessibility of your product and experience comes into play — and likely more often than you expect.

How much does accessibility matter in building and maintaining that relationship? How many people may have had the same “I won’t be back” attitude? Would you be surprised if I said 50% of the time*? (angusreid.org/accessibility-future-anxiety-rhf) How is that possible? Let’s break down the numbers.

According to the Angus Reid report from 2019, 24% of Canadians identify as having a mobility, vision or hearing disability. That is one quarter of your potential customer base. Add to that more than a third of Canadians (36%) that have close friends or family members who will also be making ROE decisions (conscious or otherwise) based on access.

I’ll use myself as an example. I have paralysis from the chest down and I use a manual wheelchair for “legs”. I have a husband, two kids, four parents, four siblings (plus their kids).

a lunch meeting or a drink after work? The architectural inaccessibility of your space will directly feed into the emotional experience of your customer base 50% of the time.

And it may be even more than that. When I speak to audiences — from high school students to seasoned architects — they start to see how access, even the smallest barriers, affect the amount of energy that life requires when you have a disability. I know this because when I run into people on the street who have heard me speak they say things like, “Every time I am in a parking lot, I wonder how Julie would manage here” or “I can’t be in a public washroom without wondering if the grab bars are set up in a way that is most helpful.” Once access is on someone’s radar, it is there for good, and that means their decisions (even subconscious ones) will be affected.

A lot of people decide whether or not to visit your establishment based on their (or someone close to them) ability to emotionally invest — and they make that decision before they even leave their own front door.

Of the biggest concerns to those surveyed were entries, doors and steps, but

A lot of people decide whether or not to visit your establishment based on their (or someone close to them) ability to emotionally invest,” Julie Sawchuk BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

36% of respondents said that inaccessible washrooms topped their list. (See: If you can’t go pee, you can’t drink beer, Brewers Journal Canada Spring 2021) According to the same Angus Reid poll, small/independent restaurants are avoided by almost half of the respondents. Yikes! That is a lot of customers that you will never see and who may never try your beer. If you think no one with disabilities visits your place of business, it’s not because they don’t want to, it’s because they don’t have the extra energy required and can’t emotionally invest.

At one time, early on after my injury, I would speak with the owner (hotel, restaurant, café…) and let them know that I could not stay because of the lack of access.

Often, these were real heart-to-heart conversations where I shared details of my own situation and need for access; my comments were often met with “I had no idea!” and sometimes a commitment to make change.

These days, I don’t bother (going or having the conversation) because it takes time and energy that I would rather spend having fun — as opposed to always “working.” If I know that the washroom doesn’t work for me, I won’t even attempt to cross the threshold.

Recognizing the need for change is your first step. Looking through a different lens to see where the gaps in access lie is next, along with talking to your customers.

If you expect people to make an emotional investment in your company, then you need to take a long hard look at your commitment to accessibility. Fifty percent of the population will choose your business when your decisions reflect a desire to serve everyone.

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MEET THE BREWER

VILLAGE BREWERY

REVIVING A CLASSIC

IN REVIVING CALGARY BEER, VILLAGE BREWERY HAS REINTRODUCED A SEMINAL PIECE OF THE CITY’S BREWING HISTORY TO BRAND NEW EYES. HERE, JEREMY MCLAUGHLIN, VILLAGE’S HEAD BREWER AND OPERATIONS MANAGER, GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO THE PROJECT AND TELLS US THERE’S MUCH MORE TO THE BREWER BESIDES. 50

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M

uch has changed Calgary Brewing & ing Co launched its gural Calgary Beer in 1893.

since Maltinauback

The Canadian population has grown by some 32 million to one of nearly 38 million inhabitants, you can hail a taxi via the watch on your wrist and, love them or hate them, you can now imbibe a beer that blurs the line between a milkshake, smoothie and IPA. And thanks to Calgary’s own Village Brewery, 129 years on since that seminal release, Calgary Beer is back.

Jeremy McLaughlin, Village’s head brewer and operations manager, alongside his team at the brewery have brought the legendary beer back to life and in doing so, put a modern take on Calgary Beer for a new generation of drinkers.

But first, thanks to the good people at The City of Calgary, the Official web site of The City of Calgary, let’s take a step back and look at the origin of Calgary Brewing & Malting Co.

Back in 1875, the North-West Territories Act was passed. This prohibited alcohol across western Canada.

The community at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers was as “dry as dust” but there was a de-sire for change.

This would come in 1892 when prohibition was repealed, and only three months later, The Calgary Brew-ing & Malting Company was founded. The maiden batch of the famed buffalo and horseshoe logoed beer would hit town streets in 1893. A beer that satiated drinkers a whole year before Calgary would become a city.

The Calgary Brewing & Malting Company was brainchild of A. E. Cross, who was one of Calgary’s first modern industrialists and is immortalized as one of the Stampede’s Big Four.

He was elected president and quickly assembled a team of his rancher friends to finance and establish the fledgling company, which was Alberta’s first brewery.

The business quickly proved successful and over the next decades Cross would

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

re-invest the company’s profits into growth and diversification, which included the acquisition of smaller breweries and hotels.

The brewery’s influence was so far reaching that the Inglewood area in which it is situated became known as “Brewery Flats.”

Many of Calgary’s leading citizens were original shareholders of the company.

The flagship product was called “Calgary Export Lager”, and this was shipped as far as China and Austral-ia, however its key distribution was primarily in western Canada.

In founding the brewery, barley growing was introduced Alberta, and to encourage barley growing for malting purposes, the company would import seed barley from Ontario and distribute it amongst the farmers of Alberta, guaranteeing a return of 25% higher than regular market price.

When Prohibition was enacted in 1916, the company’s beer production was limited but they turned to producing temperance beers and soft drinks as a substitute.

The Calgary Brewing & Malting Company, as The City of Calgary explain, was responsible for many innova-tions in Calgary’s industrial and social history.

It was one of Calgary’s largest early employers and was also one of the first in the province to introduce pension plans and insurance for its employees, in addition to providing Depression-era relief work. In 1910, the brewery also became the first commercial user of natural gas in Western Canada.

We were clear from early on that this was a new journey and one we wanted to take in our own direction,” Jeremy McLaughlin, Village Brewery. brewersjournal.ca

Come the 1930s, two significant additions were made to the site. J. B. Cross would continue his father’s legacy of community service, by building a large garden adjacent to the brewery as a make-work project for his Depression-era employees.

“We would go on to develop this dialogue and demonstrate to Molson that this project was a fitting way to recognise an integral part of Calgary beer history,” he says.

“And thankfully they were pumped for something like this to take place.”

Started in 1932, the garden would eventually include a variety of species of flora, fish hatcheries and wa-terfalls.

A small part of the lot was donated by the Cross family to the City of Calgary and became the site of Inglewood’s community swimming pool in 1963. The majority of the remaining original buildings have remained together through multiple changes in ownership.

An early deign brief from Molson was for Village to suggest a branding idea for the beer. But Jackson Stu-art, marketing manager at Village had other ideas instead producing four distinctly different labels.

Between the 1910s and the 1950s, the company’s fortunes “ebbed and flowed” due to the the First and Second World Wars, Prohibition and the Great Depression.

By 1961, however, the company was hit by insurmountable challenges and was sold to Canadian Brewer-ies. It was then bought

by Rothman’s in 1969, and renamed Carling O’Keefe four years later. The brewery was finally taken over by Molson Breweries in 1989 before ceasing production in 1994.

Although Molson Coors were only guardians of the brewery for a short time, their receptiveness to Vil-lage Brewery reviving Calgary Beer has helped made this new, exciting project possible.

Reimagined as a 5% lager, the beer is brewed with Ella, Sabro and Enigma hops, fermented with Krispy Kveik yeast and backed up by a malt bill of Rahr 2-row, and Acidulated Malt.

And heading up production on this initiative was the aforementioned Jeremy McLaughlin, Village’s head brewer and operations manager.

“Our ties with Calgary beer go back a long way,” explains McLaughlin. “Our original master brewer Larry Kerwin was part of the team that brewed the beer’s last big production run in 1989.

“But with this project, we were clear from early on that this was a new journey and one we wanted to take in our own direction.”

Conversations over the years between Molson and Jim Button, another one of Village’s founders, helped give the team at the brewery a platform to develop this revival.

These would comprise a matte black label featuring a buffalo, the classic ‘Calgary Export Lager’ design, A red label showcasing a modernized horseshoe and wordmark and also a cream label with a more mini-malistic take on the classic logo.

“Molson were incredibly impressed with his designs and suggested we print and package each to be sold as part of a four pack.

So that’s what we did!” says McLaughlin.

For the beer itself, McLaughlin outlines that the ideology behind this project was to modernise and reimagine the classic lager in a way that would appeal to craft beer drinkers.

He explains: “We wanted this beer be accessible to fans of Village, fans of the brand, and also to people who had never seen the brand before. Regardless, it had to be Calgary-centric. And the idea of a modern lager ties that all together.

“We had early discussions regarding an India Pale Lager, but if you’re following BJCP style guidelines then you’re probably looking at something that’s higher alcohol than I wanted for this beer. We wanted a summer beer that was a maximum 5% ABV.” And once that was settled on, an “incredibly easy” ingredients selection followed, with McLaughlin ad-mitting that the beer was something he had wanted to make for some time.

“Dry-hopped lagers are super popular at present, especially in North America. It’s the type of beer that’s interesting enough for people to keep coming back to,” says McLaughlin. “So for the malt bill we primarily used Rahr 2-row with the addition of a little acidulated malt as the water is incredibly hard here.”

For McLaughlin, the beer’s hop profile featuring Ella, Enigma and Sabro was also a key way to express the idea of reimagining the classic style.

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We knew it was important to promote experimentation and push the boundaries,” Jeremy McLaughlin, Village Brewery. laughs. “And 2021 kind of feels like the reunion tour of 2020 that no one really wanted!”

He adds: “But to be honest, things have been ok as we have an awesome group here who have really pulled together. Naturally there was uncertainty but we had a fantastic team mentality where everyone across the business did what was needed to ensure the brewery pulled through.”

The fortuitous arrival of a new canning line in April 2020 ensured the brewery was able to focus fully on packaging, and selling its beers in can both direct and at retail stores.

He says: “Most hops these days have gone through breeding programmes. They’ve been hybridised against historical varieties to create new flavours. The idea of modernising old hops to create new ones really fit into this project, and creates an awesome flavour profile, too.

Fermentation is taken care of thanks to Krispy Kveik from Escarpment Labs, a blend of Kveik strains that offer up a clean fermentation profile in the 20-30ºC range that McLaughlin was “delighted” with.

But while Calgary Beer has been a resounding success let’s be clear, Village Brewery is not a one-trick pony.

Far from it.

In addition to Calgary Beer, recent releases from the brewery include Hacky Sack, a Lemon Lime Pilsner brewed in collaboration with Eighty-Eight Brewing.

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The 5% beer is brewed with Columbus, Motueka and Hersbrucker hops with a malt bill that includes Rahr Premium Pilsner. This is accentuated by using balanced and clean fermenting Isar Lager Yeast from Es-carpment Labs.

Another recent beer is the 4.5% Afterglow Mimosa Gose, which offers up a tart finish and a slight spice to the mouthfeel.

These limited edition beers complement Village Blonde (Natural Golden Ale), Village Wit (White Wit Ale), Village Blacksmith (Alberta Black Ale), and Village Neighbour (Canadian Pale Ale).

Beers that are brewed by McLaughlin and his team at the Calgary-based brewery. An outfit, like many others, that are returning to a semblance of normality following the impact of the global pandemic.

“You’re gonna have to forgive me because 2021 and 2020 kind of blend together,” McLaughlin

“Even when things shut down, we knew people would still have an appetite for beer. And we’re no strangers to packaging in general,” he says. “And witnessing the ongoing trend towards canning in-formed our decision to upgrade the line, just at the right time.”

And during the pandemic, rather than reducing the brewery’s output to a few core beers, McLaughlin has encouraged his team to flex their creative muscles and place an emphasis on innovation.

“We’ve certainly tried to engage our team to produce more unique styles, each with their own branding identity,” he explains. “Our core beers have always featured a historical theme, showcasing a local Cal-garian, and often someone close to the brewery.”

McLaughlin adds: “But we knew it was important to promote experimentation and push the boundaries, both in terms of the types of beers we brew but also the brand design, too.”

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For McLaughlin, self-improvement is all-important. It’s one of the reasons the Nelson, B.C. native ended up studying in Fredericton, New Brunswick before upping sticks for the 4,000km migration to Calgary, Alberta.

“Following high school I went to university and got my Bachelor’s Degree in Science with a focus on en-tomology from the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton is such a nice city, and it still has very special place in my heart,” he recalls. “My brother still lives there and I go back to visit as often as I can.”

McLaughlin’s journey in brewing would start at Fredericton’s Picaroons Brewing Company. A contract working at a local laboratory was coming to an end and conveniently, a good friend had just started at the brewery. For a whole two days, in fact.

Said friend put in a good word on his behalf, he got the job, and the would-be brewer started his profes-sional beer journey on his birthday back in 2009.

“To be honest, I’ve been involved in beer forever, starting with helping my dad homebrew back when I was four years old.

But working in a professional environment with a great mentor at Picaroons put me on a solid path,” he says.

But following nearly four years at the brewery, it was time for a change. A vacation to Calgary helped McLaughlin shed some preconceived ideas of what life was like in the Albertan city.

And when the opportunity to join a brewery like Village arrived I n2013, it was time to make the journey west.

“I drove all my belongings, including my cat, across the country, to be told by Larry Kerwin that I could come in for a work interview,” he laughs. “I thought, I’ve just made this long journey and all for a work interview!”

However it was just a formality. Joining in 2013, he would brew, cellar and help with packaging. And by 2015 McLaughlin was

appointed head of QA. Aided by his background in microbiology, he was tasked with building up the brewery’s quality assurance programme.

By 2017, the brewer was promoted to the role of head brewer before moving to his current position of operations manager.

“The whole process has been very organic,” he says. “Each transition between roles has been incredibly soft and that’s worked for me.”

Village Brewery started out in 2011 by a group of founders that each hail from different parts of the beer world including brewing business: brewing, plant operations, finance, business management, and sales & marketing. Together boasting more than 180 years of experience in the field.

These founders, alongside their integral team across the brewery, have ensured Village has become part of the brewing fabric in Calgary during the last decade. A beer scene that continues to mature and devel-op.

And it’s that appetite for ongoing development that continues to drive McLaughlin and his colleagues into 2021 and beyond.

“The biggest thing we are going to be doing is doubling down on creativity. Be that limited edition releas-es or other creative projects around the brewery, that’s our focus,” explains McLaughlin.

He adds: “It’s all about ensuring everyone at the brewery has a voice, and has an input. Everyone should have the opportunity to contribute, that’s what we’re going to do and I can’t wait to do so.”

Reference: It happened in Calgary: How beer was born in Calgary https://newsroom.calgary.ca/how-beer-wasborn-in-calgary/

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THE

MAGAZINE

FOR

THE

HOMEBREWING

ENTHUSIAST

HOMEBREWING The sector, reimagined

SUMMER 2021

CONTENTS

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Community Spotlight We are honoured to highlight some of the great people within our fermented beverage community! For this issue we have invited Tas Fraser (@girlwithaciderreview) to talk with us about the beginnings of her homebrew cider journey, how her social media accounts have grown as a result of her cider reviews, IGTV Live Series featuring many in the industry/community, her ever-important #NoAppleogies movement, and the upcoming related workshops.

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Homebrewer Focus We are very excited to introduce you to two amazing people that have been embarking on a cider journey together throughout their years of friendship. This is the first time that we have showcased homebrewers that create hard cider and what a way to start! We’ll be talking with Kristy and Nathan from Prairie North Co. coming to us from Edmonton Alberta.

Brew Sheets

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Prairie North’s “Dry Crab Apple Cider” Prairie North’s “Strawberry Rhubarb Cider”

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Gadget Corner: @brew4.0 takes to the Garage-Ma-Hall and reviews the EasyDens smart beer hydrometer by Anton Paar. Find out just how easy this marvel of engineering will make your brew day… but is it worth the price tag?

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From Jane’s To Joe’s To All Out Pros Hailing from Village Brewery in Calgary, Alberta, Jeremy McLaughlin shares with us his journey from homebrewing at home with his dad as a kid to being a professional brewer with over 25,000 hours of industry experience. Find out what he and his team are cooking up over at Village Brewing!

BREWDAY TIPS

THIS ISSUE, WE ARE STARTING SOMETHING NEW WITH THIS SECTION. WE WILL HIGHLIGHT BREWDAY TIPS

FERMENTING SOMETHING NEW

F

For many of us, the pandemic has provided us the opportunity and time to get back to our homebrewing journey. Perhaps there was a new piece of brewing/testing equipment you finally got around to trying, or how about experimenting with different hop varieties and yeast strains? What about trying your hand in fermenting something new?

As apple season is on the way, it is a ripe opportunity for making hard ciders! Some homebrew clubs/guilds have access to an apple press and/or set up a bulk buy with local homebrew supply shops or farmers to obtain apples or that freshly pressed apple juice. With nature’s beautiful bounty we can explore the world of making homebrew hard apple cider. To get you started, we have filled this Homebrew Journal issue with inspiration in the form of recipes and interviews with some of our favourite cider makers and influencers.

Are you interested in being featured in our Homebrew Journal? Do you want a topic of interest to be covered? Don’t be shy!

We would love to hear from you! We are looking for beer brewers along with people that brew cider, meads, or kombucha.

If this sounds like you please reach out to Sheena @knowledge.on.tap on Instagram, or email her at knwl.on.tap@gmail. com for more details.

(E.G. FOOD RECIPES, BREWING TIPS AND TRICKS, ETC)

Let us continue to share, expand, and spark new ideas within our amazing homebrewing community this year and in the years to come!

Recipe

Stay Safe and Well - Happy Brewing Everyone!

THAT CAN BE SHARED WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.

Need something to do with that wet grain that is left over after your mash? How about a batch of delicious Spent Grain Granola?

Yeast starter Every batch of beer deserves a good healthy pitch of yeast to make sure the fermentation goes off without a hitch and so knowing how to make a yeast starter is an essential skill that ought to be in every homebrewer’s arsenal! In this issue we’ll be going through my process and techniques for making one before every brew day!

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Cheers!

Your Homebrew Journal Team: Sheena Strauss Magdalena Lesiuk Paddy Finnegan

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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

by Tas Fraser @girlwithaciderreview

Introduction & What I Do In Cider

M

y name is Tas. I am a Canadian, Ontario-based cider reviewer (@girlwithaciderreview) on Instagram and I also operate on other platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok. I am also the cider representative for @ciderscene a Canadian and American blog talking about all things hard cider. Weekly I host a cider chat on IGTV

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live where I talk with professionals in the beverage industry across Canada, the United States, and internationally. Most of my posts include both cool photos and fun videos of me reviewing ciders in interesting places. I have been running this account for three years and I started in February 2018 when the cider scene was just expanding in Canada and when the selection was quite small! The scene has now grown as well as the amount of cider enthusiasts in the online world. One of the things I strive to do in the cider community is to create a fun place to be, that is full of laughter, and a place where everyone feels included. Some of my personal passions include advocating for mental health, discussing gender-based violence, music, mountain biking, reading, and traveling!

Beginnings Into (& Where Next)

Homebrewing

In terms of brewing myself, I have made two different batches in fall 2020, and spring 2021. I began with a cider kit and then for the second batch I got some different equipment (i.e. another carboy to try my hand at secondary fermentation). I would recommend starting with a kit because it gives you a how-to and a beginner’s approach on how to get into the process of cider making - I found it really helpful before moving out on my own. The ciders I have made are called “Apple of my Eye” and “Apple of my Eye 2.0”. They’re both just a classic lightly-sparkled apple cider with a low ABV (around 2.9-3.3%). The purpose of just doing an apple cider, even though

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

there are so many other options, is just to create a good base.

Some of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you have to literally document everything. The first batch I did that but the second batch I had missed a calculation and then I wasn’t able to figure out how much alcohol was actually in the cider (oops). Another thing I would recommend before making cider is to definitely get educated. I did a lot of online reading on cider. Cider Scene has some great tips on their website and some other sites as well. I also joined almost every Facebook group to learn more from others who are making cider. My favourite book so far would be Gabe Cook’s “Ciderology”. It is a super fun and informative read that I definitely recommend to anyone who is getting into cider as you will learn a lot about the history of cider making and cider all around the world.

The last thing I suggest thinking about is the space that you’re going to be making the cider in. I made my first two batches in a small condo. If you’re like me and have to do that, you will have to make use of the space. Some examples would be using the bathtub to wash things or sanitize equipment and making sure your floor is full of towels because it’s going to be a mess when you are transferring cider around.

My next plan is to take a stab at maybe Apple of my Eye 3.0 because, like I mentioned, I want to get to an apple cider base that I like before adding any other fruits. My dream though is to get to fruited ciders and maybe I can do something like experiment within apple cinnamon cider which would be a lovely flavor for fall!

#NoAppleogies (Intro, Why it Motivates me and why I keep going) If you weren’t sure about the meaning behind this hashtag which you will see often on my page, I’m here to tell you about it! #NoAppleogies is the hashtag behind a movement that was created in December 2020 after a sexist and misogynistic post by a male in the UK cider community was exposed to the cider world. The post contained photos of women in the cider world, including myself, insinuating that we obtained

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our following and attention due to what we wore in photos. The comment was claimed to be a joke by the individual and no real apology was given - or responsibility taken. The comment was only one of the many things that women face in the industry, and on a normal day-to-day basis.

Many are not taken seriously for job roles, to have knowledge of beer or cider, while others are sexually harassed, assaulted and more. With the growing #MeToo movement in the beer world, #NoAppleogies offers support and education to those involved in cider. The goal of the movement is to create a safe, inclusive place for everyone, free from gender-based violence, sexism, misogyny, and to empower all women. It also promotes education and accountability for cider professionals and establishments. The first stage promoted awareness via photos of women using the hashtag wearing whatever they felt happiest in. It was followed by a video from the women in the industry speaking on change they’d like to see. The second piece was pledging support to the project and standing up for change by male identifying individuals in the industry. The third continuous stage will be upcoming workshops aimed at cider professionals providing education on how to create safer places in person & online.

The movement has been met with some resistance and misunderstanding but I am hopeful that with time and a more open mind things will progress. As a young woman and person of colour in this industry, I understand some of the battles faced - some in cider and some in life by

my peers. This cider community is a place many of us use as an escape, as a passion, hobby, and as a place to network with other cider-lovers. It should be a place where everyone feels safe. After the creation of this movement it was strongly indicated that a change was needed and I wanted to continue pushing for that change, for everyone and especially those who have been treated unequally.

This is why this project is important, and change must occur. I was told once during this time that this has nothing to do with cider. However, the most important thing about cider is that cider is nothing without the people. If we want a cider community, we need to start acting like one. This means that as women, or others in oppressed communities, we should not have to continue to defend ourselves and those perpetuating the issue need to reflect upon themselves and their behaviours. It means that those staying silent when they see sexism, racism, homophobia etc. happening need to speak up. Change must be made on individual and structural levels and accountability must be taken as part of the learning process.

Upcoming Events Some events to watch for are the upcoming #NoAppleogies workshops which are hopefully coming in the fall (at least the first one). If you have not registered yet, you can do so by scanning the QR code below.

It is a pre-registration link so all the details of the workshop will be going to those who registered. It will be Canadian-focused, however, anyone in the cider world (especially cider companies) are encouraged to join. There are many topics that will apply to all environments: e.g. toxic masculinity, consent, and how to create safe places. There will be amazing guest speakers and interactive portions so I would keep an eye out for that!

Currently, in August, I’m taking a break from cider and life just to focus on the workshops, however, there they will start up again in September so if there are any wonderful professionals in the cider industry or those in brewing, wine making, or distilling I would definitely be interested in having a chat with you… and, of course, I’m always looking for recommendations for guests that you would like to see!

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HOMEBREWING WITH APPLES

POLLINATE THE BLOSSOM OF KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE IN BREWING BEER ANDOR JUST WANT TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF IN LEARNING SOMETHING NEW TO ADD TO YOUR HOMEBREW NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS AND BUILD THAT HOMEBREWING PORTFOLIO? LEARNING TO BREW A HARD CIDER MAY BE THE APPLE THE DOCTOR ORDERED!

I

n the Homebrew Journal we have traditionally featured homebrewers from across Canada that brew beer. It is something that is highly popularized and well stocked for at our local supply shops and, for many of us, we typically got into homebrewing because of beer as we have a soft spot for it in our hearts.

This is the first time we are KRIST Y showcasing cider homebrewers and as apple season is fast approaching, now is the perfect time to learn more and hear all about the amazing journey of these two cider brewers. From the blossom on the apple tree to the fermented beverage we have seen really make a creative stance in today’s craft cider scene, it is with great admiration and pleasure I introduce you to Kristy and Nathan from Alberta.

Kristy Rhyason & Nathan Smith o Instagram - @prairienorthco o Edmonton, Alberta o Judges ciders in homebrew

competitions o Homebrewing for about 5 years and interest in experimentation with fermentation goes back at least 10 years. o Brews Cider & Kombucha

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AND NAT HAN - CID ER GUR US

Flowers of tomorrow sprout from the seeds of today Like many people in Alberta, we have a huge network of Ukrainian family and friends who introduced us to homebrewing. Nathan inherited a giant sauerkraut crock from his grandmother and so we started fermenting vegetables. Soon, we wanted to start fermenting other things which led to kombucha. Then Nathan inherited a bunch of winemaking equipment. We had only made one wine kit before transitioning to cider. The cider experimentation escalated quickly and within a year Nathan attended Washington State University for Cidermaking training and Kristy became a Certified Cider Professional through the American Cider Association.

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

We are really inspired by local flavours and motivated to use ingredients that might otherwise go to waste. Almost all of our homebrew is done using ingredients that we’ve collected in our neighbourhood or from friends and family that have an abundance. We start each year dreaming about the kinds of homebrewing we would like to do with all the local flavours, but ultimately decide based on what grows in abundance that year. Apples and crab apples are almost always in abundance so making cider is a given. We adapt our flavours seasonally - if there is a bumper crop of rhubarb, we will be making rhubarb cider.

We judged the cider entries at the Edmonton Homebrewers’ Guild competitions for a few years. We noticed a huge increase in the quality of what local homebrewers were making over that time. The first year there were a lot of exploded bottles and questionable flavours; after a few years we noticed a lot more and a lot better entries!

With Each Root and Each Branch the Foundation Grows Stronger

Brewhouse Working with cider is a bit different than beer in that there is actually no “brewing” required in the process, so we have limited brewhouse equipment. In fact we often try to avoid heating up the juice as it can actually cook and change the flavour of the juice and cider. This means that it’s pretty affordable to start making cider at home!

We have some different equipment than a typical homebrewer might because there are few differences in the process for making cider vs. beer. One of the most important steps in making cider from fresh fruit is turning the apples (and other fruit) into juice. We have a system for crushing apples up and then pressing the crushed apples to get juice. To crush our apples we currently use a commercial fruit grinder that quickly and easily pulverizes the apples. To press the juice out of the crushed apples, a friend modified a standard hydraulic shop press into a fruit press. Now we can relatively easily process hundreds - or even thousands of pounds of apples.

We had to come up with some creative equipment solutions because we didn’t have many other options available to us.

Because there isn’t much of an apple industry on the prairies, there isn’t a lot of apple processing equipment around. While

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there are some opportunities to use grape pressing equipment available at homebrew stores, we needed something more efficient for the amount of fruit we process.

We needed a system that wasn’t too expensive but would still allow us to process a lot of fruit.

The biggest change in our equipment over time has been how we crush up the apples before pressing.

In our first year we used a hand cranked crusher that was designed for grapes. It got the job done, but was a bit slow and we found we had to cut the apples up to get it to work properly. For our next year we upgraded - the same KRIST Y AND NATHAN friend that built us our PICKING AP press modified an old garPLES bage disposal (garburator) that we were able to run the apple through. This was much easier and much dry and our favourite commercial ciders faster, but we still found it was the slowdo too. We have held many taste testing est part of our process and was prone events in our community and had peoto overheating when we used it conple so surprised at how much they entinuously - sometimes for hours. We’ve joy cider! It’s also very fun to teach peosince upgraded to our small commercial ple about all the ingredients growing in current fruit grinder which can now protheir neighbourhoods. When we are out cess fruit faster than we can press it. picking fruit, people often stop to ask us what we are picking because they didn’t Fermentation realize there were edible fruit growing on the trees in the park. We even have had the opportunity to take our cider pressing Our cellar/fermentation equipment is pretequipment to schools to teach kids how ty much the standard homebrew/wine to make apple juice. making setup. We do most of our fermentation in various sizes of glass and PET CarBecause cider doesn’t traditionally follow boys. We also have a series of corny kegs a set “recipe” per se and because we work that we use for carbonation. Sometimes with whatever fruit is found or given to us, this means natural carbonation by finishing we’ve learned to experiment. A lesson we fermentation in the keg, but we also always have learned is to not be afraid to try somehave a carbon dioxide tank on hand to help thing new or experiment in different ways. us have a bit more control over carbonation Some of our biggest failures have been and sweetness. when we’ve learned the most.

Your Favourite Apple is One That You Share to Feed Others We often hear from people that they don’t like cider because it’s too sweet or tastes fake. Our favourite homebrew experience to date has been sharing our love of good quality cider made with great ingredients.

The cider we homebrew tends to be very

One time we were hiking in southern Alberta and found a ton of beautiful sage. We foraged a bunch of it and combined it into a sage cider. When we did some taste tests with people, they either loved it or hated it.

My aunt took a sip and had to spit it out because it tasted like gravy to her! At least if you try things and fail, you learn some new things and get a funny story to share with other homebrewers.

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Thirsty for Apples? - Ingredient Exploration Dolgo is a hardy crabapple that produces a beautiful pink juice and has a very interesting and very tart flavour. In some cidermaking regions this is an important apple for their blends. We recommend mixing some crabapple into cider blends because the crabapples often provide more flavour and character to the cider. Lucky for us, dolgos seem to be all over in Edmonton - you can find them in tons of parks and lining the streets like along 124st. But remember to still be careful with high acid (tart) apples. When working with apples like this it is probably best to include no more than 20-30% of sour crab apples with the rest being sweeter apples to ensure the resulting cider isn’t too tart. The exact proportion may depend on the blend of apples you are working with any given year. We recommend starting with a lower proportion and then adjusting to taste. It’s always easier to add more than to take some out after! Also always remember that during fermentation much of the sugar goes away, so the resulting cider will taste more sour than the juice that you start with.

We get our ingredients from our yard and from yards and parks all around Edmonton! There is an incredible amount of local fruit that grows here that isn’t being used. If you are looking for apples, talk to your neighbours with apple trees. We guarantee they have extra. We also were a part of Operation Fruit Rescue where people can sign up to have their fruit picked by volunteers. Many cities have an organization like this that you can join to share fruit!

For other supplies, we often use Winning Wines Plus, which has various locations in the Edmonton area, or Brew For Less,

which is closest to us in central Edmonton. When we first started it was sometimes a bit more difficult to find some of the unique ingredients that are typically only used for cider, but it’s exciting to see homebrew stores starting to offer more for home cidermakers.

Apple for your Thoughts?

Sharing Knowledge We love to connect with other people who are homebrewing cider or using local ingredients. We have a website (prairienorthco.com) and KRISTY AND NATH social media accounts (@ AN HOLDING prairienorthco) with tips and A BOX OF APPLES tricks for growing and using local fruit in homebrewing as well as in other recipes. We also love to edge. Did you know that they offer online answer questions about cidermaking, so classes? Their current class offering is titled feel free to reach out to us and chat!

“Cidermaking 101” and they also have great cidermaking resources and tips as well as Sheena’s Final Thoughts: an extensive blog that includes food based recipes. Kristy and Nathan also encourage the reduction of food waste by taking in As someone who has been learning to fruit donations to help their local communiexpand my palate from beer and kombuty and with recipes to show us what we can cha towards other fermentable beverages do with the abundance of rhubarb when that people in our homebrew communiwe have too much (have you tried their ties enjoy, I found myself really exploring rhubarb candy ribbons yet? So, so good! ciders while coming up with a list of ideas I highly recommend them! :D I would like to experiment with. During the pandemic, when many of us explored and made new friends online, I found a whole new (to me!) cider community that helped to encourage my exploration, Kristy and Nathan are part of that. They bring such a beautiful positive light to the community while growing and spreading their knowl-

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As the fall season is approaching us, some of your local supply shops or homebrew clubs/ guilds may be getting ready for a bulk purchase of freshly pressed apple cider and perhaps this year is the year you decide to give cidermaking a try. If you do, then I recommend that while you are researching, reach out to Kristy and Nathan online to watch them as they bring apples to their full potential.

NATHAN TESTING PH BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

TRY THEM YOURSELF...

Dry Crab Apple Cide

r

RECIPE INFORMATI

ON

PROCEDURE:

BATCH SIZE: 23L/5 GALLONS OG: VARIES DEPEND ING ON JUICE FG: ~1.000 SG

Combine fresh juice , crabapple juice, an d pectic enzyme.

Leave for 24 hours.

INGREDIENTS:

o 20L FRESH SW EET

APPLE JUICE (PRE SS YOURSELF, OR AVAILABLE AT GROC ERY STORES AND SO ME HOMEBREW STORES).

o 3-4L CRAB APPL E JUICE (FOR ACID AND TANNINS) o PECTIC ENZYME (USE AT RECOMMEN DED DOSE FOR PRODUCT)

o CHAMPAGNE YE AS

Add champagne ye ast.

Allow to ferment in a cool area until fe rmentation has slowed, and then tra nsfer to a carboy wi th airlock until the specific gravity stabilizes around 1.0 00 SG. Add priming sugar to the cider so that th e specific gravity is around 1.0 02-1.004 before bo ttling for light/ refreshing carbon ation.

Allow 6 weeks for ca rbonation and aging .

T

NOTES:

Pectic enzyme is an optional ingredient that is available at homebrew stores. It most will not impact the flavour of the cider, will help break down but the pectins from th e juice so that the fin cider is more clear. al Be careful with the

fermenting when an

residual sweetness,

can work.

priming sugar. Cider

y new sugar is adde

d. If you want a cider with a non fermentable su gar or sweetener

THE RIST Y PICKING NATHAN AND K REDIENTS FRESHEST ING

brewersjournal.ca

often readily starts

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ider

C b r a b u h R y r r e Strawb

PROCEDURE:

N

ATIO RECIPE INFORM

L/5 GALLONS BATCH SIZE: 23 E ENDING ON JUIC OG: VARIES DEP FG: ~1.000 SG

INGREDIENTS:

SS YOURSELF, PLE JUICE (PRE AP T EE SW H ES E o 23L FR ORES AND SOM AT GROCERY ST E BL LA AI AV OR ORES).

IES HOMEBREW ST PED STRAWBERR SLICED OR CHOP EN OZ FR S LB o 3 UBARB EN CHOPPED RH DOSE o 3 LBS FROZ RECOMMENDED ME (USE AT 2X ZY EN IC CT PE o FOR PRODUCT) E YEAST o CHAMPAGN

e juice, frozen juice, crabappl Combine fresh ic enzyme. fruit, and pect urs.

Leave for 24 ho e yeast.

Add champagn until t in a cool area Allow to fermen en transfer s slowed, and th fermentation ha ng airlock, discardi to a carboy with . rhubarb pieces strawberry and ity stabilizes av e specific gr th til un t en rm Fe . around 1.000 SG that the r to the cider so ga su g in im pr d Ad -1.004 before is around 1.002 specific gravity rbonation. ht/refreshing ca bottling for lig d aging. r carbonation an Allow 6 weeks fo

e of the juice arb, so that mor ub rh d an s rie wber the in both the stra se as well into NOTES wn the cell walls ld, and not infu do ou m ks , ea at br flo s to es oc e likely The freezing pr esh fruit is mor to the cider. Fr in se fu in n ca and flavour cider. r. Cider often e priming suga th th wi l fu re is Be ca any new sugar rmenting when ess, tn readily starts fe ee dual sw a cider with resi nt wa u yo If d. rk. adde eetener can wo ble sugar or sw a non fermenta

SES RMING ANALY NATHAN PERFO SURING S - SEEN MEA LE P M A S R E ID ON C CIDIT Y T ITRATABLE A

HU TH R I W TY KRIS

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BAR

B

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

GADGET CORNER

THE ANTON PAAR EASYDENS

IN THIS EDITION OF HOMEBREWERS JOURNAL CANADA WE REVIEW THE SMART DIGITAL HYDROMETER FOR HOMEBREWERS, ANTON PAAR’S EASYDENS.

by Paddy Finnegan @brew4.0

A

nton Paar has been a quality Measurement Equipment Partner of the beverage industry for decades and now they have scaled their award-winning oscillating U-tube technology for Homebrewers to use in the comfort of their home. Showing results in seconds with a sample of just 2 mL Homebrewers can now leverage the same technology that professional brewers use which is the very reason @brew4.0 was created.

User Experience If you follow me on IG, @brew4.0 (cheap plug), you’ve heard me say that I have the best friends in the game and that’s the truth. Through my friends and colleagues, and born of our shared love of all things that enhance the brewing process, I have been lucky enough to have tried many different types of gravity analytical technology. Analog and digital.

Immersive and sample-based. All have their merits and flaws. Like anything in life there is a subjective nature to all tasks.

A necessary function that I may enjoy in a process you may find cumbersome and vice versa. Such is life. However, we can all agree that understanding our gravity though the hot and cold side of a brew

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is essential to getting strong and repeatable results.

So what are the core benefits we want in our concentration technology and does the well respected Anton Paar’s EasyDens deliver?

Ease of use Incredible. There is really no other word to describe it. I was floored. You have to be in a certain mindset when you unbox and try a new or “new to you technology” that you are to objectively review for publication.

A certain amount of mental preparation takes place because you need to ensure that your words reflect the experience fairly. I can report, unequivocally, that using the EasyDens was the best experience I have had to date regarding measurement technology. I was set up, including downloading the app, and testing the 1st sample in under 5 min. There was no calibration.

No complex IP address connections. No hard-to-follow instructions. The technology is truly world-renowned (more on that in a minute) but the ease of use is incredible.

The simplicity of the set up, the operation, and the cleaning cannot be overstated.

The app is also a very simple and useful tool. You can save and chart the gravity of multiple batches through fermentation and save them as “Golden Batch” info to compare future batches against.

Accuracy and Dependability According to the manufacturer’s website, the EasyDens boasts an accuracy of 0.001SG and 0.3 Plato when measuring wort density. I can tell you that my multiple experiences using the EasyDens have proven to be accurate against all other forms of density technology that I’ve compared it to in test brews specifically for this purpose. Was your immersive tech calibrated properly? Is all CO2 going through the device? Can you use X in stainless? Did Y lose connectivity to your router? Don’t get me wrong - I love rolling in bed and looking at my phone to see a fermentation curve

EasyDens is a smart digital hydrometer for homebrewers, hobby distillers, and wine home producers. It determines wort extract/Plato from only 2 mL of sample, shows the results

in seconds, and allows you to track your beer’s fermentation progress on your iOS or Android smartphone. EasyDens uses the renowned

oscillating U-tube principle for quick and reliable measurement results. This technology

is used by professional brewers all over the world and is now available to homebrewers.

www.easydens.com

Company Info Anton Paar has been a partner in the beverage industry for decades and is the

world’s leading provider of density and

concentration meters in this industry. We deliver high-quality measurement technology, pure and simple.

www.easydens.com/pages/benefits

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signed and built for oil and gas production with F&B as a secondary vertical that they’d get to eventually. The effort to meet the sanitary needs and price point necessary to facilitate a Return On Investment (ROI) was lacking until recent years. I am not taking a shot at my former employer or the technology they are associated with. Both are top-notch and I’d be lucky to work with them again in the future. I note this to emphasise that Anton Paar engaged in a completely contrasting strategy.

when the yeast takes off. Conversely, I have had too many experiences where I went to look at a competing app with a high level of anticipation and anxiety only to find something went wrong somewhere along the way.

ples and use the data to define an action such as advancing to the next step. Very little temperature conditioning is necessary so the response time is very quick. Affordability is subjective and you know what they say… beauty is in the eye of the Beerholder.

Affordability

Pros o Great instructions and support o High accuracy o Very quick results o Automatic temperature compensation o Very easy to handle and operate o New sleek design o World-class technology and company

The New EasyDens currently sells for $499.00 CDN plus tax. The OG EasyDens sells for $485.00 CDN plus tax while supplies last. Shipping worldwide is free for both options. To me, affordability boils down to priorities and passion. If you are (still) reading this you are clearly passionate about homebrew equipment and technology therefore even though the EasyDens price point will make your face scrunch up a bit, you’ll likely look past it and evaluate the benefits as a whole and then add it to your wishlist. If you are very fiscally-focused (I love you @itskimherself) and instantly sized this price tag up as roughly 37 standard hydrometers and holding tubes then that’s completely fair but what I can say is that, since I received the EasyDens, I take a LOT more measurements on my brewdays and have tightened them up by 30 - 45 minutes.

A professional brewer buddy of mine came to brew in the Garage-Ma-Hall with me and the #weeman a few weeks back and I was surprised at how many samples he took and how much quicker the Brew went.

Historically, I would use 2 standard rigs and take 3 or 4 measurements at best because of the time it takes to temperature correct.

I have used an app or 2 to extrapolate the temp correction to weak results. Now with the Anton Paar I take about 10 gravity sam-

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Cons o Price o No repair options o No safety case for

Their core beliefs center around developing and bringing the best possible technology directly and solely to Food and Beverage Producers. They do not service any non-hygienic market segments and employ a team to search for synergies that “could” be appealing to Beverage Producers. They work with Beverage Producers to see what their pain-points are and work towards designing and delivering solutions. Anton Paar has been a leader in laboratory density, concentration, and CO2 equipment for many years before adding a focus on in-process technology over the past 2 decades. They were family owned and ran until 2003 when the family donated the company - yup you read that right - to the Santer Foundation which is a charitable foundation to ensure that all profits are used for charitable purposes.

The company culture, technology, and ease of use really impresses the Trub right outta me.

the new

EasyDens

Closing I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak to Anton Paar as a company. Not so long ago I worked for one of the largest technology companies in the world. I was their Food and Beverage (F&B) Solutions Specialist and was specifically there because they admittedly had a blind spot with regards to purpose-built Food and Beverage equipment. Lots of their worldclass technology had found its way into F&B processes and they did have a focus on it - more so in the US than in Canada - but in general the technology was de-

BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA

HOMEBREW TIPS & TRICKS

EASY PANTRY GRANOLA WITH SPENT GRAINS

LOOKING FOR WAYS TO UTILIZE THE SPENT GRAINS FROM YOUR BEER BREWDAYS?

by Sheena Strauss

I

@knowledge.on.tap

f you are brewing a beer then you will have barley or wheat spent grains left over in your mash tun. Rather than just throwing those straight in the green bin when you’re done, here is one recipe that goes great with fresh fruit, yogurt, as a cereal/oatmeal/cooked apple crisp topper and can even be enjoyed on its own: Homemade Spent Grain Granola! This was something that was inspired by what I had on hand in my pantry. I encourage you to play around with items you have on hand as well and see what creations you come up with! (For our purposes today you will want to use the leftover grist from a light grain bill with no rice hulls or roasted malts!)

Makes about 5-6 cups (*depending on how much snacking tasks place

Ingredients o 3

cups of brewday spent grain (measured wet remove as much moisture as you can by wrapping with a clean kitchen towel and twisting)

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o 1½ cup of rolled oats o ½ cup of raw/blanched slivered almonds o ½ cup of raw pecan nuts o ¼ cup of sunflower seeds (raw unshelled) o ¼ cup of pumpkin seeds (raw unshelled) o ½ teaspoon of sea salt o ½ cup of maple syrup & agave/honey mixture (I like ¼ cup each) + ¼ cup maple syrup for later o ½ cup of coconut oil, in liquid form o 1 Tablespoon of corn starch * Optional ideas: add dried fruit like raisins/cranberries/cherries, at the end when the granola is out of the oven and still hot.

At about the last 10 minutes whisk the last ¼ cup of maple syrup and corn starch and drizzle over the granola. While this is optional, it is recommended if you want your granola to have some clumped pieces and be extra tasty.

The granola is done when lightly browned and the spent grain is dried and fluffy. Let sit unstirred until cooled (outside of the oven) to allow for the granola to set. Place in a sealable container(s) and store in the fridge. It have kept mine for about 2-4 weeks before it is all gone.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients – spent grains, oats, almonds, sunflower & pumpkin seeds, and pecans.

In a large measuring cup or small bowl combine the liquid coconut oil, syrup mixture, and salt.

Be sure to leave the additional ¼ cup of maple syrup for later.

Whisk to combine.

Pour the liquid mixture into the large bowl and mix all the ingredients well.

Spread the granola evenly on a very large cookie sheet, 12” x 17”, and create 4 even quadrants to allow for more even baking.

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, stirring about every 10-15 minutes making sure to make the 4 quadrants again.

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YEAST STARTERS YEAST, THE WONDERFUL LITTLE MICROBES THAT BELONG TO THE FUNGI AND WHAT TURNS OUR WORT INTO THE FERMENTED BEVERAGES WE LOVE. AT OUR LOCAL SUPPLY SHOPS WE CAN NOW CHOOSE FROM AN ABUNDANT VARIETY THAT COMES IN THE FORM OF A LIQUID OR SLURRY. THIS BEAUTIFUL LIQUID CAN BE A BREWERS BEST FRIEND IF WE TREAT IT RIGHT AND I WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN SET UP THE YEAST FOR SUCCESS

BY APPLYING AN INITIAL PRE BREWDAY STEP: MAKING A YEAST STARTER.

by Sheena Strauss @knowledge.on.tap

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W

ith a few simple items, a yeast propagation step can become a useful tool to have for any homebrewer for multiple reasons (besides looking really cool because you are harnessing your inner scientist, that is): You’ll maximize the purchase of your yeast investment (you chose liquid yeast for a reason!)

You can evaluate the yeast prior to brew day pitching to see if there are any off aromas or if it looks like little or no growth activity occurred (this is such a simple quality check that can potentially save your batch) A starter will allow you to save your slurry from a batch, grow it, and direct-pitch it into another batch.

Ensure that you have enough viable, healthy yeast (without a home lab) to fully maximize the characteristics of the strain chosen (attenuation, aroma & flavour profiles, and a reduction of potential yeast causing off-flavours due to stressed yeast) BONUS: Okay, now this one is just cool if you know a brewery that bottle conditions with their special strain (e.g. Rochefort Trappest Belgian beer made by monks) you can buy a few bottles, let them get cold and settle in the fridge, decant (pour) the beer into your favourite chalice beer glass while being careful to not agitate the yeast at the bottom and make your yeast starter using the last little bit of yeast-filled beer at the bottom of the bottle!

EXTRA BONUS: if you want to take your yeast game to a whole other, out-of-this world, level, you can experiment with isolating yeast from your own outdoor spaces (Bootleg Biology!) and grow your very own wild captured yeast.

Now I will take you through what equipment I use and how I typically make a yeast starter to get my perfect pitch for any batch!

Equipment and materials needed to make a yeast starter (the way I make it): o a 2 L Erlenmeyer Flask (made of labora-

tory borosilicate glass as it is resistant to thermal shock - a must!)

o a

pot that will comfortably hold 2 L of wort without boiling over (at least 4 L) o tin foil (enough to make a lid covering for your flask) o funnel o scale o measuring cup o spoon for stirring o magnetic stir bar o stir plate o food safe sanitizer (such as Star San) o DME (Dry Malt Extract; the lighter the better - I use Pilsner DME) o water (I use unsoftened tap water - avoid distilled or RO water because you want mineral content to aid in yeast growth) o your liquid yeast of choice o A Yeast Starter Calculator like on brewersfriend.com o Optional: Yeast nutrient, open flame to make an aseptic environment if you can do it safely (if you want to be extra sanitary), scissors if needed, ice or ice packs to aid in faster cooling of hot wort.

Procedure: Step 1: Take out your yeast prior to getting everything setup as you want it to warm to room temperature to avoid shocking the yeast. Give it a shake to loosen it up as well.

Step 2: Measure your water (I usually end up making a 1 to 1.5 L starter), place in pot and begin heating it on the stove. *Note: I prefer using a pot as opposed to directly boiling in the flask because it is easier to stir and results in a lower chance of boilover during hot-break - safety first!

Step 3: Measure your DME and add to the pot of water slowly, while stirring.

The magic ratio is 1 g of DME for every 10 mL of water (e.g. for a 1 L starter, 100 g of DME is needed; this will give your starter wort a gravity of about 1.040, which is ideal for growing healthy yeast.) *Note: you want to add the DME while the water is heating up and not at boil to prevent boil-over mishaps!

Step 4: Continue heating the wort until boil.

Stirring often to avoid boil-over and once a rolling boil is achieved, lower the heat enough to maintain a controlled boil and set a timer for 5 minutes to sterilize the wort.

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Step 5: While the wort is boiling sanitize the flask, funnel, stir bar, and tin foil, and prepare a cold water bath in your cleaned sink (ice and ice packs can be very helpful here to speed things up) *Note: once everything is sanitized you can place the stir bar in the flask and place the funnel and foil on top or place everything on a cleaned and sanitized surface.

Step 6: When the timer is up, turn off the stove and carefully pour the hot wort into the flask and cover with the tin foil by wrapping it around the top of the flask. This will help to reduce the potential of contamination. *Note: I like to position myself to favour proper biomechanics by standing on a stool which allows me to pour slowly and more controlled to reduce any spilling of hot wort.

want to get a little taste of what it is like to be a microbiologist. (You can get a lab coat and goggles too to be extra lab geeky!) Remember to practice safe fire practices (that is, no loose clothing, tying hair back, never leave the flame unattended, and have a fire extinguisher handy!)

Step 9: Place flask on the stir plate and turn it on. Adjust the speed dial until you achieve a nice vortex without the stir bar bouncing around all over the place.

Step 10: Leave it spinning overnight for the yeast to proliferate. If the yeast looks and smells good in the morning then you are ready to rock! I typically put the flask in my fridge to let it crash and bring it out right around when I start the boil on brew day.

I’ll decant most of the liquid until it is just a yeast slurry with a little liquid on top that can be used to easily swirl the yeast for an easier transfer.

Step 7: Place flask into your ice bath and carefully swirl the wort often to speed up cooling. Continue to cool until the wort reaches room temperature (roughly 22C). *Hint: You can tell it’s around room temperature when it is cooler than body temperature (about 37C) by carefully touching the back of your hand to the outside of the flask. If it feels cool to the touch then you are good to go. Keep an eye on it as you do not want it to get too cold! Not to fret if it does, as you can always warm it up by letting it sit on the counter or by running warmer water on the outside of the flask and swirling. Essentially, you want the yeast container and the flask to feel somewhat similar in temperature to the touch. It does not need to be exact for our purposes.

Step 8: Once cooled, you are now ready to introduce your yeast to their new, nutritious environment. To do so, thoroughly mix your yeast container, then sanitize it (along with your scissors if your yeast came in a pouch that needs to be cut open.) Open the container, take the foil lid off your flask, and, carefully, pour the yeast in. Once poured, quickly sanitize the foil lid again and cover the flask. *Note: this is where you can use your flame to create an aseptic environment if you

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Again, this is how I prefer to make a yeast starter and how I would typically teach others. With a laboratory and safety background, this is what I currently do and recommend. I encourage you to research and explore this topic as it can be a useful tool (and super cool) to experience in your brewing journey. You will make mistakes and through that you will learn more, tweak your process, find what works best for you, and then be able to share your experiences with others. If you would like to visually see my process, you can visit my Instagram highlights on this topic @knowledge.on.tap.

Bonus yeast tips: Are some yeast strains very thick and clumpy in the package?

This is a natural property for some strains (e.g. some English strains) and a great way to help loosen them up is to carefully take some of your cooled sanitized wort and mix it in the pouch with the yeast to loosen it up.

Larger pouches do make this process easier.

Have you noticed that some liquid yeast pouches look puffy/bloated?

I typically would only make a single-step vs. a multi-step starter as a 2 L flask is large enough to provide flexibility for making 1-2 L size starters which has always been enough for a typical usecase. That being said, if yeast is coming from bottle conditioned beers, are from a wild capture experiment, or harvested yeast in very small quantities (a home yeast bank), then I would resort to a multi-step starter.

In the majority of cases a single-step is all you would need and I recommend getting what you need in order to propagate in a single step right from the get-go as it makes everything a whole lot easier.

It is not generally a bad thing as it can show that the yeast are still active and feeding on the sugars that are in the wort solution they were packaged with. Check to see if your best before/use by date is still good and see what temperature you are storing your yeast at. You ideally want to be storing your yeast very cold (about 1-4C) which can in most cases reduce the probability of seeing puffy pouches.

Do not trust what your temperature is set to in your fridge! I recommend verifying the temperature by placing a glass of water (leave it for several hours) where you would be storing your yeast, then take temperature readings. This can help you to adjust the temperature and even find the coldest spot to store your yeast. Other things to consider is how the yeast is stored at your local supply store, (this temperature verification tip may help) and even how it is transferred home. I bring a cooler with ice packs and get it home as soon as possible and into the cold fridge. Either way, you are making a yeast starter so you will be all set!

Happy yeast starting making everyone!

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FROM JANES AND JOES TO ALL-OUT PROS Name: Russell Gibson Location: Ontario Brewery: Fenelon Falls Brewing Company Time in Professional Brewing: About 5 years, 2.5 as a Head Brewer Job Title: Head Brewer Time as a Homebrewer: < 5 years Daily duties: Everything from brewing, to cellaring, to QC, and packaging.

What was it about Homebrewing that contributed to you wanting to do it for a living?

Firstly, I like beer. In a more serious answer, I liked the mix between science and art, I have a broad range of interests outside of work, with what little time I have, and back when it wasn’t my full-time job, it was an appropriate level of creation, experimentation, and challenge.

How did you transition from homebrewer to where you are now?

After I got accepted into brewing school, coming from a science background, I had very little experience with homebrewing and knew in order to really keep up, I would have to work at it on my own, and with new friends, to really get a feel for the process. Everything else was just making batches and learning from the many, many mistakes that come from learning the process from the ground up. After school, I worked as a cellarman for a few years in a larger craft brewery before deciding I wanted the additional challenge of a head brewer role.

Friendly advice for people wanting to get into homebrewing and new homebrewers just starting out on their journey?

Be diligent, clean all your items effectively, designate a space, organize all the tools/items you will need, clean everything, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and most importantly, clean everything twice!

What exciting things are you currently working on?

I’ve created a bunch of new brews over the summer, as well as topping off on our mainstay brands for the tourists in our cottage country town. After dealing with the non-stop seasons since February, where my hours have been long and my time off short, I’m going to take a quick break before starting up a new Brewer’s Series line of beers and getting into a special holiday 2021 release.

Humble Homebrew Story I was so naive about how certain things worked, including equipment, that I didn’t set up the airlock properly on my very first solo batch. Suffice to say, that first batch was easily the most oxidized, worst thing I have ever made in my life. It’s only gotten better since then.

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