The Brewers Journal - Canada edition, Winter 2020

THE MAGAZINE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL BREWING INDUSTRY

BREWERS J O U R N A L

Winter 2020 | Issue 15 ISSN 2398-6948

MERIT BREWING Lighting up Downtown Hamilton, Ontario

34 | BRITISH COLUMBIA: TRACKING ITS GROWTH

52 | MONTREAL: BREWING INNOVATION IN QUEBEC

69 | KÖLSCH: RESPECTING THIS CLASSIC STYLE

LEADER

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BRING YOUR A-GAME

rint is dead, or so they say. In reality, it’s had more comebacks than The Undertaker in the WWE and farewell tours by rock band Kiss combined.

Look around you. This magazine aside, there’s probably half a dozen items that use print in one shape or another. Sure, some of those could easily be replaced by electronic alternatives but not all. The thing is, purveyors of printed goods have had to adapt and innovate to fit into the modern landscape. And I believe that the world of brewing and beer offers up similar parallels.

Changing consumer habits, leaning towards healthier lifestyles, has been one such hurdle. That’s why it’s no surprise to see global growth of “low and no” alcohol beers remain firmly on an upward trajectory.

You then see Mark Anthony Brands lay down $250m on a new facility in North America to cater for the ever-growing demand for its White Claw brand of hard seltzers. When the group is projecting sales of $4bn across its portfolio this year, it’s probably safe to say that there are still legs in this particular market.

Don’t fancy dipping your toes in the production of those particular beverages? No problem. But being reactive and proactive to consumer demands is imperative in being a success in the world of beer. And if brand diversity isn’t your bag, then it goes without saying that ensuring your core product is at the very top of its game is essential.

And just like print, breweries can offer up an experience that’s impossible to recreate elsewhere.

Tablets and E-readers were due to signal the death knell of printed books. That was thankfully a false dawn. There’s something satisfying, romantic even, about the reliability offered up by a tangible printed book. It’s an experience hard to replace.

I feel the same about visiting a brewery to drink the beer at its source. The beer is at its freshest, and you’re often surrounded by the kit and team that have poured their heart and soul into producing it.

Brewers journal Canada

EDITOR’S CHOICE Jenn Smith Nelson looks at the vibrant growth taking place in British Columbia’s wine country - page 34

It’s an ethos shared by Tej Sandhu, co-founder of Hamilton’s Merit Brewing and this issue’s cover stars.

“From a revenue standpoint, being able to sell what we brew directly is obviously important,” he told us.

“But equally it’s the best space to enjoy those beers, too. I believe it’s where you can develop the greatest connection. It’s not just liquid in the glass, it’s our home and where we can tell our story.”

It’s a perspective mirrored by the fantastic breweries across Montreal and its surroundings and it was a real pleasure to spend time with so many of the fantastic outfits that comprise this beautiful city. I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Until next time, have a good one!

Tim Sheahan Editor Winter 2020

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C O N TA C T S

CONTACTS Tim Sheahan Editor tim@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 592 Richard Piotrowski Canada Bureau Chief richard@rebymedia.com +1 647 975 7656 Jakub Mulik Staff photographer Josh Henderson Head of sales josh@rebymedia.com +44 (0)1442 780 594 Johnny Leung North American Sales johnny@rebymedia.com +1 647 975 7656

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SUBSCRIPTIONS The Brewers Journal 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: sales@rebymedia.com

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CONTENTS

CONTENTS 12

52

22

34

69

COVER STORY 28 - Merit Brewing Company has taken great strides since opening in 2017. A destination for excellent food and beer, it’s helped light up Downtown Hamilton

TRENDING | CBD AND BEER 12 - CBD : What does it mean for your beer?

COMMENT 22 - Niagara College talk all things mead 25 - Delivering quality on a consistent basis

FOCUS | MONTREAL 52 - How breweries new and old are ensuring Montreal’s brewing scene is one to envy. In a first for Brewers Journal Canada, this article is written in both French and English

SCIENCE | KÖLSCH PROVINCE FOCUS | BRITISH COLUMBIA 34 - Jenn Smith Nelson casts the spotlight on the vibrant growth happening in BC

69 - A love letter to Kölsch: Where it came from and how to turn your hand to brewing this much-loved style

SCIENCE | LOW AND NO ALCOHOL FOCUS | BITTERNESS 42 -How understanding the human side of bitter will help you understand your customers better

FOCUS | DIASTATICUS CONTAMINATION 48 - Velo Mitrovich asks whether a solution to diastaticus contamination is on the horizon

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74 - The growth in no and low alcohol products presents a real opportunity for craft brewers to enter and disrupt a growing market dominated by big players

HOMEBREW CORNER 78 - Our latest look at the innovation and invention taking place in Canada’s buoyant homebrewing community

Brewers Journal Canada

CHARLES FARAM

P O R TL A N D • YA K I M A • TO R O N TO • WO R C ES TE R

Tel: +1 416-907-9343 • Email: orders@charlesfaram.ca

B US I N ES S

NEWS

ONTARIO BEER SUMMIT TO CELEBRATE BEST OF BREWING

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he 2020 Ontario Beer Summit will take place this March, focused on education and idea sharing to improve brewery quality, performance, tap room culture, and marketing.

All of this is coupled with a celebration of the strength that equality and diversity brings to craft beer and our communities.

Through two days of seminars, the event will explore pressing issues in the industry and share best practices through three unique streams.

The final session of the summit will see all participants come together for a keynote panel “All in for Beer Diversity”.

Jake Clarke, from For The Love of Craft Beer, said: “The Ontario craft beer industry is growing in leaps and bounds and is approaching adolescence and a time when forward progress can continue in a more thoughtful and inclusive manner.

“Building strong communities through beer is a key tenant to this important industry so we have invited industry leaders to bring their expertise to the summit to discuss issues of the day via three streams; brewing science and brewery operations, marketing and sales, and hospitality and culture.”

Taking place on March 10-11, 2020, the Ontario Beer Summit will be held at Hamilton Waterfront Trust, 47 Discovery Dr, Hamilton, ON. The organisers want to encourage maximum participation in the event, and as such, have set up tiered pricing.

What that means is that the registration fee of $500 applies to the first attendee from your team and then you pay only $250 for every subsequent team member.

White labs celebrates 25 years

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hite Labs, the international liquid yeast and fermentation company, is celebrating 25 years in the fermentation industry.

The business was founded in 1995 by Chris White after graduating from the University of California, San Diego, with a Ph.D. in biochemistry. While Chris was in school, he befriended and learned how to make beer with homebrewers who would become some of the world’s greatest professional brewers.

They needed a better supply of yeast, so White began producing pitchable quantities of liquid brewer’s yeast at a time when pure cultures were not readily available.

Brewers Journal Canada

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Tiffany A Davey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of High Season Co Tej Sandhu, Co-Founder of MERIT Brewing Sarah Casorso, Head Brewer and Director of Brewing Operations at Bench Brewing Paul Jones, Co-Founder of Cloudwater Brew Co. Kelly Byer, Lab Technologist at CFWI Dusty Zamecnik, Co-Founder of Hometown Brew Co. Aaron Spinney, Head Brewer at MERIT Brewing Cam Formica, Co-Founder of Willibald Farm Distillery, Brewery & Kitchen Lexi Pham, Independent Beer Educator Karyn Boscariol, Founder of Queen of Craft Matt Giffen, Founder of Bench Brewing Andrea Nicholson, Chef and Owner of Butchie’s Restaurant Josh McJannett, Co-Founder of Dominion City Brewing Co. Eric Saulis, Brewer at Dominion City Brewing Co. Day Bracey, Comedian + Writer + Co-Founder of Fresh Beer Fest Jen Nadwodny, Former Head Brewer at Dieu du Ciel and Independent Brewer/Cider Maker Catherine Oppedisano, Director of Innovation and Ontario at Collective Arts Brewing Louis Savard, Program Leader of the RiverLabs Branch of the River Institute

White would later begin propagating liquid yeast for homebrew stores and other professional brewers.

“When we first opened in San Diego craft beer was in its early days,” said White, president, founder, and CEO of White Labs.

He added: “You had a few established breweries sprinkled here and there, but overall, there wasn’t a lot.

That’s honestly been one of my favourite things about this journey.

“Not only are you part of such a close-knit community that pushes each other to succeed, but because of that shared love and passion of the craft, we’ve gotten to watch the industry grow. And not even just in the U.S., but across the world.”

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THREE SHEETS BREWING LAUNCHES AT THE WISMER HOUSE IN PORT ELGIN

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he Wismer House has announced that Three Sheets Brewing has launched with four core brands – Idle & Coast Lager (4.3% abv), New Wave IPA (6% abv), Slo Pitch Pilsner (4.9% abv), and Road Closure Red Ale (5.5% abv) – that are currently being produced off-site under contract while construction of the on-site brewhouse is completed.

Watch for seasonal session beers to make their appearances. All four beers, and merchandise will be available in-store in the new building addition.

“We’re looking forward to creating and evolving a lineup of easy-drinking beers with personality, and adding to

Canvas Brewing Now Open in Huntsville, Ontario

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untsville has a brand new brewery in the form of Canvas Brewing Open since mid-December, Canvas Brewing and taproom currently has two of its own brands available – Canvas Kölsch (4.5% abv) and Ember Red Ale (5.2% abv).

Canvas Brewing is located at 12 John St. in Huntsville, and is open from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM on Thursday to Saturday.

Canvas Brewing Company had its official opening on Dec. 13. Brewery co-ordinator Halley Clover told Muskoka Region that there are currently 12 different beers on tap, with room to grow to 20.

She hopes they can be filled out with a combination of their own beer and guest brews to help up-and-coming breweries get a foothold in the market, just as others had done for them. In addition to beer, there is also a fully stocked bar including wine and liquor.

In addition to the taproom, Canvas also has a large indoor event space Clover said can hold up to 200 people. Clover says they will host bands and trivia nights on a weekly basis.

Cole-Parmer launches new pump series

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ole-Parmer has announced the launch of the new Reglo Peristaltic Pump Series. These are the first highly accurate low-flow (<100-mL/min) models to receive MasterflexLive® capability and 21 CFR Part 11 and EU Annex 11 compliancy.

The combination of features, the company said, provides the user with a connected, intuitive, powerful, and secure fluid handling experience.

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the experience of sharing great times with friends at your local pub,” said Jeff Carver.

He added: “The Wismer House has always been about sharing great times with friends, about forgetting about your cares for a little while and enjoying the music, company and food.

“Three Sheets is the next logical step for us, distilling that experience into a nice tall glass of refreshing beer. It’s exciting for us, and it’s something that everyone here in town can be a part of.

“We’ll be listening to your feedback, and our beer will constantly reflect that.”

The Reglo Peristaltic Pumps are ideal for the laboratory, with flow-driven technology that supports precision dispensing; functional versatility giving you freedom in your applications; and a space-saving compact footprint to conserve valuable benchtop space.

In comparison to its predecessor, the new Reglo pumps have a wider overall flow range, giving you the option of dosing between 0.0001- and 365-mL/min.

The models pack in advanced features designed to deliver fluids accurately, including anti-drip technology to help conserve valuable samples, speed ramping to better accommodate fluids with varying viscosities, and touchscreen interfacing that supports powerful programmable performance - all whilst taking up very little space (229 x 147 x 157; H x L x W, mm), allowing these pumps to be integrated into even the most space-limited areas.

Mark Anthony Brewing to open new $250m facility

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ark Anthony Brewing is to invest $250 million in a new facility in Arizona to keep up with demand for its White Claw Hard Seltzer.

The facility, located in Glendale, will be housed on a 916,000-square-foot site will be up and running in under seven months and will create more than 200 full-time jobs.

In addition to White Claw, the facility will produce Mark Anthony Brands’ other offerings, including Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack Cocktails.

“The primary reason we selected Glendale was the innovative thinking and personal support of Governor Doug Ducey, the city of Glendale, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and their willingness to embrace our vision and commit to the support required for our rapid build-out and aggressive timeline,” said Mark Anthony Brewing president John Sacksteder.

Brewers Journal Canada

As the only Canadian tap handle manufacturer, Chrislan leads the way from standout custom shapes to tried-and-true classic handles.

LET’S PUT IT ON

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(877) 770-0818 • BEERCUP.COM

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CONFUSION, BEFUDDLEMENT & DISTRACTION: THE CBD DEBATE

Is it a snake-oil scam, a placebo, or something we’ll all be using soon for everything from anxiety attacks to joint pain? Regardless, is taking a dose through a can of beer the way to go?

Velo Mitrovich reports

BY VELO MITROVICH

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television commercial shows a driver going down the road, muttering away how 2019 is the year of confusion. While it is for an insurance price comparison website, it might as well be for cannabidiol (CBD)

products.

Health claims are being made ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, which at times makes you pity those serious about CBD research. With a medical dose, does it help treat severe childhood epilepsy syndromes that do not respond to antiseizure medicines? That’s a most definite ‘yes’ says Harvard Medical School. Does it cure cancer? That’s a most definite ‘no’. And everything in that wide, wide between such as anxiety, sleep disorders, and chronic pain? That’s a most definite ‘maybe’.

Absolutely no surprise here, Gwyneth Paltrow in a proponent of CBD, stating that taking CBD helps her through the “hard times”. “It doesn’t make you stoned or

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anything, just a little relaxed,” she told one beauty website.

Leeds-based gourmet marshmallow company, The Marshmallowist, has several flavours of CBD infused marshmallows because “who isn’t into CBD these days.”

It promises that you’ll feel the effects immediately upon eating. What effects? No claims being made there.

Regardless of what it does or does not do, beer makers on both sides of the Pond are cashing in on the hype and adding CBD to their brew. Should you be jumping on the bandwagon as well? TBJ recommends highly that you sit this one out for at least the time being until the dust settles. If you think 2019 was the year of confusion, just wait until 2020.

In the USA, there is nothing uniting the states when it comes to cannabis products. The federal government sees the use of marijuana and associated products as either illegal or existing in a very grey, dodgy part of the law.

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Over half the states, however, have passed their own laws with 10 allowing for full-blown cannabis recreational and medical use, and 20 additional states allowing for its medical use, which is extremely easy to obtain. If your CBD is hemp-derived, it’s federally legal in all 50 states. If your CBD is refined from cannabis, that’s another can of worms. Federally speaking, it’s illegal in all 50 states – like cannabis. Just to make sure there are no ifs, ands, or buts with cannabis derived CBD, three states have come out and specifically outlawed it.

And the US Food & Drug Administration? They have announced it has declined to add cannabidiol to its “generally recognized as safe” list of ingredients and additives, throwing the market for cannabis ingredients into further uncertainty.

The FDA on 25 November issued warning letters to 15 companies that have marketed products containing CBD, including one that sells peanut butter and tea, according to Food Processing Magazine. It said: “Based on the lack of scientific information supporting the safety of CBD in food, the FDA is also indicating today that it cannot conclude that CBD is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) among qualified experts for its use in human or animal food.” The statement cited concerns about potential liver injury, interactions with other drugs, drowsiness, diarrhea, and changes in mood.

In other words, the FDA is saying that it will continue to consider CBD as a form of medicine and thus will not give blanket permission for it to be used in foods and beverages.

But, we’re here, not there; so what.

Ah, but things aren’t much clearer here. TBJ asked the Foods Standards Agency for its official position. We were told that they would get back to us later – as in ‘months’ later. CBD is still under discussion and existing laws could change, especially if Brexit takes place.

As it stands right now, CBD is completely legal in the UK “provided it has been derived from an industrial hemp strain that is EU-approved” and does not contain THC – the chemical in cannabis which gets you stoned.

The EU – which we may or may not be a part of when this goes to print – sees CBD as a “novel food.” To be defined as this, CBD has to be shown as not causing a risk to public health; it’s not nutritionally disadvantageous when replacing a similar food; and it’s not misleading to consumers. As a novel food, you can put CBD in beer, coffee, soft drinks, energy bars, gummies, mints, sweets, oils, capsules and oral sprays.

There is a catch, however. Before adding CBD to beer or pub snacks, a Novel Food application needs to be filed and approved. This won’t come cheap because your product will be required to undergo a scientific risk assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. If you don’t, your food product is considered unsafe and can’t be sold.

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But, as far as TBJ can tell, no CBD retail product producer in the UK has followed these steps and according to MP Medic Pro, it doesn’t matter because no one is enforcing these rules in regards to CBD. You can easily import CBD into the UK and you don’t need a special license to sell it. The only requirement is that you cannot make any health claims regarding your beer with CBD, but if you go into any High Street health food store or pick up any muscle-building magazine, you can see how companies dance around this by implying – not stating.

This all sounds like a win-win-win so why is TBJ raining on the CBD beer parade? Because all these laws could be changing soon.

If the FSA decides the hype surrounding CBD is real, then some real questions are going to be asked, requiring some real answers, which might end up costing you some real money. How much is a dose for a specific medical condition? What are the side effects? How much of a dose is being administered through a can of beer? Entering the body though a beer medium, what percentage is actually being absorbed by a body? How does this vary between body size? Is there a difference between how it affects males and females? Can it affect other medications? We could go on and on here.

In the States, so far all messages of CBD’s purported amazing health benefits come from people who are in the business of selling CBD products — not from scientists, says Margaret Haney, a neurobiologist who directs the Marijuana Research Laboratory at Columbia University.

According to the Hemp Business Journal, scientists still don’t know all of the targets CBD hits in the human body, nor what effects it may have if any. Outside of successful tests done with people with rare forms of epilepsy, large studies that compare CDB with placebos are rare.

And, says the Journal, there is always the chance that for some people, CBD’s magic is made not by the compound itself, but by a powerful placebo effect; people who expect good outcomes are more likely to see benefits.

“People think it’s great for everything,” says cognitive neuroscientist Kent Hutchison of the University of Colorado Boulder. “That can’t possibly be true,” he says.

“But I do think it’s going to be great for some things. We just need to figure out what those things are.”

Who is using CBD?

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s those further up the food chain debate in boardrooms if cannabidiol products are an emerging trend worth investing in or just a hype soon to disappear, new research from US marketing firm Acosta finds that more than a quarter of US consumers are just getting on and using CBD in all of its various

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forms.

This is despite a lack of clear research proving any of their effectiveness.

Millennials most often use CBD products to ease anxiety (31%) and for general wellness (30%), Acosta reported. Among Gen Xers and Boomers, these products are most commonly used to alleviate joint pain (31% and 36%, respectively) and muscle pain (both 23%).

Twenty-eight percent of consumers polled use CBD products on an as-needed (19%) or daily (9%) basis, stated the Acosta report “The CBD Effect: A Rapidly Emerging Consumer Trend.”

Regardless as to who is using them or why, the study projects CBD product sales to consumers to hit in the USA $20 billion by 2024.

[Let us throw this in right now. With many industry reports, you can do just as well in coming up with future figures by throwing darts at a board covered with numbers. In trying to compare the future CBD figure to what the US craft beer market will be worth in 2024, TBJ scoured research company after research company reports and found they differed by as much as $40 billion dollars. Here in the UK, the current value of CBD products is £300 million pounds and is expected to reach £1 billion by 2025 – or so they say.]

“Health ailments without a ‘one-size-fits-all treatment’ are quite common, and avoiding chemicals when it comes to health and self-care is important across all age groups. CBD sales and projections show consumers are turning to CBD for help, and demand is growing rapidly,” according to Colin Stewart, senior vice president of business intelligence at Acosta.

By a large margin, CBD product users are Millennials (56%), men (48%) and college-educated (49% have a bachelor’s degree). Twenty-eight percent of users are women, 32 percent are from Generation X and 15 percent are Baby Boomers.

In another survey by CFN Media, they found this year that women are the fastest growing consumers of hemp and cannabis products and are driving the surge in CBD consumption.

Not answered in the survey is the method preferred

by CBD users in taking the product, but in other reports, those using CBD for a specific reason look for product that gives a measured dose which works quickly and predictably.

Methods of consumption

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f you’re telling your customers that getting a CBD dose through downing a cold one is an effective method, you are probably stretching things a bit, especially if you are using CBD oil in your beverage.

Cannabinoids are lipophilic molecules, meaning in

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plain English that they are able to dissolve in fats, but not in water. When consumed directly by eating or drinking, absorption rates are as low as six to 15 percent. A reason for this low absorption is when orally consumed, CBD has to be first digested by the stomach and then pass through the liver before entering the blood stream. Enzymes in the liver breakdown a further portion of cannabinoids before the body can absorb them.

By the time the body is able to enjoy the benefits of CBD, one to two hours might have passed.

If you are using an existing market water soluble CBD product, the absorption rates can differ depending on the quality of the product used with some quite low.

Because of this, most people who are taking CBD for specific reasons, use alcohol-based extractions – tinctures. A few drops are placed under the tongue and is absorbed directly into the capillaries and mucus membranes of the mouth, bypassing the stomach and liver.

If you want fast, fast, fast absorption of CBD, nothing works as well as smoking or vaping. Unfortunately, no other method also comes with as many potential health risks as lung delivery.

Colorado-based Kazmira, which is one of the world’s leaders in CBD and THC production, has recently developed PLASMA, which is a process concentrate water soluble CBD product.

Kazmira claims its water soluble CBD mixture composition is comparable to salt or sugar in water, while colloidal compositions are comparable to milk in water, suspension is comparable to oil in water, and emulsion is comparable to soap and oil in water. For this reason, mixture compositions that use colloidal, suspension, or emulsion are not ideal for end formulations, says Kazmira.

The company says that Plasma has no noticeable impact on flavour, consistency, texture, or appearance in the finished product. Because it does not require any specialised knowledge to use, it is easy to use for retail product producers to incorporate in their product.

Mixing alcohol and CBD

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hat happens when you mix alcohol and CBD – as in adding it to your beer. The short answer is, nobody really knows due to a lack

of research.

CBD and alcohol can interact if you take them within four to eight hours of each other, says James Giordano, professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University Medical Center. This means that if you have a drink with dinner then take CBD dab before bed, the CBD could have a stronger effect than it would without the alcohol.

Since alcohol and CBD both relax you and lower your

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inhibitions, these effects could be especially strong and long-lasting when you mix the two substances. “On CBD, you’re very chill, very light-hearted, mellow. The alcohol will make that more intense,” Giordano says. “For some people, it makes them very, very sedated.” For this reason, he doesn’t recommend the combination.

“Like anything else, as doses increase of either or both, you get yourself more into a problem,” he explains. “The more you drink, the more CBD you’re taking, you get a potentiated effect that's greater than the effect of either alone. The level of intoxication is going to be greater: greater loss of control, inhibition, motor coordination, and that becomes problematic.”

Studies in which CBD seemed to help ward off the effects of alcohol, used CBD either as a topical gel or administered it around 30 minutes before drinking.

With mixing it with beer, the amount of CBD that is actually affecting the drinker is hard to figure out. Green Times Brewing says its High Flyer 4.3% ABV beer is “jammed packed” with CBD, which they clarify on their website as being 10mg.

Northern Monk, in collaboration with Green Times, has made 7.2% ABV Green Heathen, also with 10mg of CBD. Is 10mg a creditable dose? Most human studies have used anywhere from 20 to 1,500mg per day. In a study published in Nature, a single dose of 600mg seemed to reduced anxiety. That would require drinking 60 cans of beer to get the same effect – which would probably kill you before the CBD affect sets in.

With beer, especially Northern Monks 7.2%, you’d have to suspect any feeling of relaxation and mellowness is coming from the alcohol.

Something that TBJ finds worrying, if alcohol is already a depressant and CBD helps you relax and sleep, combining the two would seem to give you a double whammy for dream time. From a legal viewpoint, if a consumer was still under the drink drive limit, by your adding CBD to their beer, did you impact their driving?

If you still want to put CBD in your beer and cash in on this craze, let us pass on one last warning to you. You absolutely need to see third party Certificate of Analysis (COA) test results of the CBD product you are buying for your beer. In fact, let us repeat this, you absolutely need to see third party COA test results for the CBD product you are buying.

Why? It is because the levels of CBD you’re expecting in the product you bought, have a pretty good chance of not being at that level. A US study in 2017 found in retail CBD products, 70 percent were mislabelled, either having substantially more or less CBD than advertised. But, unfortunately, this could be the least of your worries.

Contaminants can enter throughout the entire hemp/ cannabis growing and processing cycle. Let’s just touch on the growing cycle. Hemp has a habit of soaking up heavy metal contaminants from the soil. It’s so efficient in

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doing this, in Italy they grow hemp specifically for this. The leaves can have concentrations of mercury, lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals at a rate of 40 percent more that the soil it’s grown in. Pesticides can also concentrate in the leaves.

In the States, people have become sick from CBD products.

While the government and EU seems willing to look the other way with many aspects of CBD, and indeed it is highly unregulated, one component of CBD they’re not willing to ignore is the amount of THC in it. This should be very close to zero. However, in one study in the UK, 45 percent of all CBD products tested had an illegal amount of THC. While this has touched upon just a few things that are in a test report, there are close to around 20 that can all make or break your day. If you go on the web, there are several sites that helps you understand CBD test reports.

According to a report from the World Health Organization, “In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential…to date, there is no evidence of public health related problems associated with the use of pure CBD.” You know, the WHO that sees danger in everything from a piece of bacon to salt to the air we breathe. For it to come out and give something a green light, that’s pretty rare and amazing.

There is a huge amount of money being made with CBD products in the States and that same potential is here. Many people have said that using CBD has made a huge, positive change in their lives.

Some biotech companies are brewing the same compounds found in CBD and THC in yeast, which will drive down the cost – no more fields being planted or greenhouses. Two of these companies have just signed deals, one worth $122 million and the other $100 million.

So why is TBJ such a skeptic regarding CBD? In looking at the weight lifting/body building industry for years, TBJ has seen ‘novel food’ items come and go, with people swearing by some for six months or a year, and then moving on to the next big thing. At the end of the day, none actually do anything for lifters. If you don’t put in the time and have the right genes, downing creatine or ‘Glandroids’ or bull testacies is a waste of time and money.

It’s just companies taking advantage of the naive and wishful thinkers.

The vitamin/health food industry is exactly the same.

Mega-doses of Vitamin C and E were seen as highly beneficial, as was Omega-3. Now all three have been discounted.

At this stage, CBD seems to be similar, with industry adding it to anything and touting its health benefits. Prove to TBJ and its readers, with some genuine research, that putting CBD in beer is the way to go and we will gladly go back to this subject.

Brewers Journal Canada

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I D D

PR O C ES S

AN D

PAC K AG I N G ,

I N C .

A DV E RTO R I A L

MASH FILTER BREW HOUSE BREWING IDD Process and Packaging, Inc. is a leading supplier of Sankey keg cleaning, sanitizing and filling, flash pasteurization, brew house and other custom process and packaging systems to the world’s brewing and other beverage industries with systems design, manufacturing and distribution from our headquarters facility in Moorpark, California. They offer a range of machines and equipment for breweries and beverage manufacturers including the High Efficiency Brewing System (HEBS). Here the company’s President & CEO, Jeff Gunn, gives us the lowdown on the HEBS brewing technology.

BY JEFF GUNN

A

recent posting on MBAA "Ask the Brewmasters" web board about high temperature (80°C/175°F), sparging being an effective means to increase efficiency when using a lauter tun, brings to mind the relationship between the lauter tun and the mash filter and the pro's and con's of mash pH, temperature, husk and endosperm grind. This got me thinking about doing this article on the basics between the lauter tun and the mash filter's operational wort/grist separation differences for the many brewers that know of the mash filter but have little understanding of the benefits it has over the lauter tun.

The understanding of brewing science and process engineering is common among craft brewers. Despite this, the craft brewing sector has been slow to adopt newer and different technologies to match. In the increasingly crowded craft brewing market, and as competition between craft production brewers increases,

Brewers Journal Canada

those who can maximize their output and efficiencies while minimizing production costs are bound to have better chance of success.

With over 40% of the worldwide macro brewing industry using mash filters in various forms, and many craft brewers not knowing what mash filter brewing offers, it's worth distinguishing between the lauter tun and the mash filter when dealing with wort and grist separation misnomers and facts. Most of the technical jargon you read about is for lauter tuns and that's where the discussion points are addressed in most articles and technical papers and is well understood by the majority of craft brewers. It's a completely different story when it comes to the understanding of the mash filter.

When I realized that there wasn't an affordable range of small mash filters offered, it became obvious that the lauter tun was the only practical option available for wort/ grist separation. Unfortunately, the craft brewing industry lauter tuns (for the most part), are slow, cumbersome to operate, hard work and not that efficient. We at IDD Process and Packaging decided to introduce the HEBS, a series of High Efficiency Brewing Systems. The HEBS is a series mash filter based manual and semi-automated craft brew houses designed around maintaining high efficiency and sustainability throughout the brewing process. HEBS mash filter brew houses are capable of knocking out a brew every 2 hours or less compared to an average 4 to 7 hours for the lauter tun systems.

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The points of differentiation that are little understood are; the grist for the lauter tun performance is extremely important. The grain husk must be kept intact to reduce tannins release and the endosperm broken but not turned into flour helps maintain permeability in the lauter tun bed to prevent it from collapsing and creating a stuck mash. The disadvantage is the larger pieces of broken endosperm take longer to achieve enzymatic conversion in the mash mixer. Conversely, the grind for the mash filter is not nearly as precise.

To achieve a grist that maintains the husk and grinds

Mash Filtration offers brewers a number of other advantages, including: u Extract efficiencies up to 98%. u With water or air squeeze bladders all

available wort is removed from the grist. u Complete wort/grist transfer and

separation is achieved in 20-45 minutes. u ≥ 70% spent grain solids cake for high extraction and easy cleanup. u The ability to process challenging grains and grist profiles with ease. u The removal of gluten from the wort Low gluten levels can be claimed. u AOD pumps that simplify controls, mash transfers, and reduce maintenance.

The high throughput of the HEBS integrated mash filter brew house is due to the potential for optimized batch sequencing and the interconnection of several technologies besides mash filtration including: u Agitation and baffling in the mash

mixer speeds up heat transfer and saccharification. u Internal calandria-based kettle reaches evaporation and VDK targets up to 50% faster. u CIP manifolding reduces cleaning time between brews. u Recycling cooling water from PHE back into the HLT ensures constant supply of hot liquor. u High brew house efficiency allows for high-gravity brewing techniques, increasing output volume by up to 20%.

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the endosperm to a fine particle size with 20% to 25% flour, is the low energy (3 HP for 2,000 pound an hour throughput), "Strip Mill". The HEBS strip mill maintains and tears away the husk, creates a fine endosperm particle size and 20% flour. Compared to the standard conventions of mash filter use, which uses a noisy, high maintenance, energy hog (10 HP for 2,000 pound an hour throughput), hammer mill, which pounds the husk the same as the endosperm to create the fine grind grist.

The use of low cost, rugged spiral augers is also an advantage when using a mash filter. Spiral augers are well documented to create anywhere between 2% to 6% additional flour based upon their length of grist transfer.

To the lauter tun it's a negative but to the mash filter it makes no difference to its operation.

The mash pH, in a lauter tun or mash filter, has optimum enzymatic conversion at 5.2 to 5.6 pH and never above 6 in order to help prevent tannings release. Mash temperature profiles and rests are in the same range of 60°C/140°F to 75.5°C/168°F at mash out (transfer), to the lauter tun or mash filter. This is where the process is differentiated. Instead of pumping the mash into the lauter tun or settling the mash in a combination mash/lauter tun system, the mash in a mash filter brew house is pumped with an Air Operated Diaphragm (AOD), pump into each of the mash chambers.

The grist stays in the chambers and the wort passes out of the chambers through the filter cloths (sheets), into the exit ports. The wort then flows under gravity through the discharge manifold to a grant where it can be vorlaufed (recirculated), back to the mash mixer for reducing turbidity, or directed straight to the kettle to bring to the boil.

Darcy's Law, describes lauter tun and mash filter permeability of the wort through the grist. Compared to the lauter tun false bottoms, the mash filter filtration method provides a significantly higher total surface area, less bed depth, and higher pressures, all which dramatically increase flow rate.

The adoption of higher technology in brewing becomes more common every day. While much of the industry's advancement focuses on quality analysis and control, introducing well-proven technologies to the brew house can help craft brewers achieve their production targets with efficiency and sustainability. Employing features like mash filtration allows brewers to use less grain, time, and energy, all which reduce operation costs and improves ecological stewardship.

The integrated mash filter system's speed and batch sequencing allows small-footprint brew houses to reach the same productions targets as larger conventional models. PID control and process automation help keep wort consistent from batch to batch. These, and other improvements in process engineering can help even small craft brewers save time, labor, and resources.

Brewers Journal Canada

“Where IDDEAS Become Reality”

HEBS

(High Efficiency Brewing Systems) A Practical Approach to Craft Brewing Efficiency What is HEBS?

5/ 7. 5H L H EB S

A new and innovative approach to craft brewing An efficient and flexible brewing system It’s a Brew House without a Lauter Tun In place of the Lauter Tun we use a Mash Filter What’s a Mash Filter?

It’s a multiple frame filter with large chambers that hold the mash The chambers contain bladders which can be expanded with water The mash is compressed by the bladders to squeeze out the wort Short brew capable 20H L H EB S Why use HEBS? Produce a brew every 2 hours (instead of a 5 to 7 hour brew cycle) Use malted and unmalted grains and cereals (up to 50% less cost) Use 10 to 20% less grain Achieve 98% plus extract Produce a faster conversion with fine (strip) milling (20% flour) 20% less water usage (no weak wort) 70% spent grains solids (no wort wasted) Less energy used due to fast turnaround per brew (you can turn the lights off earlier) Work a normal 8 hour day and complete 3 to 4 brews without being a slave to your passion.

Achieve brew style, flexibility and innovation that are not possible on a “Standard System” Completely skid mounted, pre-piped and wired for fast installation Expandable to twice the output (A brew every hour) A high degree of automation and control via IDD Software for calculating and saving recipes Multiple HMI screens for each process segment IDD Process & Packaging, Inc 5450 Tech Circle, Moorpark, CA 93021 Tel: 805-529-9890, Toll Free: 800-621-4144 email: idd2jeff@aol.com

www.iddeas.com

40H L H EB S

COM M EN T ME A D

A MODERN TWIST ON AN ANCIENT BEVERAGE When Toronto-based Royal Canadian Mead was crafting its lines of session meads, it turned to Niagara College’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute (CFWI) Innovation Centre for its expertise. Tanya Hvilivitzky, dissemination and outreach officer at Niagara College Canada takes up the story of this industry collaboration.

BY TANYA HVILITZKY

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ead has been referred to as the “nectar of the gods” by ancient Greeks, many associating it with magical powers and immortality. Hailed as the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, the fermented honey drink has been enjoyed by Vikings, Romans, and royalty throughout the ages.

One Toronto meaderie has put its faith in an urban revival for the ancient bevvy in releasing Ontario’s first pure session meads this past summer – with the development help of experts at Niagara College (NC).

And if sales are any indication for Royal Canadian Mead (RCM), their prediction is right on the mark. Its first release, a hopped buckwheat called “Feels Like Friday,” started in 86 LCBO locations and has since broadened its reach to more than 150 stores. A second product, a Niagara peach named “All Day Croquet,” will hit LCBO shelves in April 2020 and was recently launched with its buckwheat sister in Alberta, with plans to expand into more provinces next year.

“We’re just getting started, but we’re pretty confident that meads are going to be the big beverage of 2020,” says Matt Gibson, president of RCM, a venture brand from food and beverage innovation company New Skew.

“We’re still amazed by how excited folks are about mead,” he says. “We literally have people calling us asking where they can find it and when our next flavour is coming out.”

Like cider, mead has its own distinct beverage category and is fermented using three ingredients: honey, water and yeast – and occasionally other fruits, spices or botanicals. While the drink is gaining popularity in the United States, RCM set its sights on growing the industry

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and becoming a leader in the session mead category in Canada, where there are only a handful of meaderies across the country.

Their successful line of craft session meads was created through a collaboration with NC’s Canadian Food and Wine Institute (CFWI) Innovation Centre, a team that helped the company realize its dream following a year of prototyping and innovation using modern techniques.

Carbonated, refreshing and naturally gluten-free, the session meads have a 5.6 percent alcohol content – half the alcohol content found in traditional meads.

“We wanted to introduce people to the category of mead, but we wanted to meet them halfway,” explains Gibson. “People are already enjoying session beers and dry ciders, so we wanted to put mead in that same frame of reference. It’s light, crisp and very crushable.”

Recipe Development

R

CM turned to the College’s CFWI Innovation Centre for help in recipe development and market research. NC is not only home to an awardwinning Research & Innovation division, but the College’s trailblazing Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus includes Canada’s first commercial Teaching Winery, Teaching Brewery, and Teaching Distillery, as well as Eastern Canada’s first Commercial Beekeeping program with actively managed hives on campus.

“We knew from Niagara College’s reputation that they had the experience and tools to help turn what was in our heads into a reality,” Gibson says. “We thought the College’s unique breadth of knowledge of honey, beekeeping, brewing, and winemaking would all be useful tools to create our final product.”

The CFWI Innovation Centre first conducted exploratory research and competitive market analysis.

They discovered a main demographic of urban professionals ages 25 to 40, who enjoy food, fine dining, exploring new things, and who are seeking something new and unique. They also found a sub-set of target consumers: gluten-free shoppers and low-sugar/ healthier alcohol drinkers.

The team then brought in faculty and student researchers from the College’s Wine and Commercial Beekeeping programs to assist with recipe development.

They collaborated with RCM to establish parameters for a first exploratory phase of recipe development, involving

Brewers Journal Canada

M E AD CO M M EN T

nearly 30 different products, then through two more development phases before honing in on four recipes.

In addition to a series of batch trials and product testing with chemical and sensory analysis, the researchers conducted parallel business development work provided by the NC beekeeping/honey experts.

All recipes used 100 percent Ontario-produced honey and adjuncts, such as fruit and hops.

The research project concluded with four session meads, all with distinct flavours: Hopped Buckwheat (Feels Like Friday), Niagara Peach (All Day Croquet),

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Ontario Cherry (Quarter Life Crisis), and Ontario Wildflower (Awkward Dinner).

For College winemaker and instructor Gavin Robertson, who led the research team, this was a chance to explore a new fermented beverage category. “While I had experimented with honey ferments on a small scale in the past for fun, this was an opportunity to approach mead production in a really systematic way, from the hive up,” he says.

“Royal Canadian Mead was an amazing company to work with in that they understood the unique dynamics

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We’re just getting started, but we’re pretty confident that meads are going to be the big beverage of 2020 Matt Gibson, president of RCM

As a student in the Winery and Viticulture Technician program, Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Emily Royal was a research assistant who worked on the project during a five-month period. She helped to create the recipe for mead fermentations while conducting trials of different locally-sourced honey and researched NC-grown hop varieties and stone fruit infusions to add to the mead ferment for complexity and balance. Now that she has graduated and works at a Niagara winery, Royal continues to value the experience she gained.

“I feel that my contribution to this research project provided an incredible opportunity to experience and experiment with different types of mead, honey, yeast and fermentation variables, while creating a recipe for desired marketable beverages,” says Royal. “There is such a feeling of pride when you see something you worked on in a team, where all the work and effort you put into it is now a finished product with a label and a story.”

Diverse Product

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involved with working with student researchers and they really encouraged them to think broadly and creatively about the possible formulations,” Robertson adds. “It’s so great to see all of the work by so many people result in well-received, commercial products.”

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ead is a wildly diverse and adaptable product since each honey varietal has its own distinct flavour, colour and aroma based on what the bees pollinate, explains Gibson. As with beer and cider, the flavour can come from the honey, the yeast type used, and additives like fruit, hops, spices, and herbs.

“It can be light and crisp, heavy and sweet, still, sparkling, and even barrel-aged,” he adds. “We are focused on lighter, more refreshing and consumerfriendly styles to begin, but there’s no telling how far our imagination will take us.”

This project, made possible with funding by the Ontario Centres of Excellence’s College Voucher for Technology Adoption (CVTA) program, is just one example of innovation from the College’s CFWI Innovation Centre, which offers a full suite of services to support industry innovation and commercialization of new products and processes.

Celebrating 20 years of research excellence, NC’s award-winning Research & Innovation Division provides real-world solutions for business, key industry sectors and the community through applied research and knowledge transfer activities.

They conduct projects that provide innovative solutions, such as producing and testing prototypes, evaluating new technologies, and developing new or improved products or processes for small- and mediumsized businesses. With funding support from various regional, provincial and federal agencies, students and graduates are hired to work alongside faculty researchers to assist industry partners to leap forward in the marketplace.

For more information, visit ncinnovation.ca

Brewers Journal Canada

Q UAL I T Y

CO N T R O L CO M M EN T

DELIVER QUALITY, CONSISTENTLY Producing and distributing beer you’re proud of is imperative as a brewer. Here, Mike Tysarczyk from First Key Consulting outlines some QC components she sees as essential to producing good beer on a consistent basis

BY MIKE TYSARCZYK

I

t’s packaging day. The canning line is powered up.

The team is busy monitoring the flow and packing out cases of a beer that has been nearly three weeks in the making.

One problem: No one has yet tasted the new IPA that’s due to be sold in the taproom later that day and released for small-scale distribution in the area. There is no guarantee the packaged beer is ready for customers to drink.

It’s a scenario that plays out more often than many would think in today’s beer industry. Increased competition, changing consumer demands and streamlined staffs push many breweries to bring beers to market without a system in place to help deliver consistent, high-quality products.

It doesn’t have to be that way. With training, targeted investments and time-tested techniques, breweries can implement a quality control program that covers all of the basics.

Oralee Corbett, of brewery consulting firm First Key, lays out the five QC components she sees as essential to producing good beer consistently.

1. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs)

G

MPs equate to good housekeeping in production facilities. Though GMPs can vary from brewery to brewery, these practices serve as the foundation for producing good beer and creating a safe and clean workspace.

For example, typical brewery GMPs cover the steps needed to meet all government regulations, such as food

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handling and equipment safety practices.

GMPs should also include proper health and sanitation requirements for the brewery team as well as cleaning and upkeep for equipment and tools, such as written CIP (clean in place) procedures for each piece of equipment in the brewhouse. Other GMPs should cover the use and placement of chemicals, product date coding and proper pest control.

“There are so many different aspects to running a brewery,” said Corbett, who served as a microbiologist with Labatt and set up a QC program at Mill St. Brewery in Ontario, Canada. “Even small locations can have multiple team members performing similar routines.

It’s important to have everyone following the same proper steps – as well as ongoing internal auditing of those steps – to ensure rigor around these processes.

That drives consistency.”

GMPs come into play even before opening a brewery as everyone should follow appropriate design and construction protocols. Wood and fabric that cannot be easily cleaned or kept free of bacteria should not be used, for example.

2. Yeast cell counts and viability testing

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east, the only living organism in beer, requires careful usage and monitoring.

“When underpitched, fermentations can slow or not come to a complete finish,” said Corbett. “It can also lead to diacetyl in the finished product, leaving off flavors akin to butterscotch or buttered popcorn. Overpitching simply wastes valuable yeast and can lead to other issues.”

Stressed yeast, which results from low cell counts or inadequate yeast storage practices can result in undesirable characteristics, such as beer with meaty, green apple or rotten egg flavors.

To guard against stressed yeast Corbett suggests each brewery perform yeast cell counts and viability testing.

Testing the yeast regularly requires widely available lab equipment, including a microscope and a hemocytometer.

The full cell count procedure can be found on the websites of many yeast providers and through other industry sources.

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3. Simple microbiological testing

T

hough brewers yeast is wanted and needed in the brewhouse, other microorganisms are not, generally speaking. Bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, and wild yeast, including Brettanomyces, can easily pervade the brewing environment.

These organisms, which can be found on people, in ingredients or in the air, among other places, can lead to spoiled batches, unsavory off flavors, unwanted haze and excessive carbonation.

Those breweries that rigorously follow brewhouse sanitation GMPs can help prevent beer spoilage caused by unwanted microbes. Their presence, though, can only be determined through proper testing.

Corbett recommends using HLP tubes (Hsu’s Lactobacillus-Pediococcus) to test for those beer-spoilage bacteria in the finished product. Brewers can also use outside labs for testing or send samples to another brewery with the required capabilities.

“These are not very expensive or time-consuming practices,” said Corbett. “Particularly when factoring in potential revenue lost from a spoiled batch or the reputational risk created by a product recall.” When possible, microbiological testing should also occur upstream to help prevent potential issues.

4. Oxidation prevention

P

eople need oxygen; beer does not. Oxidized beer creates a papery or cardboard taste and masks the brewer’s intended aromas and flavors. Just 100 parts per billion of dissolved oxygen (DO) in a finished package can reduce the shelf life of a beer by up to several weeks.

Oxidation can occur several ways, but the most common are aerated water, poor equipment operation and maintenance and improper packaging.

Breweries that consistently follow standard maintenance and packaging GMPs will generally avoid oxidized beer, but here are a few specific practices to keep in mind.

Clean your parts. Improperly cleaned or maintained pumps, valves and gaskets can create air pockets or carbon dioxide (CO2) leaks in tanks containing beer that is being packaged or about to be packaged.

Package properly. Ensure beer is being filled and capped properly to avoid capturing air in the packaged product.

For example, cans should be filled until a mushroom cap of foam rises just above the rim before the lid is set in place and seamed. Low-filled cans will undoubtedly

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contain higher oxygen levels.

Measure DO and TPO. Many brewers use tools such as the Anton Paar CBoxQC or the Haffman’s Portable Optical CO2/O2/TPO Meter c-DGM to measure DO and total packaged oxygen (TPO) during each run.

When the measured values run high, which is bad, steps such as adjusting fill levels or seamer settings can be taken to avoid oxidized beer.

5. Bright beer sensory analysis

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he scenario painted at the beginning of this story – where beer was packaged without being tasted – simply doesn’t happen at breweries that have instituted a disciplined sensory analysis program.

“This is your most important quality check,” said Corbett. “Does the beer taste the way you want it to taste?

Is it ready for your customers to purchase?”

Sensory analysis programs can be simple and fun. The key is to have select members of your staff (including non-brewers) trained to pick up off-flavors and understand the proper characteristics of key beer styles.

This group, known as a sensory panel, should taste beer from the brite tank one to two days before it’s scheduled to be packaged.

The packaging team should also make a practice of setting aside cans or bottles from select packaging runs to taste at a later date.

This will provide the team with a good sense of each style’s shelf life and offer insights into how flavor profiles change over time.

In conclusion: Rigor and discipline

P

utting best practices related to these five key elements of quality control can serve as an invaluable tool for breweries.

Though Corbett notes leaders and team members must follow each of the five programs with rigor and with a continuous improvement mindset for the QC program to be as effective as possible.

This implies collecting the right data, and regularly reviewing it, to take preventive and corrective actions.

About First Key At First Key, we understand that a brewery is more than just a building where beer is brewed. A brewery is also a tight-knit group of people with a common purpose.

Whether you are building a new brewery business, or expanding an existing one we are able to provide the necessary technical and other business services to get the job done.

Brewers Journal Canada

When only the best will do!

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M E E T T H E

B R E W E R

M E R I T

B R E W I N G

LIGHTING UP DOWNTOWN HAMILTON Merit Brewing Company has taken great strides since opening in 2017. A destination for excellent food and beer, it has helped rejuvenate Downtown Hamilton and co-founder Tej Sandhu hopes other breweries will follow suit.

BY TIM SHEAHAN

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atios….It’s all about the context.

Some are good, some are bad. It all depends who and what we’re talking about.

Rewind less than three years, to when Merit Brewing Company opened its doors in Hamilton, Ontario. This brought the number of breweries open in the port city to three. Modest, to say the least.

Even more so when you’re talking about a city that in excess of 500,000 people call home.

One brewery per 170,000? Not an ideal ratio…

Granted, in 2020, that number has more than doubled to the healthier figure of seven brewing operations so we’re getting there, at least.

But if outfits like Merit, and their contemporaries in Collective Arts, Fairweather and Grain & Grit, continue to grow at pace, then don’t be at all surprised to see that number swell sooner rather than later and that’s great news for everyone, right?

Until then, however, only Merit calls the Downtown area of Hamilton its home. Opened in 2017, the brewery was founded by Tej Sandhu, Aaron Spinney, and Jesse Vallins.

Three individuals that each bring their own expertise to the operation, Merit is defined by encouraging exploration, nurtured through inclusivity.

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“Exploration is what excites us,” explains Sandhu.

“It’s our job to encourage our guests to leave their preconceptions at the door and, whether it’s the beer they try or the food they sample, give them an experience they are glad to have had.”

Sandhu met Aaron Spinney during their studies. The former attended McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business while Spinney studied marketing at Mohawk College.

After graduation, Sandhu would pursue his interests in the music industry while Spinney completed the brewing program at Niagara College before demonstrating his skills at several breweries across Canada including the prestigious role of head brewer at Sawdust City in Gravenhurst.

Sandhu and Spinney both loved beer and the seemingly-endless level of exploration offered by the diversity of styles and ingredients available to them. They knew they wanted to open a brewery but one that paid its food offering as much attention as the beers they’d be producing in it.

Step in Jesse Vallins, the executive chef of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Tavern. His expertise and desire to explore the realms of flavour creation was the perfect fit and the last part of the early Merit jigsaw.

“The welcome we had from the community was fantastic,” recalls Sandhu. “There were lines of people and we were even on the front of the local newspaper!”

Consumers welcomed the Merit proposition with open arms. Not only is it the sole brewery in Downtown but it’s the only one in Hamilton with a restaurant.

“What we do is driven by keeping people interested and excited. The scene here is still so young. Only Collective Arts and Shawn and Ed Brewing were

Merit Brewing of Hamilton, Ontario: January 2020 Brewers Journal Canada

M E R I T

operating in Hamilton when we started out,” he says. “It’s been great to see new breweries open since because it makes the idea of buying and enjoying local beer the norm. Hamilton’s brewing scene is a community, it’s collaborative and long may it stay that way."

Although the welcome Merit received from the consumer was unanimously positive, getting to that point wasn’t always plain sailing.

“Getting Merit off the ground involved more than year working with others on a municipal level. The idea of us opening such an operation Downtown were uncharted waters so it was something of a nightmare,” Sandhu sighs.

“But we worked with the highest levels of government, demonstrated it was something the city wanted and got there in the end. It just needed a lot of swimming to make it happen.”

Now, Sandhu’s relationship with the government continues to flourish, with him called upon to take part in consultations and plans regarding the city, and the parameters to work within to enable more businesses like Merit to open and call Hamilton’s Downtown their home.

Two and a half years into the brewery’s journey, Sandhu is proud of how far the business has come.

“We’re long term thinkers,” he explains. “Taking things at a considered pace is our M.O. of sorts. Look at distribution. Why even consider the rest of Ontario just now when there’s only seven breweries in Hamilton. There are more than 500,000 people living here, which gives us so much room to grow in our own backyard.”

He adds: “Growing up, Downtown wasn’t somewhere you went. But now, people are returning. We’d have guests in the brewery who would tell me they haven’t been around these streets for more than a decade.

“Thankfully that’s changing. There’s something of a community building. It’s one we’re part of and one we want to further facilitate the growth of."

Much of the brewery’s personal growth is taking place on its own doorstep with 99% of the beer it produces sold directly at the brewery. Beers are brewed on its 15bbl NSI brewhouse with Merit currently boasting 105bbl (two 30bbl Fvs and three 15bbl FVs) of fermentation capacity.

These beers are sold for on-site consumption or packaged into 500ml bottles or in growler fills.

“From a revenue standpoint, being able to sell what we brew directly is obviously important,” says Sandhu.

“But equally it’s the best space to enjoy those beers, too. I believe it’s where you can develop the greatest connection. It’s not just liquid in the glass, it’s our home

Merit Brewing's culinary offering has proved to be the perfect foil to its "5th ingredient" family of beers brewersjournal.ca

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and where we can tell our story.”

The beers produced by Merit Brewing Company are diverse in their very nature.

Currently on offer are numbers such as ‘Then’, a 7.34% Cab Franc Hybrid Saison.

“Our goal with this beer was to represent the beginning and end of harvest. Last year we took hundreds of pounds of Rosewood Crab Franc skins, sealed them, and stored them frozen so we could use them in the future,” says Sandhu.

He adds: “This past April, we went to the same vineyard the Cab Franc grapes came from, and trimmed the canes on the vines, making the way for new growth to start. We then took those canes, dried them, and used them to smoke a small portion of the grain we used in this beerWe then brewed a rustic saison base that was then aged on the Crab Franc skins.

“Our goal was to create a flavour profile similar to those found in piquettes, a style we’ve loved seeing the resurgence in. ‘Then’ displays bright spring fruitiness

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Above: Merit Brewing's fermentation cellar and right, co-founders Tej Sandhu and Aaron Spinney

alongside subtle funk. ‘Then’ finishes very dry with bright and high carbonation.”

Also available is ‘By and By’, a Tripel with Leaning Post Pinot Noir Skins & Wild Lees. The beer was brewed thanks to the team getting their hands on more than 500lbs of freshly pressed and post-fermented Pinot Noir skins from their friends at Leaning Post Wines.

The skins bring notes of creamy strawberry, tart cherry, raspberry, currant, and rose to a classic Belgian-style Tripel base. By And By drinks like a Beaujolais-beer with major fruit balanced by subtle tannin and an even more subtle acidity.

But rewind a few years and attendees of the brewery’s popular ‘Milkshake Day’ would have sampled beers such as Cali Creamsicle, a 6.3% Grapefruit, Orange, & Lemon Milkshake IPA. Merit calls itself a 5th ingredient brewery, meaning each beer features the addition of fruits, herbs, spices, teas, “or just a good story”.

Sandhu adds: “We are inspired by tradition but like breaking the rules. Through brewing and culinary techniques, we push flavours and aromas to the forefront

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of the “why” we brew. From simple to complex flavours that can be layered or singular, we want our beer to speak a lot, but also very little depending on situation.

“We have diverse tastes in beer. We want to give guests a spectrum to choose from and an entry point, too. Some breweries that entry point will be a Blonde or similar. For us, we will suggest our 3% SVP French Table Beer and take it from there.”

Many of the beers Merit brew now, or are in the process of releasing, stem from a comprehensive spreadsheet Sandhu and Spinney put together before the brewery came to life.

"We made a list of the ideas and worked with the ones that stood out. That doesn’t mean we won’t work on a whim if some amazing ingredients become available, though!” he says. “One of my favourite beers we’ve ever made was an American Dry Lager. It was delicious.”

And it’s offering something for everyone that continues to drive Merit Brewing Company forward.

“Inclusivity is at the core of what we do,” he says. “It’s about being familiar but taking a different approach to that familiarity.”

Sandhu adds: “Hamilton’s brewing scene continues to grow and we all bring something different to the table. I can genuinely look a customer in the eye and recommend each and every one of the breweries here.

“I hope we can keep this bar of quality high and have others that join the community raise it even higher. I’m very proud to call Hamilton home.”

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RED, WHITE WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JENN SMITH NELSON CITY SCENIC COURTESY OF TOURISMKELOWNA.COM DESTINATION BC PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW STRAIN

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To find out what has been brewing in British Columbia's wine country, Jenn Smith Nelson investigates how regional "transplants" inspired by the appeal of the fruit-centric region, have been driving an evolution of breweries across the Okanagan.

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ou’ve arrived in the sunny Okanagan in prime season for fruit,” says the taxi driver during the shuttle from the airport to my hotel. Feeling fortunate, in addition to all the fresh apples, peaches, apricots and more, I’m with a small group of journalists for what promises to be a tasty experience – of breweries, that is.

A brewing boom and the notion that “beer hubs” have formed in both Kelowna and Penticton was enough reason

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for me to want to visit the region. Admittedly, my arm didn’t need much twisting to sip, slug and learn just how these cities have evolved, and the role beer plays in it all.

Breweries aren’t completely new to either city, dating back about 20 years. However, they’ve been thriving, and multiplying as of late. Kelowna is on pace to have 15 by the year’s end, and Penticton, seven, which is remarkable for a city with a population of only 35,000, compared to Kelowna’s 130,000+.

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So, how the heck have craft breweries carved their way into what is widely known as wine country? Fruit, it turns out, has a little something to do with it. However, I soon learn there are several factors.

Once a sleepy community, Kelowna has been experiencing significant economic growth for some time.

Its population has risen with an influx of young, keen entrepreneurs finding their way to the warm city, especially in the artisanal sector. Locals say there’s a new energy and optimism, one that can be felt and observed.

Our first stop is Kettle River Brewing Co. The small-batch brewery found in the city’s north end, focuses on recipe experimentation, producing an ever-evolving assembly of beers on tap. “We definitely want to experiment and have no desire to follow guidelines. There are so many people who have done the classics perfect,” co-founder, Chris Dedinsky explains, as we sit down to chat over a flight in the welcoming and casual neighbourhood pub. It’s kitschy and eclectic, beaming with warmth from the use of reclaimed barn wood throughout.

Seeing immense potential to open a brewery in Kelowna, Dedinsky along with co-founder and business partner, Russ Higgs, did just that in 2016, relocating their families from Vancouver. “I think we're seeing a lot of spillover from places like Vancouver where they're at 60 or so [breweries]. With Kelowna being so central and already a destination for the alcohol industry, it’s a natural fit to add beer into that,” says Dedinsky.

The sentiment is echoed by head brewer, Wilson Watson, another transplant, originally hailing from England.

When researching whether or not to come to Kelowna, Watson noticed that there were only three breweries.

“This seemed to be at odds for how large the city is,” says Watson. “There's so much to market share and growth to be had, it’s awesome”.

And, sharing seems to come naturally among breweries.

Friends with the folks over at Vice & Virtue Brewing Co., Dedinsky says the brew community has each other’s back.

“We're all on speed dial,” he says, “if we need ingredients or help or advice.”

The feeling is mutual over at near-neighbours, Vice & Virtue, where things are slick. The modern brewing space is complemented by a superb menu and several fruit-rich and amusingly named beers such as the Hazy Homewrecker IPA and The Hips Don’t Lie Strawberry Rose Hip Wheat Ale. “We are building a little brew north community, with Kettle River, BNA Brewing and others in the area,” says James Windsor, Vice & Virtue’s main brewer who relocated from Toronto, as we listen over lunch and a pint.

I opt for a Hazy Homewrecker IPA and love it that is, until I try a colleague’s Love Potion Raspberry ‘Berliner Vice’. Hardly a fruity-gal-kind-of-beer-drinker, I’m instantly drawn to the pink-hued brew and even more surprised by how much I enjoy its tartness.

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We definitely want to experiment and have no desire to follow guidelines Chris Dedinsky, Kettle River Brewing Co

A former winemaker, Windsor garners inspiration from the wine world and the fruit rich area; especially enjoying the challenge of stealing flavour profiles of fruit and wine and turning them into beer. This was the idea behind the brewery’s uber-popular, Love Potion, with the goal to make a beer more into a Rosé. What he’s succeeded in creating is a traditional kettle sour beer with acidity levels matched perfectly, balancing out the raspberry flavour. “It’s a no brainer; a natural pairing using fruit and beer,” he says.

“Wineries are actually the reason I moved here. Also, we are the country’s largest fruit producer, and make the best wine in Canada, so I thought it would be easy for me to make interesting beers. They [breweries] co-exist nicely,” says Windsor.

While borrowing from the wine world is hardly a new notion within the craft brewing industry, it was surprising to learn just how intertwined the two industries have become in the Okanagan.

That is precisely what co-owners Theresa Cashen and her brewer husband, Mitchell Kehoe banked on, with the opening of Wild Ambition Brewing, one of city’s newest breweries. Hailing originally from Kelowna, Theresa convinced partner Mitchell, a gifted home brewer, to move back after the pair met during university studies in Halifax.

“We take historical traditional techniques and then apply some modern interpretation,” says Cashen of their approach. This translates to creating beers that take full advantage of the region’s fruit (and wine) to sustainably create niche product. “What better place in the country to be if you want to use fruit? You're silly if you use purees and syrups living in this valley,” says Cashen.

"We are building a little brew north community, with Kettle River" James Windsor, Vice & Virtue’s.

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This is made abundantly clear as she introduces a flight comprised of citrus sour wheat ale; a blueberry gose; a bière de coupage and a hoppy, flavour forward farmhouse beer.

The bière de coupage, a nearly half sour, 40/60 blend, steals the show. Complete and full, she explains how it’s a good representation of what draws people to their brewery. “The thing about beer, is how you taste beer is correct. It doesn’t have to be this crazy intimidating thing even if in the background we are doing something obscure.

I want people to try it and if they like it, they like it.”

I’m game and try another, a 9.5A% imperial stout, called Spilled Ink. Goosebumps rise on my arms after one sip as the boozy brew and its trail of wine (thanks to 7 months in the barrel) hit my taste buds.

“We are the only 100% mixed fermentation brewery in the B.C interior to focus on the fermentation driven by Brettanomyces. We chose Kelowna because there wasn't anybody doing this type of brewing,” Cashen explains.

We take historical traditional techniques and then apply some modern interpretation Theresa Cashen, Wild Ambition Brewing

Besides aspiring to brew and blend super complex, well-balanced and intentional beers, and beyond using fruit, wine has a real place in Wild Ambition’s world. Cashen believes the whole idea of the Okanagan being a wine market means that people are already thinking about craft beverages and artisanal produced goods.

Aging their brew for extended periods is done in French oak wine barrels and sometimes American Oak, sourced from local wineries. After a winery completes a few runs of red wine and sometimes Chardonnay through the barrels, they are no longer oak-y enough for them. “It’s a perfect fit to take the barrels off their hands as they are still plenty oak-y for beer,” claims Cashen. “We'll run darker beers through to start and a progressively lighter each run down.”

However, there’s another purpose that also provides tremendous value in this type of sharing. “These barrels, if you look after them, will look after you, eventually becoming amazing vessels,” explains Cashen. “If a brewery like us didn't take them, they'd be turned into planters or furniture, and this wood is from trees harvested from a hundred-year-old growth forest.”

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As someone dedicated to repurposing, this is genuinely moving. Understanding how with such thoughtful care, Okanagan brewers and winemakers approach their crafts holistically, attempting to minimize footprints, was a lovely revelation, one that is not only good for the environment, but also vastly important to consumers.

“It’s a progression, and people are already thinking about artisanal products in terms of how they want to support their communities; what they want to put in their bodies and what they enjoy. It’s worth spending a little bit of extra money,” according to Cashen.

When I move onto Penticton, a region home to over 80+ wineries, many with vineyards that line the spectacular Naramata Bench in the Okanagan Valley, the sense of sustainability, symbiosis and collaboration endures. Much smaller than Kelowna, the city feels a bit touristy, yet quaint and charming.

It’s also completely walk-able. From the main strip of Lakeshore Drive, Penticton’s downtown “beer hub” is within close proximity.

Starting out at Cannery Brewery Company, the city’s second oldest brewery, owner Pat Dykk shares her take on the burgeoning industry and how local support has been the key to the brewery’s success and longevity. “The very best customers we've always had are from the vineyards of this valley. When they come in from doing farm work, they’re looking for a beer.”

Like Cashen, she believes a shift has occurred in how people drink, “I don't think its necessarily beer versus wine.

They're not exclusive,” Dykk says. “It's the same people drinking craft beer that are the same people drinking really good scotch.”

Over at the city’s newest brewery (as of August 2019), Slackwater Brewing opened with a vision that included collaborating with wineries.

Working within the brewing industry for several years in various roles, co-founders, Liam and Kelsey Peyton, decided Penticton was the place to be. “We knew there was a bunch of great breweries already here, but no one was really collaborating or doing anything with the wine industry, like wine hybrids,” said Liam. By the time the couple had moved and set up shop that had already changed.

Bad Tattoo Brewing, for example, collaborated with local winery, Dirty Laundry, and had produced wineinfused beers in small batches. However, Slackwater learned there was more than enough room for them, and luck was on their side to make things happen.

Outfits such as Bad Tattoo Brewing and Vice & Virtue Brewing Co are all making their mark in British Columbia Brewers Journal Canada

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Collaboration and community in British Columbia

“It turned out that a lot of our friends here are connected to wineries or own wineries, and they became absolutely amazing resources. They contributed heavily to helping us get our doors open, by helping train us, giving us barrels and barrel racks, advice and everything, even gardening,” shares Peyton.

The couple hopes to bridge the gap from a marketing standpoint, taking aim at the tens of thousands of people a year who visit this region for the wineries. I buy in quickly wishing the well-balanced and delish brew, the Althea 2, a Rosé Blond, hadn’t gone down so quickly, while enjoying the airy, Santa Cruz inspired space of the former nightclub turned brewery.

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In addition to sourcing merlot barrels from friends over at La Frenz Winery, the brewery includes merlot on their menu list, along with other wines, such as blends by Time Winery. This lovely integration and cross promotion have spilled over to Time Winery where visitors can sip on a Slackwater brew.

By the end of the trip, it made perfect sense how right alongside the vibrant growth of these cities, regional ‘transplants’ inspired by the fruitcentric region continue to help spur these reciprocal partnerships. With the right ingredients along with so much collaboration and support, those creating drinks whether it be wine, spirits, cider or brew, seem to be willingly, in it together, helping each other evolve and succeed.

This will undoubtedly only help aid in the culture shift it has helped create, as folks have indisputably evolved as boutique drinkers; drinking less but drinking better.

And, the Okanagan’s creative minds couldn’t be better poised to meet their needs.

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BIGGER BETTER BITTER Your average craft beer drinkers have bought into the IBU currency, without knowing its worth. In many ways, as brewers, we’re doing exactly the same.

We all know how to measure IBUs by lab or formula, but often don’t think about the ‘why’ behind the bitter. Why should your body crave something that screams out ‘DANGER’? Understanding the human side of bitter will help you understand your customers better, which leads to better bitter sales. Velo Mitrovich reports.

BY VELO MITROVICH

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igh IBU beers are back – no they’re not – yes they are – yes – no – yes – no, it’s all enough to drive you crazy. Through our own fault of not educating customers, most of the time they equate IBU solely with hop flavour. No wonder they’re confused and driving us a bit insane in our taprooms.

This whole bitterness argument has been going on for each and every year since the 1990s when craft brewing crawled out from hobbyists’ basements, and into a proper commercial kettle. The answers that were lacking then, are still lacking today.

Since then, like chilli-heads making hotter and hotter hot sauce, some brewers seem to think that the more bitter, hop taste you can cram in that bottle or can, the better.

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But, if you’re trying to sell beer instead of creating headlines, is this such a good move? There is a reason why some of us like bitter and a reason why some of us hate it. There is a reason why most times you’re doing your customers no favours by listing IBUs, and there is a reason for that matter why IBUs might have had their day.

But let’s forget bitterness for a second and talk about chillies.

Back in 1912, Wilbur Scoville was a pharmacologist who was working for America’s largest pharmaceutical company, Parke-Davis. Scoville had a problem. He was trying to improve one of the company’s products, a cream called Heet, which was used to treat sprained or sore muscles and is still around today. At the time, the active ingredient in Heet was capsaicin, the key chemical that makes chilli peppers hot.

Parke-Davis, however, didn’t always use the same type of pepper to extract the capsaicin and in different chillies, the ‘heat’ varied. If you’re trying to make a consistent product, you need some sort of way of measuring this – it’s not enough to bite into a chilli, count the drops of sweat on your forehead, and say one variety is hotter than another.

According to John McQuaid in his book Tasty, Scoville's method was to dry out peppers and then dissolve a specific weight of dried pepper in oil in order to extract the heat compounds. The extract was then diluted in sugar water and given to a panel of five tasters. The amount of sugar needed to make the heat undetectable to a majority of tasters determined the Scoville rating of the pepper.

While for Parke-Davis the whole capsaicin thing didn’t work out – it now uses an extract derived from wintergreen – Scoville’s scale has stayed with us, although now the measuring process is considerably more technical than finding five mates who like chillies.

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Adriaen Brouwer - The Bitter Potion (1638)

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Why do we like the sensation of our mouth on fire in the first place? The burning sensation capsaicin induces in the mouth leads the body to produce endorphins as a countermeasure. With the Scoville scale, you know exactly how much heat you’re subjecting yourself to, and this has led to pepper-heads to go after ever-hotter sensations.

Hearing that cash register ring, plant breeders and sauce makers are happy to oblige them and they have come up with hotter and hotter chillies. How hot? Your bog-standard jalapeño, which pretty much any of us can eat without our faces turning too red, is anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). The Carolina Reaper chilli, developed by Ed Currie’s PuckerButt Pepper Company, boasts 2.2 million SHU, making it around 200 times hotter than a jalapeño.

But, that’s chump-change. By cooking down and concentrating a chilli’s capsaicin content and using such chilli-blasters as the Reaper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, or the Ghost Pepper, sauce makers have come out with blends that have anywhere from 6 million to 9 million SHUs. While sauces such as Black Mamba, Mad Dog or Blistered Bunghole all have truly impressive SHU units, does anyone actually use them on their vindaloos, or do they sit on a collector’s shelf in original unopened wrappers next to the asbestos gloves?

“Ass-destroying hot sauces – hell and death are also popular themes – mostly taste like shit and are usually designed solely with heat in mind, never flavour, and consuming them is a party trick where the trick is trying not to die,” writes Ashwin Rodrigues for MEL. The reality is, the top five sellers by volume in the States, range from rather tame 1,000 to 5,000 SHUs. If you want to get some publicity, you go hotter than hot. If you want to make money, you go sensible.

At this point the thought might be occurring to you that there are similarities between SHU and International Bitterness Unit (IBU), especially how we perceive and use the scale.

Like the problem of trying to produce a consistent product that uses capsaicin, beer makers needed a way of producing a consistent tasting beer and in the mid 1950s scientists started working on a way of measuring the amount of ‘bitterness’ that was in a beer.

In 1955, two researchers extracted the bitter substance from beer by using chloroform and then weighing the dried extract. This was about as easy and fast as it sounds, and this process was further complicated by the need to measure unhoped wort, which was needed to provide a base number to all of this.

This article will not even attempt to go into the chemistry of the methods then used to make the process more accurate, except to say that the process was refined by taking iso-octane extracts of the acidified beer and

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diluting them with methyl. This produced an alkaline that could be measured by ultraviolet light and those results were agreed upon by a tasting panel.

Faster approaches were developed, which did away with having to make the extract alkaline and instead relied on a higher ultraviolet wavelength to measure bitterness.

All was then well? Far from it. Not only were there different methods being used to determine bitterness, it also varied on which side of the Pond you were on.

Finally in 1965 there was a meeting of minds between the Analysis Committee of the European Brewery Convention and the Isohumulone Sub-committee of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. A standard test method was agreed upon, along with a bitterness scale.

But. There is always a ‘but’.

The Europeans wanted to call the units of bitterness International Bitterness Units, while the Americans were holding fast to Isohumulone Bitterness Unit. Some wise soul noticed that regardless the initials were the same, so IBU became the agreed upon name.

Like with SHUs, brewers publicity like to push the IBU envelop in both directions. In one corner, wearing blue trunks and hailing from Virginia’s The Veil Brewing Company is ‘IdontwantoBU’, which claims to have zero IBU despite its intense hop flavour. In the opposite corner, wearing red trunks and hailing from Manchester is Carbon Smith’s ‘F**ks Up Your S**T IPA at a claimed 2,600 IBU. But, with Carbon Smith out of business since 2017, it’s difficult to find out how its brewers achieved this alleged figure.

Other notables at the high end include Canada’s Flying Monkeys which came out in 2011 with 2,500 IBU ‘Alpha Fornication’. They had so much faith that this would be a big hit that they only make one keg and six bottles.

Dogfish Head came out with ‘Hoo Lawd’, the only independently tested high IBU beer, which was 658 IBU and only available for one night.

Most beers fall between 1 to 100, with 20-45 the most common range for those with a hops presence. The big commercial lagers, such as Budweiser and Millers, are around 10 IBU. To interject this now, what throws off the average Joe and Jill beer lover is when they’re in your taproom – if they blindly follow IBUs – they’ll see your Russian Imperial Stout listed at 90 IBU and expect it to be more bitter than bitter and more hoppier than hop. Then in total confusion, their heads will pop off like your old ‘Rock ’Em-Sock ’Em-Robot’ toy when they realise there is no bitter or hop taste in it. You could tell them the stout is like lemonade, the sourer (bitter) it is, the more sugar (grain) you add. Or, you could spend an hour discussing grain, ABV, sweetness, hops, bitterness and IBUs. Or, you could just let them wallow in their ignorance and tend to other customers.

The problem is, when drinkers discovered the taste of

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hops in IPAs, they started seeing IBUs not as a measurement of bitterness, but as way of breweries to express how many hops they crammed into a bottle. If more hops pleased their taste buds, then a higher IBU must mean a better beer. Or, if they hate hops, then a higher IBU must be avoided at all costs. To them, IBUs equate to hop flavour and aroma, not at all to bitterness.

“With the age of the New England IPA style upon us it's a topic that sometimes enters the conversation between HonestBrew buyers particularly when it comes to the perceived reduction in IBUs even in seemingly 'West Coast' styles’,” says Cormac Wall, beer buyer at online bottle shop HonestBrew.

“I think for customers the talk of IBU is something that was prominent in the early years of this decade when several beers purported to wield hundreds of IBUs and it was a selling point for them.

“Occasionally we will still see a beer from a grizzled old West Coast brewer and they'll proudly proclaim 200 IBU on the side of the can but on a whole, it seems to have passed from general consciousness among customers as most brewers avoid high bitterness levels so feel no need to mention IBUs anymore.”

Belgium brewery Brasserie de la Senne prides itself on the bitterness of its beers, which it describes as being the key characteristic of its beers.

“We have produced bitter beers since the beginning of our existence – and we are here to brew bitter beers,” says Yvan De Baets of Brasserie de la Senne. “Our approach was simple: we wanted to brew beers to our liking that we could no longer find on the market. We took on the challenge to bring this flavour – so fundamental in the evolution of human societies but sadly neglected in our modern societies – up to date.”

De Baets, says, however, he is not tempted in the least to list IBUs. “I pride myself on the balance in my beers. Not on their bitterness. They are not extremely bitter and don't have an extreme bitterness perception. I would certainly not put indications such as IBUs on a label as beer making is not a penis contest.

“I want the people to taste with their nose and taste buds and not with numbers. On the top of that, IBUs don't say anything about the perceived bitterness,” he says. “For our beers, it's their balance between hoppiness, bitterness, maltiness and fermentation flavours. And the reason for that is, that's what I like. I pride myself being a selfish brewer.”

Measuring bitterness

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reweries measure their IBU by using their own lab, or sending samples off to commercial labs, using a complicated math formula, or using the same

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formula as part of a free software – there are several found on the Net – or taking a sip.

While the cost of test equipment has dropped over the last few years, there are still reoccurring costs in using these machines. If you’re thinking of buying one, be sure to investigate what your total year-on costs will be. For smaller craft brewers, this could mean sending a sample to a lab will be your cheaper option. However, you’re then looking at 48 hours for results as opposed to results in 10 to 30 minutes.

The traditional method for measuring bitterness often requires a laboratory with a laboratory technician, UV/Vis spectrophotometer, water bath, glassware, solvents etc. and can take anywhere from 15 – 30 minutes. This has changed though with the introduction of small, easy-touse portable lab kits that work at speeds of 10 minutes or less.

The best-selling brewery test kit in the UK is CDR’s BeerLab System, sold locally through QCL Scientific.

James Mallett of QCL tells TBJ that there are around 60 in use in the UK, with brewery size ranging in production from a small three-barrel operation to one of the UK’s largest international breweries that has four BeerLabs.

Mallet is currently working on a PhD in brewing science at Nottingham University, having originally done a BSc in Microbiology. After working at Lallemand, he worked as an assistant brewer at Blue Monkey and recently joined the team at QCL. “I’ve seen breweries who use the drink test to check for IBUs which might work for them. However, if you’re quality focused you need to check your beer’s IBU so you can produce a consistent product,” he says.

“While I have a background in science, chemistry and research, you definitely do not need one to use a BeerLab,” says Mallett. “If you’re interested, we can come out to your brewery and demonstrate it to you. If you decided to purchase one, we’ll come by and train all your staff on how to use it – it’s very simple.

Mallett says while there have been three and fivebarrel breweries buying a BeerLab, it’s probably around the 10-barrel point that makes the most sense to own one. That said, the three-barrel is now doing 10+ barrel production, so it would seem that having a very consistent quality beer was fundamental to their growth plans.

The BeerLab IBU test can be performed directly at every step of the beer production process and so you have the possibility to study your recipe, optimizing the additions of the hops and monitoring the actual extraction of the bitter. This is important if you add hops later on.

A recurring cost for doing IBU tests with the BeerLab is for the reagents that come in boxes of either 10 or 100.

Not adding in the cost of the BeerLab, which is around £6,000, the cost per test is around £6.00. Besides the IBU test, the BeerLab does around 20 other tests.

The next step down in testing, which many smaller

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breweries use all the time or others us in brewing one-offs, is the math formula method. While this is the cheapest way, it’s not the most accurate as there can be other variables thrown in the mix. In looking at some breweries’ IBU numbers, you have to suspect they’re primarily using the dartboard method. And indeed, a few years back in the US state of Oregon, a group of craft beer drinkers sued a number of Oregon brewers for not having accurate IBUs listed on their cans and bottles, according to Aubrey Laurence reporting for Tap Trail.

“Essentially, this is a case of false advertising,” said Tim Crews, one of the plaintiffs filing the suit. “These breweries are putting inaccurate IBU numbers on their beer labels, and it’s time they answered to those misleading claims.”

Milford S. Auggenpot, the defence lawyer representing the breweries, admits that the IBU numbers printed on the beer bottle labels may be slightly off, as they are just calculations. But he notes that perceived bitterness is subjective, and he’s quick to point out that a 50-IBU pale ale will seem like it has much more bitterness than a 50-IBU, high ABV barley wine.

Phil Hague, a member of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, agrees that most IBU numbers out there are just rough estimates, and that most of them are overstated. “Unless you have a centrifuge and a UV-Vis Spectrometer, you’ll never be able to determine the exact IBU number in a beer,” he tells Tap Trail. “Of course, you also have to know about isooctanes, isohumulones, hydrochloric acid, flasks and cuvettes, and be nerdy enough to know how to put it all together. Most breweries do not have these things.”

Still, it doesn’t matter how accurate of system you’re using to get your IBU numbers, many see problems with the current IBU system, which hasn’t moved on with the industry.

Once upon a time, hops were only added to boiling wort during the initial brewing process to convert humulones to isohumulones, adding bitterness and producing a balance to the naturally sweet flavour of wort from the grains – doing the opposite of our lemonade analogy.

However, modern styles of beer have seen an increase in hops added at different stages of the brewing process, including at the end of the wort boil (late-hopping) and near the end of fermentation (dry-hopping).

While it has been thought that late-hopping and dry-hopping do not contribute to IBUs in beer, in a study conducted by London’s Hackney Brewery using a CDR BeerLab, it showed a considerable increase in IBU value from both late and dry-hopping suggesting that alternative compounds present in hops (such as humulinone) do in fact contribute to the IBU value during the brewing process.

Other breweries and research groups have done

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similar tests and have achieved the same results.

Research conducted last year by several Colorado breweries revealed that IBUs are not a good measure of bitterness in IPAs. “The traditional way of measuring bitterness is not relevant, or accurate or even useful,” says Neil Fisher, the head brewer and owner at WeldWerks Brewing in Colorado.

The traditional test is why The Veil Brewing Company in Virginia can produce a beer with an official IBU of zero, yet still have a bitter, hoppy flavour that tastes around 30-40 IBU. The Veil adds its hops later in the process, after the IBU measurement is made.

Going by official IBU standards, there are no IBUs in it.

The reality, however, if far from this. For the big breweries who are making lagers that rely more on malt for flavour and aren’t being creative with hops, the standard IBU works fine. However, for craft brewers, BU:GU ratio might make more sense.

The BU:GU ratio is the IBUs divided by the gravity units.

It represents the amount of bitterness balanced with the sweetness. Higher values mean more bitterness. The scale is roughly 0.25-0.35 for wheats, 0.4-0.8 for the majority of ales, and 1.0+ for IPAs. Remember, there is no law or requirement for using IBU, the scale was set up to help brewers produce a consistent product. You need to find what works best for you.

Why bitter?

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ll of this would be completely and totally irrelevant it we didn’t actually like bitter tastes, which shouldn’t be happening in the first place. Millions of years of evolution has equipped us to respond negatively to bitter more than any other taste. The reason is simple: the vast majority of all poisonous plants and animals taste bitter. Have a child bite into something bitter and they instinctively spit it out. And we’re not alone with this. Jellyfish, fruit flies and bacteria – not known for being the world’s pickiest eaters – can all sense bitter compounds.

Humans have 24 bitter tasting genes, far more than other life forms, which includes sweet, salty, sour and umami. About 15 years ago it was discovered that besides the well-known bitter receptors on our tongues, we also have bitter receptors throughout our bodies in places such as the stomach, nose, lungs and brain. Why these other bitter receptors? Scientists haven’t figured that one out yet, but many believe they act as a shadow taste system.

Unlike jellyfish, humans are constantly twisting, challenging, and breaking evolutionary rules and in every culture, there are bitter, bitter foods that are considered

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good. Bitter gourd in India, Icelandic fermented, rotted Greenland shark, and even uncured olives spring to mind, along with dark chocolate, broccoli, coffee, and beer.

It’s always been thought that enjoying bitter flavours is an acquired taste – like with hot chillies – but new research is pointing towards biological changes in our saliva as to why we end up loving a hoppy IPA. Dr Cordelia Running, a sensory scientist at Purdue University wanted to know if there was a biological reason behind the change. She and her team at Purdue’s Saliva, Perception, Ingestion, and Tongues Laboratory (SPIT Lab) suspected that repeated exposure to bitter foods might actually change something in a person’s saliva.

Besides keeping our mouths moist, saliva begins the digestion process of food and the saliva makeup includes proteins that can affect how food and drink tastes.

Running decided to run with the idea that exposure to bitter foods can actually change these proteins or the numbers of them.

To test this theory, Running's lab brought in 64 volunteers and gave them a six-week trial of alternating diets. One week the human guinea pigs would give up

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nearly all bitter food. The next week, they would be given three-daily glasses of chocolate almond milk, due to chocolate containing bitter compounds known as polyphenols.

As suspected, the SPIT team was able to detect changes in the volunteers’ saliva after they consumed the chocolate almond milk. In particular, they saw an increase in a type of protein that naturally captures and binds to those bitter polyphenols, while, at the same time, test subjects began reporting the chocolate drink as tasting less bitter or astringent.

The more bitter foods the subjects ate, the more anti-bitter proteins they had in their saliva, and the more palatable the food seemed to become. In other words, it’s not that we just get used to bitterness, bitter flavours actually change the way we experience taste.

You drink a bitter IPA and the taste will grow on you and if you’re older, with more exposure to bitter foods over the years, the enjoyment of a bitter IPA will come quicker. While appealing to young, hip drinkers is more trendy and fun, older drinkers will actually take to your bitter IPA a whole lot faster.

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BAD YEAST! BAD! All it takes is one single cell of the wrong yeast to cause a can of beer to explode, to give it an off-flavour, and to drive down your reputation and kill your cash-flow.

But, an easy, fast solution might be at hand to this long-time problem.

Velo Mitrovich reports.

BY VELO MITROVICH

A

company that seems to stick-around over the years, like it’s been Superglued to store shelves, is Jiffy Pop Popcorn. Although it should have gone out of business years ago, superseded by microwave and packaged popcorn, it’s still here. Consisting of a disposable aluminium pan filled with popcorn kernels, oil and salt, you put it over a flame or heat, keep shaking it, and pretty soon you’re rewarded with the sound of poppop-pop.

Jiffy Pop is being brought up in this article, not because of its popcorn, but because of its collapsed foil cover which expands as the corn pops, ultimately looking like a pasha’s turban. During the last two hot summers in particular, something similar has been happening with beer cans.

In what seems like on too many occasions, further secondary fermentation in cans is leading to the tops expanding like a Jiffy Pop lid, and either causing the opened can to shoot out a stream of beer like foam from a fire extinguisher, or actually exploding – as in KABOOM! And, although it hasn’t happened here – yet – in the States, exploding beer bottles have led to injuries and the ever-bloodhound-following lawsuits.

What is going on?

Other causes

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iastatic yeasts – also lumped together in the ‘wild yeast’ category – can infect your beer. While the damage these yeasts cause doesn’t always lead to bottles or cans exploding, according to Kristoffer Krogerus of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, what they can consistently cause is off-flavours, increased alcohol levels, a drier mouthfeel, and over-carbonation and gushing.

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Although major breweries can have problems with diastatic yeasts, they tend to mostly affect craft breweries hardest for reasons we’ll go into.

The diastatic yeast, traditionally referred to as Saccharomyces diastaticus – but actually the same species as the ale yeast, S. cerevisiae – causes problems in breweries due to its ability to produce an enzyme that converts dextrins in beer to sugars, which are then fermented into alcohol and carbon dioxide. While there are times when this is actually desired, such as when brewing a sour or dry saison, the majority of the time it’s not since this fermentation stage can take place after the beer is bottled or canned.

While the number of wild yeasts is near-legion, what makes diastatic S. cerevisiae such a problem is that unlike other contaminants, it can utilize the complex carbohydrates left in beer after fermentation – in other words, continue to ferment – without the need for oxygen or additional nutrients for survival, according to Dr Brian Gibson, principal scientist at VTT. Both regular brewing yeast and problematic diastatic yeast belong to the S. cerevisiae species which makes detection difficult. Luckily, the diastatic variant carries the extra gene STA1, which is what tests try to zero in on. However, this can be easier said than done and, just because the gene is present, it is not always an indication you will have problems.

How much is the S. diastaticus yeast costing the industry is a question without answer anywhere in the world, except when it comes up in specific lawsuits.

Most probably, many small craft breweries aren’t aware their beer is contaminated unless a pub owner, supermarket or customer directly complains to them about exploding cans or off flavours.

In most of the contamination cases, the end result with diastatic yeast is just the beer tasting pretty horrible.

With this, customers just chalk it up to an inexperienced brewer and move on to another’s, never to return to yours.

A course, you’re then left wondering why your sales have suddenly dropped.

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hile diastatic yeasts are the leading cause of refermentation in cans and bottles, there can be other factors as well such as ingredients used in the beer, exceptionally warm weather conditions and/or the beer not being cold-stored. Being able to find the exact cause can be a real challenge.

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It should be noted here that there are more than 8,000 strains of yeast and that any of these can be considered ‘wild’, except for the commercial pitching yeast that you are intentionally adding into your wort.

If you have ever created your own sourdough starter, you are aware that there are wild yeasts in every room of your house, outdoors in your garden, in your car, on those strawberries in your lunch, and floating around in your brewery.

Last year a very fruity American beer called ‘That’s What Happens When You Let Dad Outta the House’ led to a summer of exploding cans. The beer, a collaboration between Evil Twin and Hoof Hearted Brewing, was a sour IPA made with pineapple, guanabana, vanilla and milk sugar. If this mixture is added early in the fermentation process, there will be little to no chance of refermentation in the later canning stage.

So, why add the fruit later?

By adding fruit in the very last stage, it means a much fruitier flavour beer and it is easy to taste the difference.

Unfortunately, you’ve also increased considerably the chance of yeast contamination.

Because craft brewers like to push the envelope in creating new beers by adding ingredients the big players wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot stick, it’s why most times yeast contamination is a craft brewer’s problem.

Some brewers have taken a lesson from the wine industry and are using potassium sorbate and sulphites to stop further fermentation from taking place and to help preserve flavours and colours. But this is not a 100 percent guarantee.

Potassium sorbate does not stop or inhibit the fermenting in any way, according to wine and beer making supplier Ed Kraus, but what it does do is to stop the yeast from reproducing themselves. “During a typical fermentation, the wine yeast will go through several re-generations. By adding potassium sorbate to a wine, you’re making sure that the current generation is the last generation of yeast.”

But Kraus warns that some yeasts will live longer than others, which always leaves the possibility of refermentation occurring, even months down the road.

While adding sulphites will destroy some of the yeast cells, it won’t destroy all of them.

Another problem in using sulphites is that they need to be listed in your ingredients panel. Many consumers try to avoid wine with sulphites and you could lose beer customers if they see it on your can or bottle.

In theory, if fruity beer left the brewery cold, stayed cold during shipment, was warehoused cold and kept cold in the supermarket, and then consumers didn’t allow the beer to become warm, there would be no problems even if there was wild yeast contamination. With small craft brewers who only sell by the keg, this is actually the world they’re living in, with their kegs staying constantly cold. But,

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LEFT VS LABS US Colorado-based Left Hand Brewing Company filed a $4 million lawsuit against yeast supplier White Labs, alleging that the San Diego yeastspecialist supplied Left Hand with S. diastaticus-contaminated brewers yeast in 2016.

Left Hand used exclusively White Lab yeast in its popular Milk Stout Nitro, Extrovert IPA, and Warrior Fresh Hop IPA. In early July 2016 it started to receive complaints of very high pressure in bottles of its Milk Stout Nitro and off-flavours in its Extrovert IPA. This led to the company recalling beer from 37 States, destroying $2 million in product, as well as thousands more barrels of unpackaged beer. This was followed by significant decreased sales, which lead to major financial loses and damages, that, nearly two years later, seem to still be troubling the company.

Left Hand tests showed the cause of their problems to be diastatic yeast from White Labs. They changed suppliers and the problem disappeared.

No surprise, White Labs has denied Left Hand’s claims that their yeast was infected.

“There is no specific proof on where the contamination originated from, as each White Labs culture undergoes a rigorous testing process from start to finish, which includes 61 quality checkpoints throughout the propagation cycle,” the yeast supplier said. “Additionally, every batch of yeast is tested to confirm it is contamination free prior to shipping. We cannot provide further comment due to the ongoing litigation.”

Not being privy to all the information and material of the court case, it’s hard to get a feel for who will come out on top. However, you have to wonder, it the source was White Labs, then you’d think a lot more of their customers would also be affected and also joining in the lawsuit. But, this hasn’t been the case. The litigation continues on.

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EXPLODING CORONA In July 2017, Gonzalo Luis-Morales, was working at the New York City restaurant, The Frying Pan, when an unopened bottle of Corona spontaneously exploded as he placed it into an ice bucket, according to the New York Post.

A piece of glass lodged into LuisMorales’ eye causing him total vision loss in the affected eye, among other damages.

Shortly after the accident, the restaurant stopped carrying the beer brand all together in support of the injured employee. Brewing giant Constellation Brands Inc., bottle manufacturer Owens-Illinois Inc., and distributor Manhattan Beer now all face negligence lawsuits for Luis-Morales’ injury.

The lawsuit alleges that Corona manufacturers skimp on safety precautions during the production process and lack adequate quality controls to ensure product safety.

Attorney John Danzi claimed that other employees of The Frying Pan were also injured from exploding Corona bottles before Luis-Morales and that the incident represents an ongoing trend.

they start bottling and suddenly they have a yeast problem that they might have had all along.

Some breweries say that consumers don’t allow milk to become warm for days on end, so why should they treat beer any differently? However, many consumers are used to pasteurised beer which can take the heat and see no issue in letting it get warm.

Should breweries then have a big label on their cans: “Warning: this can may explode if allowed to become warm!”, have their beer in cans that look like dynamite; or should they just make beer that won’t explode?

An industry guide for brewers published by Craft Beer & Brewing notes that “the recent trend of adding unfermented fruits and extracts to unfiltered beer just before packaging represents an extreme risk for refermentation.” Flash-pasteurizing the finished beer or adding the fruit before fermentation decreases the viability of the yeast and lessens the risk of explosion.

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The big questions with these exploding fruit beers are: Is the commercial yeast used contaminated; is the natural sugar in the fruit feeding live brewers yeast that still exists in the cans; are there diastatic yeasts already in the can and the addition of fruit is like throwing petrol on a fire; or are there wild yeasts in the fruit that is being added?

To this list can be added: Is there yeast contamination coming from your workers’ clothing, hair, etc; is your brewery less than 100% clean; did the problem come through dry hopping or wort ingredients; is there yeast in your environmental air; or, is the problem coming from the bottling side of your operation?

In a review of contamination events throughout Europe over a 10-year period published in the MBAA Technical Quarterly, it stated that 71% of S. diastaticus contamination events were traced to the bottling hall.

While the gut reaction is to make the first port of call for an investigation with your yeast provider, your contamination could have come from literally out of the air.

Burning Brothers Brewing in St Paul, Minnesota, issued an apology after its cans started exploding. It brought in two different external testing labs and contracted a thirdparty quality control specialist to try to figure out exactly what the problem was. Although Burning was able to attribute the cause to a strain of wild yeast, none of the brought-in team was able to pinpoint where the strain was coming from.

A test solution

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reweries have told TBJ that current tests take time – anywhere from several days to a week – are complicated, and do not always give a true assessment as to whether or not the presence of gene STA1 will cause problems. This can lead to beer being dumped that would have been fine being sold.

Brian Gibson of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland tells TBJ that the research centre specialises in real world problems – including yeast – and that they saw diastaticus contamination as a major problem in the beer industry.

“Why is this a specific problem with craft breweries and becoming more common? It’s because craft brewers are more reluctant to pasteurise and filter their beer,” says Gibson. “Along with this, craft brewers are more experimental in the yeast and other ingredients they use.”

"At VTT we have discovered why some strains with the gene are active, and therefore problematic, while others are not. The difference was due to a deletion in the promoter of the STA1 gene – in other words, the genetic sequence in front of the gene controlling how much the gene is expressed", explains Research Scientist Kristoffer Krogerus from VTT The team then developed a new genetic test, which

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can be used in exactly the same way as the current industry standard, but which can differentiate the problematic strains with the active STA1 gene from those with the inactive form of the gene.

According to Krogerus, traditional genetic test can only detect whether the strain contains the STA1 gene or not.

It cannot differentiate spoilage yeasts from non-spoilage yeasts. Previously, one would have to combine the genetic test with a microbiological test, where the yeast is grown on special agar plates – a process that takes several days.

“The new method offers breweries savings in time because results can be achieved in hours instead of weeks, and also cost savings and a more reliable quality control. It also decreases the times beer batches are unnecessarily recalled from shops or discarded,” says Krogerus.

Gibson says that the test is suited for the largest down to the smallest brewery. VTT is now looking to license the test through a third-party vendor.

If your brewery has a batch that has S. diastaticus contamination and you’re lucky enough to catch it early on before it goes out the door, good for you. You’ll be out the time and money that had gone into producing the beer, the time and money spent thoroughly cleaning your brewery, and the money lost in missing production

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deadlines and disappointing your customers – but it could be a lot worse.

How did you detect it? Do you have an excellent system of checks in place to catch things like this, or was it down to just luck? Do you know how it entered your brewing chain? And, are you sure the problem was diastatic yeast?

If it did make it out the door, how did you find out?

While talking about exploding beer bottles and cans is more interesting, in most cases the yeast just creates over carbonation and a bad flavour. Nine times out of 10, when most of us experience a bad product, we don’t contact the company, we just chalk it up to experience and never buy it again.

Months could go by before you start connecting the dots between sudden poor sales and the chance of S. diastaticus affecting your beer.

Without actually seeing it in operation to base our opinion, but going solely on reports, TBJ thinks that the tester created by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland can become your brewery’s best friend. We only hope that a commercial company sees the potential in it and helps to get it out the door and into your hands as soon as possible.

TBJ will continue to follow the developments in Finland.

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M O N T R É A L

MADE IN Beer is booming in Quebec. There’s more breweries than ever before, sales are up and, more importantly, an increasing diverse number of people are buying beer. And the breweries of the province’s largest city, Montreal, are playing a key role in this period of prosperity.

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ove the dial back some seven years and the province of Quebec was the proud home of circa 120 breweries. Fast forward and by 2018, more than 210 businesses were in operation across this part of Eastern Canada. A figure that has only increased in

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the months and years since.

And according to the latest research from Statista, sales of beer across Quebec amounted to approximately 83.5 million Canadian dollars in 2019, an increase from around 76.5 million dollars the previous year.

There is something of an insatiable appetite for this beautiful beverage and the role new and existing breweries in around Montreal are playing in bringing consumers into the space cannot be understated.

Some just have a taken a different journey to get there than others, that’s all.

Just ask Drew Stevens who, along with founders Matthew Deer and Fred LeBlanc, decided to start Kahnawake Brewing Co, the first microbrewery on a Native Reservation in Canada. They would swiftly be faced with the question of how to obtain a brewing permit when laws and regulations for such thing did not exist.

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MONTREAL La bière est en plein essor au Québec.

Il y a plus de brasseries que jamais, les ventes sont en hausse et, plus important encore, un nombre croissant de personnes achètent de la bière. Et les brasseries de la plus grande ville de la province, Montréal, jouent un rôle clé dans cette période de prospérité.

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a bière est en plein essor au Québec. Il y a plus de brasseries que jamais, les ventes sont à la hausse et, plus important encore, un nombre de plus en plus diversifié de personnes achète de la bière locale

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indépendante. Et les brasseries de la plus grande ville de la province, Montréal, jouent un rôle clé en cette période de prospérité.

Reculez le cadran d'environ sept ans et la province de Québec était la fière patrie d'environ 120 brasseries.

Avance rapide et en 2018, plus de 210 entreprises étaient en activité dans cette partie de l'Est du Canada. Un chiffre qui n'a fait qu'augmenter au cours des mois et des années qui ont suivi.

Et selon les dernières recherches de Statista, les ventes de bière à travers le Québec se sont élevées à We told themdethat wanted to2019, make environ 83,5 millions dollars canadiens en une augmentation rapport à environ 76,5 de beer, sellpar beer and have a millions bar. We dollars l'année précédente. put all of our cards on the table and Il y a quelque chose d'un appétit insatiable pour cette thankfully things inbrasseries the right belle boisson et le rôle que went jouent les direction nouvelles et existantes dans la région de Montréal ne Drew Stevens, Kahnawake Brewing Co

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Stevens’ own story in beer started, like many around him, in the field of home brewing. Combining his passions for malt, hops, yeast and water, Stevens also worked in I.T. However, a decade in that profession failed to fulfil his personal ambitions and he took the decision to return to study, enrolling at Montreal’s McGill University at 845 Sherbrooke St W. “I knew I wanted to be in beer, I just wasn’t sure how or where,” he recalls.

As fortune would have it, Stevens’ aunt was working on a winery whose owners were interested in expanding into the world of beer. Initial meetings and discussions came and went but it wasn’t until the notion of starting a brewery was mooted by a group of friends in Deer, Stevens and LeBlanc that the idea really got off the ground.

“Everything clicked,” he says. “We started building up this plan in 2016 but with the brewery being on a reserve, it presented us with a number of challenges."

Stevens adds: “Provincial laws simply didn't apply to the reserve. We approached the Alcoholic Beverages Control (ABC) Board for a permit but they had nothing that applied in this situation.

“We told them that wanted to make beer, sell beer and have a bar. We put all of our cards on the table and thankfully things went in the right direction.”

In 2016, a provincial law was altered to broaden the capabilities of small beer and wine makers, enabling these small-scale producers to sell their beer at their brewery and directly to grocery permit holders.

Fortunately for Stevens and co, the Alcoholic Beverages Control (ABC) Board for Kahnawake decided to follow Quebec's legislation and the brewery was born.

“We were very grateful. It took a while as lawmaking isn’t something that happens overnight! There were lots of revisions and waiting but 18 months later, everything would fall into place,” he recalls. "Everyone was supportive

We told them that wanted to make beer, sell beer and have a bar. We put all of our cards on the table and thankfully things went in the right direction Drew Stevens, Kahnawake Brewing Co

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peut être sous-estimé. Certains ont juste fait un voyage que d’autres, c’est tout. Il suffit de demander à Drew Stevens qui, avec les fondateurs Matthew Deer, Fred et LeBlanc, a décidé de créer Kahnawake Brewing Co, la première microbrasserie d'une réserve autochtone au Canada.

Ils seraient rapidement confrontés à la question de savoir comment obtenir un permis de brassage lorsque les lois et les réglementations en la matière n'existaient pas.

La propre histoire de Stevens dans la bière a commencé, comme beaucoup autour de lui, dans le domaine du brassage maison. Combinant ses passions pour le malt, le houblon, la levure et l'eau, Stevens a également travaillé chez I.T. Cependant, une décennie dans cette profession n'a pas atteint ses ambitions personnelles et il a pris la décision de reprendre ses études en s'inscrivant à l'Université McGill de Montréal au 845, rue Sherbrooke Ouest." Je savais que je voulais être dans la bière, je ne savais pas trop comment ni où", se souvient-il.

Comme la fortune l'aurait, la tante de Stevens travaillait sur une cave dont les propriétaires étaient intéressés à se développer dans le monde de la bière. Les premières réunions et discussions se sont succédées mais ce n'est que lorsque l'idée de créer une brasserie a été évoquée par un groupe d'amis à Deer, Stevens, et LeBlanc que l'idée a vraiment pris son envol. "Tout a cliqué", dit-il. "Nous avons commencé à élaborer ce plan en 2016, mais la brasserie étant sur une réserve, cela nous a posé de nombreux défis."

Stevens ajoute: "Les lois provinciales ne s'appliquaient tout simplement pas à la réserve. Nous avons approché la Commission de contrôle des boissons alcoolisées (ABC) pour obtenir un permis, mais ils n'avaient rien qui s'appliquait dans cette situation.

"Nous leur avons dit qu'ils voulaient faire de la bière, vendre de la bière et avoir un bar. Nous avons mis toutes nos cartes sur la table et, heureusement, les choses sont allées dans la bonne direction."

En 2016, une loi provinciale a été modifiée pour élargir les capacités des petits producteurs de bière et de vin, permettant à ces petits producteurs de vendre leur bière dans leur brasserie et directement aux titulaires de permis d'épicerie.

Heureusement pour Stevens and Co, la Commission de contrôle des boissons alcoolisées (CBA) de Kahnawake a décidé de suivre la législation du Québec et la brasserie est née.

"Nous étions très reconnaissants. Il a fallu un certain temps car le processus législatif ne se fait pas du jour au lendemain! Il y a eu beaucoup de révisions et d'attente, mais 18 mois plus tard, tout allait se mettre en place", se souvient-il. "Tout le monde était favorable et le conseil était désireux d'aider. Ils savaient que les gens voyagent

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and the council was eager to help. They knew that people travel for craft beer and the Alcoholic Beverages Control, with its existing regulations for wines and spirits, that beer was missing piece.”

The brewery would officially open on St Patrick’s Day in 2018 and things have gone from strength-to-strength since.

“I looked at those first months as year zero rather than year one. It enabled us to find our feet and welcome people to our brewery,” he recalls. “But things really got going in 2019. We doubled the size of out kitchen, the seating we can offer but importantly, the brewery, too."

The team migrated from a 2bbl kit, brewing 250l at a time, up to a 7bbl system that gives Kahnawake room to grow into.

“We’re living the brewpub life!” laughs Stevens. "We maintain ten taps at all times and believe that we have something to offer everyone.”

He adds: “We operate a three tier system so you have beers such as a 4.2% Blonde and a 5.0% E.S.B, but then you have a 5.4% Lager or a 7.5% New England IPA. Then at the other end of the scale, there are beers such as a 6.0% Mango Saison or a Coconut Stout.

“Our aim is to create an adventure and showcase the balance of yeast, malt and hops in the various beers we brew. We want beer for all.”

Kahnawake’s brewing expertise has grown considerably with the addition of Krystof Michalsky to the team towards the end of 2018.

“I’d say we are lucky. I predominantly tended to brew US style hop-forward beers but Krystof is Czech and he’s worked with some big macros breweries in Europe and that experience shows. He went from working with some of the biggest breweries in the world to one of the smallest. And with that, he brought his know-how when it comes to producing clean beers."

It therefore made complete sense that the first beer Stevens and Michalsky would brew together was a Hazy IPA… “Krystof couldn’t even find the words for it!” he laughs.

“It was a big thing for him to wrap his head around and he questioned if this was the type of beer people would want to drink. But things change and we’re now getting known for that style of beer.”

And it’s a combination of this expertise that is boding well for the brewery.

“We’re in a macro beer town so we see the main sales from our Lagers and Blonde beers. That said, the Hazy Pale Ales are right up there, too,” he says. “Hazy styles are very popular, especially with those well versed in beer.

But it’s also important to remove yourself from the beer bubble.”

He adds: “It can often be too easy to immerse yourself in the scene but what’s popular with a beer enthusiast might not resonate with a regular visitor to your taproom.

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pour la bière artisanale et le contrôle des boissons alcoolisées, avec ses règlements existants pour les vins et spiritueux, que la bière manquait." La brasserie ouvrirait officiellement ses portes le jour de la Saint-Patrick en 2018 et les choses se sont renforcées depuis. "J'ai considéré ces premiers mois comme l'année zéro plutôt que la première année. Cela nous a permis de retrouver nos pieds et d'accueillir des gens dans notre brasserie", se souvient-il.

"Mais les choses ont vraiment commencé en 2019.

Nous avons doublé la taille de notre cuisine, les sièges que nous pouvons offrir mais, surtout, la brasserie aussi."

L'équipe a migré d'un kit de 2 bbl, brassant 250 l à la fois, vers un système de 7 bbl qui permet à Kahnawake de se développer. "Nous vivons la vie de la brasserie!", Rit Stevens. "Nous maintenons dix robinets en tout temps et pensons que nous avons quelque chose à offrir à tout le monde."

Il ajoute: "Nous exploitons un système à trois niveaux, vous avez donc des bières telles qu'une blonde à 4,2% et une E.S.B à 5,0%, mais vous avez ensuite une bière blonde à 5,4% ou une IPA de la Nouvelle-Angleterre à 7,5%. Ensuite, à l'autre extrémité de l'échelle, il y a des bières comme une saison de mangue à 6,0% ou une stout de noix de coco. "Notre objectif est de créer une aventure et de mettre en valeur l'équilibre de la levure, du malt et du houblon dans les différentes bières que nous brassons. Nous voulons de la bière pour tous."

L'expertise brassicole de Kahnawake s'est considérablement développée avec l'ajout de Krystof Michalsky à l'équipe vers la fin de 2018. "Je dirais que nous avons de la chance. J'ai principalement eu tendance à brasser des bières hop-forward de style américain, mais Krystof est tchèque et il a travaillé avec de grandes brasseries de macros en Europe et cette expérience le montre. Il est passé de travailler avec certaines des plus grandes brasseries du monde à l'une des plus petites. Et avec cela, il a apporté son savoir-faire en matière de production de bières propres." Il était donc parfaitement logique que la première bière que Stevens et Michalsky brassent ensemble était une Hazy IPA… "Krystof n'a même pas trouvé les mots pour ça!", rit-il.

"C'était une grande chose pour lui d'envelopper sa tête et il s'est demandé si c'était le type de bière que les gens voudraient boire. Mais les choses changent et nous sommes maintenant connus pour ce style de bière." Et c'est une combinaison de cette expertise qui augure bien pour la brasserie. "Nous sommes dans une ville de bière macro donc nous voyons les principales ventes de nos bières blondes et lagers. Cela dit, les Hazy Pale Ales sont également là-haut", dit-il. "Les styles Hazy sont très populaires, surtout avec ceux qui connaissent bien la bière. Mais il est également important de vous retirer de la bulle de bière."

Il ajoute: "Il peut souvent être trop facile de s'immerger

Brewers Journal Canada

It’s important to pay attention to people that just want a regular beer. You should never ignore them."

With that in mind, Stevens and the team want to ensure that Kahnawake Brewing Co becomes a go-to name for beer in the territory.

“I want to accommodate more people here at the brewery and I would love to see more of our beer in places such as golf courses, too,” he says. “We’ve always done things slow and our way. We are growing gradually, slowly and that’s not going change. We won’t be sitting down for the next few years thats for sure!”

Travel some 10km North-East of Kahnawake Brewing Co along the Lachine Canal and you’ll eventually find Messorem. Located on Pitt and St-Patrick, across the canal from St-Henri, Messorem is a project created by Marc-André Filion, Sébastien Chaput and Vincent Ménard.

Each member of the business has distinct strengths that together can be linked with the creation of a brewing company. It’s a passion that has inhabited them for several years and for the team, Messorem Bracitorium is the bridge to gap their hobby of brewing beer and everyday work with friends.

The group, comprised of Marc-André Fillion, Vincent Ménard, and Sébastien Chaput, met in the early 2000s Montreal underground music scene.

Chaput is a guitarist for the regarded technical metal band, Ion Dissonance. They boast an impressive touring

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dans la scène, mais ce qui est populaire auprès d'un amateur de bière peut ne pas résonner avec un visiteur régulier de votre taproom. Il est important de faire attention aux personnes qui veulent juste une bière ordinaire. Vous ne devez jamais les ignorer." Dans cet esprit, Stevens et l'équipe veulent s'assurer que Kahnawake Brewing Co devienne un nom incontournable pour la bière sur le territoire. "Je veux accueillir plus de gens ici à la brasserie et j'aimerais aussi voir plus de notre bière dans des endroits comme les terrains de golf", dit-il.

"Nous avons toujours fait les choses lentement et à notre façon. Nous grandissons progressivement, lentement et cela ne changera pas. Nous ne nous asseoirons pas dans les prochaines années, c'est sûr!" Parcourez environ 10 km au nord-est de Kahnawake Brewing Co le long du canal de Lachine et vous finirez par trouver Messorem. Situé sur Pitt et St-Patrick, en face du canal de St-Henri, Messorem est un projet créé par Marc-André Filion, Sébastien Chaput et Vincent Ménard. Chaque membre de l'entreprise possède des atouts distincts qui, ensemble, peuvent être liés à la création d'une entreprise brassicole.

C'est une passion qui les habite depuis plusieurs années et pour l'équipe, Messorem Bracitorium est le pont pour combler leur passe-temps de brasser de la bière et de travailler tous les jours avec des amis. Le groupe, composé de Marc-André Fillion, Vincent Ménard et Sébastien Chaput, s'est rencontré dans la scène musicale

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history, with shows played all over the world. Chaput is no longer on the road full time, instead he turned to University studies in business management and finance.

He's the brewery’s numbers wizard and works alongside Ménard who was the drummer for now defunct metal band, The Last Felony.

Brewing beer as an amateur for close to ten years, Ménard enrolled in school to study the brewing craft in depth. He successfully completed his courses and landed a one-month internship at Auval Brewing, and Pit Caribou in Gaspésie, QC. He then went on to become a brewer for Les Trois Mousquetaires for the next two years before heading up the brewing operations at Messorem.

The team is completed by Filion who sang for Orphans in Coma and Here Comes the Hurricane. Latterly rapping with his group, La Carabine, they were nominated for best hip-hop album with ’Chasser ses Démons’’ at l’ADISQ in 2017. Having studied design and marketing before making his way into the beer field, Filion is the designer behind the Messorem brand.

"In 2015, we started meeting every Friday night with friends. We drank the best beers our cellars could hold. We spent our time discussing rare products, even non-existent here in Quebec. Also, those that we can find readily available here at home,” Filion explains. “We wondered what we could do to satisfy our thirst for exceptional products like those of some of our favourites from south of the border such as Other Half, Grimm, and Hudson Valley without having to cross international borders.”

“Filion adds: “When we do so, we are limited to bringing back only small amounts into the country, making great products rare and scarcely available in our beautiful province. For several months, we have been sharing our ideas and working together to create beers that align with these microbreweries. Beers that we personally would like to drink."

That vision came to fruition in the summer of 2019

We wondered what we could do to satisfy our thirst for exceptional products like those of some of our favourites from south of the border

Marc-André Fillion, Messorem

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underground montréalaise du début des années 2000.

Chaput est un guitariste du groupe de métal technique considéré, Ion Dissonance. Ils ont une histoire impressionnante en tournée, avec des spectacles joués dans le monde entier.

Chaput n'est plus sur la route à plein temps, il s'est plutôt tourné vers les études universitaires en gestion d'entreprise et en finance. Il est le magicien des numéros de la brasserie et travaille aux côtés de Ménard qui était le batteur du groupe de métal désormais disparu, The Last Felony.

Brasseur de bière amateur depuis près de dix ans, Ménard s'est inscrit à l'école pour étudier en profondeur le métier de brasseur. Il a terminé ses cours avec succès et a décroché un stage d'un mois à Auval Brewing et à Pit Caribou en Gaspésie, QC. Il est ensuite devenu brasseur pour Les Trois Mousquetaires pendant les deux prochaines années avant de diriger les opérations de brassage à Messorem.

L'équipe est complétée par Filion qui a chanté pour Orphans in Coma et Here Comes the Hurricane. Rappant dernièrement avec son groupe, La Carabine, ils ont été nominés pour le meilleur album hip-hop avec 'Chasser ses Démons' 'à l'ADISQ en 2017. Ayant étudié le design et le marketing avant de se lancer dans le monde de la bière, Filion est le designer derrière la marque Messorem.

"En 2015, nous avons commencé à nous réunir tous les vendredis soirs avec des amis. Nous avons bu les meilleures bières que nos caves pouvaient contenir. Nous avons passé notre temps à discuter de produits rares, voire inexistants ici au Québec. De plus, ceux que nous pouvons trouver facilement disponibles ici au explique Filion.

"Nous nous sommes demandé ce que nous pouvions faire pour satisfaire notre soif de produits exceptionnels comme ceux de certains de nos favoris du sud de la frontière tels que Other Half, Grimm et Hudson Valley sans avoir à traverser les frontières internationales."

Filion ajoute: "Lorsque nous le faisons, nous sommes limités à ne rapporter que de petites quantités dans le pays, ce qui rend les excellents produits rares et à peine disponibles dans notre belle province. Depuis plusieurs mois, nous partageons nos idées et travaillons ensemble pour créer des bières en harmonie avec ces microbrasseries. Des bières que nous aimerions personnellement boire.

Cette vision s'est concrétisée à l'été 2019, lorsque la brasserie a ouvert ses portes au 2233 Pitt et les inspirations de l'équipe sont évidentes dans une famille de bières qui a fait ses preuves auprès des consommateurs depuis le premier jour.

Les offres actuelles incluent Perdu Pied, une IPA DDH à 6,8% avec cachemire, Mosaic, Amarillo, Ok Bonne Nuit, une triple IPA à 10% mettant en vedette Citra, Galaxy et Crush Me If You Can, une IPA à 8,2% DDH avec Amarillo,

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when the brewery opened its doors at 2233 Pitt and the team’s inspirations are evident in a hop-forward family of beers that have proved a hit with consumers since day one.

Current offerings include Perdu Pied, a 6.8% DDH IPA featuring Cashmere, Mosaic, Amarillo, Ok Bonne Nuit, a 10% Triple IPA showcasing Citra, Galaxy, and Crush Me If You Can, an 8.2% DDH IPA with Amarillo, Citra, Ekuanot.

And if these beer styles continue to resonate with drinkers as well as they have for aforementioned outfits such as Other Half, then the future for Messorem is very bright indeed.

Continue North East towards the Old Port of Montreal and you’ll find Brewskey’s pub and adjacent taproom.

Founded by Karine Amyotte, Guillaume Couraud and Derrick Robertson, the idea behind Brewskey was clear.

Three friends that collectively had a wealth of expertise in brewing, spirits and hospitality knew they had something to offer the area of Montreal’s Old Port.

“We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to brew our own beer in-house but also accepted that would take time,” explains Couraud. “Opening a pub, we served beer we really enjoyed from breweries in Quebec such as Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three musketeers).

But we also contract brewed our own recipes at partner breweries elsewhere.”

These brews were a hit with drinkers and soon started to develop their own reputation. These included IPAs, Lagers and Red Ales but also numbers such as a Wit featuring flavours of pepper and lemon zest.

It soon became apparent that the ability to brew these beers on-site would be a boon to the business.

Fortunately for the team an adjacent building, formerly a museum, would become free. It was just a case of turning it into a taproom. Easy, no?

Well, yes if you’re Couraud and co.

“We opened the pub after 45 days working on it but the taproom took a little longer,” he laughs. “It’s not easy converting a museum into a space to hold a brewery and 160 customers, but we like a challenge.”

But they were up to the task. Robertson specified the brewhouse, a 12bbl system that enables Brewskey to output up to 4000 litres per week.

Couraud’s path would crossed Robertson and Amyotte during his time doing Scotch tastings while working at Old Dublin, a pub and restaurant in Montreal.

“I was a Physics teacher by day and a Whisky teacher by night,” he recalls.

However the toll of finishing at 4am on a regular basis would soon put a stop to his career in field of traditional education.

“It was at Old Dublin I met Derrick and Karine. We got to know each other over many shots and chatted at length about how we could run pubs better than the ones we worked at,” he smiles.

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Citra, Ekuanot. Et si ces styles de bière continuent de résonner auprès des buveurs ainsi que pour les tenues susmentionnées telles que Other Half, l'avenir de Messorem est en effet très brillant.

Continuez vers le nord-est en direction du Vieux-Port de Montréal et vous trouverez le pub Brewskey et la pièce adjacente. Fondée par Karine Amyotte, Guillaume Couraud et Derrick Robertson, l'idée derrière Brewskey était claire. Trois amis qui, collectivement, possédaient une vaste expertise en brassage, en spiritueux et en hospitalité savaient qu’ils avaient quelque chose à offrir dans le quartier du Vieux-Port de Montréal.

"Nous savions depuis le début que nous voulions brasser notre propre bière en interne, mais nous avons également accepté que cela prenne du temps", explique Couraud.

"En ouvrant un pub, nous avons servi de la bière que nous avons vraiment appréciée dans des brasseries du Québec comme Les Trois Mousquetaires (Les Trois mousquetaires). Mais nous sous-traitons également nos propres recettes dans des brasseries partenaires ailleurs."

Ces bières ont été un succès auprès des buveurs et ont rapidement commencé à développer leur propre réputation.

Ceux-ci comprenaient des IPA, des bières blondes et des bières rouges, mais aussi des numéros tels qu'un Wit aux saveurs de poivre et de zeste de citron. Il est vite devenu évident que la possibilité de brasser ces bières sur place serait une aubaine pour l'entreprise.

Heureusement pour l'équipe, un bâtiment adjacent, anciennement un musée, deviendrait gratuit. Il s'agissait simplement de le transformer en une salle de bain. Facile, non?

Eh bien, oui si vous êtes Couraud et co.

"Nous avons ouvert le pub après 45 jours de travail, mais la salle de bain a pris un peu plus de temps", dit-il en riant. "Ce n'est pas facile de convertir un musée en un espace pour accueillir une brasserie et 160 clients, mais nous aimons le défi."

Mais ils étaient à la hauteur. Robertson a spécifié la brasserie, un système de 12 barils qui permet à Brewskey de produire jusqu'à 4000 litres par semaine. Le chemin de Couraud a croisé Robertson et Amyotte pendant son temps à faire des dégustations de scotch tout en travaillant au Old Dublin, un pub et un restaurant à Montréal.

"J'étais professeur de physique le jour et professeur de whisky la nuit", se souvient-il.

Cependant, le fait de finir régulièrement à 4 heures du matin mettra bientôt un terme à sa carrière dans le domaine de l'enseignement traditionnel.

"C'est à Old Dublin que j'ai rencontré Derrick et Karine.

Nous avons appris à nous connaître à travers de nombreux clichés et avons longuement discuté de la façon dont nous pouvions mieux gérer les pubs que ceux

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Robertson was a mechanical engineer by trade while Amyotte had the aforementioned experience in the hospitality sector. Their collective skillset has helped make Brewskey a true success, with the opening of the taproom in 2019 proving a hit with locals and tourists alike.

The taproom opened in February of last year with the brewery coming online later in 2019, and they’ve yet to look back.

“I take pride in the role we play in changing people’s minds about beer,” says Couraud. “We’ve helped convert someone wanting a pint of Stella Artois to a beer from Quebec they’ve gone on to really enjoy, and hopefully keep them there.”

He adds: “So going forward, we want to brew more, work on our beers and make them better than ever before. You can always do better. Nobody should ever say otherwise, because they’d be wrong.

“While we might have accomplished a lot in our time so far, it’s only made us hungrier.”

Away from Brewskey, the team at Brasseurs du Monde have only ever done things one way, and that’s their own.

It’s good news then that critics and consumers are more than happy with the way they go about the business of brewing.

And it says a lot that a haul of nine awards from across the globe in 2019 was merely considered a “good year” for the Saint-Hyacinthe outfit.

Releases such as Solera, L'Assoiffé-8, L 'Exploité and Blanche du Mur picked up accolades across the board at prestigious events including the World Beer Awards, Barcelona Beer Festival and Canadian Brewing Awards.

“It’s been a good run for us,” says Alain Thibault, beer sommelier and a key part of the team at Brasseurs du Monde. “There are so many new breweries opening, which makes it harder to stand out, so it’s nice to continue getting recognition for what we do."

Standing out has rarely been a problem for the brewery. Founded by Gilles Dubé in 2010, the business now employs more than 50 staff, including Dominic Charbonneau the vice president of production and part of Brasseurs du Monde since the beginning.

“Gilles had a great deal of expertise in selling beer and bringing a talented brewer like Dominic on board was a very sensible move,” says Thibault.

That combination has helped the brewery grow to one that sells beer to more than 2200 retailers and nearly 300 restaurants and bars in Quebec.

“I think we’ve done well by never specialising in one particular beer or a certain style,” says Charbonneau.

“The customer knows they will always have something new to experience when they drink our beer. Of course, that means each of these beers has to be of the highest quality and they have to be very drinkable. You can’t cut corners and expect people to keep coming back."

This is easier said than done when you’re producing

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dans lesquels nous travaillions", sourit-il.

Robertson était ingénieur en mécanique de métier tandis qu'Amyotte avait l'expérience susmentionnée dans le secteur de l'hôtellerie. Leur compétence collective a contribué à faire de Brewskey un véritable succès, avec l'ouverture de la salle des tapros en 2019, qui a rencontré un franc succès auprès des habitants et des touristes. Le taproom a ouvert ses portes en février de l'année dernière avec la brasserie mise en ligne plus tard en 2019, et ils n'ont pas encore regardé en arrière. "Je suis fier du rôle que nous jouons pour changer l’esprit des gens à propos de la bière", a déclaré Couraud. "Nous avons aidé à convertir quelqu'un qui veut une pinte de Stella Artois en une bière du Québec qu’ils ont vraiment apprécié et, espérons-le, les garder là-bas." Il ajoute: "Donc, à l'avenir, nous voulons brasser plus, travailler nos bières et les rendre meilleures que jamais. On peut toujours faire mieux. Personne ne devrait jamais dire le contraire, car ils auraient tort.

"Bien que nous ayons pu accomplir beaucoup de choses jusqu'à présent, cela n'a fait que nous affamer."

Loin de Brewskey, l'équipe des Brasseurs du Monde n'a jamais fait les choses que dans un sens, et c'est la leur.

C’est donc une bonne nouvelle que les critiques et les consommateurs soient plus que satisfaits de la manière dont ils traitent le brassage. Et cela en dit long sur le fait que neuf récompenses de partout dans le monde en 2019 ont simplement été considérées comme une "bonne année" pour la tenue de Saint-Hyacinthe. Des sorties telles que Solera, L'Assoiffé-8, L'Exploité et Blanche du Mur ont été récompensées dans tous les domaines lors d'événements prestigieux, notamment les World Beer Awards, le Barcelona Beer Festival et les Canadian Brewing Awards. "Ce fut une bonne course pour nous", déclare Alain Thibault, sommelier en bière et membre clé de l'équipe des Brasseurs du Monde. "Il y a tellement de nouvelles brasseries qui ouvrent, ce qui rend plus difficile de se démarquer, donc c'est agréable de continuer à être reconnu pour ce que nous faisons." Se démarquer a rarement été un problème pour la brasserie. Fondée par Gilles Dubé en 2010, l'entreprise emploie aujourd'hui plus de 50 personnes, dont Dominic Charbonneau, viceprésident de la production et une partie de Brasseurs du Monde depuis le début. "Gilles avait une grande expertise dans la vente de bière et il était très judicieux de faire venir un brasseur talentueux comme Dominic", explique Thibault. Cette combinaison a permis à la brasserie de devenir une brasserie qui vend de la bière à plus de 2 200 détaillants et près de 300 restaurants et bars au Québec.

"Je pense que nous avons bien réussi en ne nous spécialisant jamais dans une bière en particulier ou dans un certain style", dit Charbonneau. "Le client sait qu'il aura toujours quelque chose de nouveau à vivre en buvant notre bière. Bien sûr, cela signifie que chacune de ces bières doit être de la plus haute qualité et être très

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so many different beers each year and it’s a feat to be admired and impressed by. The brewery boasts some 30 beers in its regular output and more than double that in the family of brews produced seasonally or annually.

That’s before we’ve even touched upon the ‘Reserve of the Picoleur’ range, among others.

“Some consumers think we probably have too many beers. But there are others that think that we don’t have enough! You need to fulfil both,” says Charbonneau. “But the proof for us is seeing these new beers sell out in a matter of weeks each and every time.”

Thibault has observed the significant shift of drinkers moving from big beer to modern independent beer. And with that, craft beer stores have one main question: ‘What do you have that’s new?’

“There is an appetite for strong flavours and the new.

People aren’t so interested in the ordinary and that’s a challenge we like to take head on,” he explains.

The new product development process at Brasseurs du Monde includes all parts of the business. Marketing and sales will have their input and once a consensus is reached, Charbonneau will explore how to make this beer a reality. Ideas discussed in these meetings have resulted in beers that go on to become popular regular releases for the brewery such as L’Infusée, the marriage of beer and tea. This series has included orange and lime, lemon and chamomile, and blueberry infusions.

“Consumption of those two beverages dates back to antiquity,” says Charbonneau.

Beer produced can range from those tea-infused brews to desert-flavoured stouts, Tripels and right up to the 25% ABV releases that helped make the brewery’s 5th anniversary back in 2016.

Since starting out, Thibault says Brasseurs du Monde has set itself the goal of offering a variety of products that will satisfy the varied tastes of its customers. It’s one of the main reasons it put a great deal of resources into its range of deglutenized beers.

Some consumers think we probably have too many beers. But there are others that think that we don’t have enough! You need to fulfil both

Dominic Charbonneau, Brasseurs du Monde

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potable. Vous ne pouvez pas couper les coins et vous attendre à ce que les gens reviennent." C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire lorsque vous produisez autant de bières différentes chaque année et c'est un exploit d'être admiré et impressionné par.

La brasserie compte une trentaine de bières dans sa production régulière et plus du double de celle de la famille des brasseries produites de façon saisonnière ou annuelle. C’est avant même d’avoir abordé la gamme "Réserve du Picoleur", entre autres.

"Certains consommateurs pensent que nous avons probablement trop de bières. Mais il y en a d'autres qui pensent que nous n'en avons pas assez! Vous devez remplir les deux", explique Charbonneau. "Mais la preuve pour nous est de voir ces nouvelles bières se vendre en quelques semaines à chaque fois."

Thibault a observé le changement important des buveurs passant de la grande bière à la bière indépendante moderne. Et avec cela, les magasins de bière artisanale ont une question principale: "Qu'avezvous de nouveau?"

"Il y a un appétit pour les saveurs fortes et les nouvelles. Les gens ne sont pas tellement intéressés par l'ordinaire et c'est un défi que nous aimons relever de front", explique-t-il.

Le processus de développement de nouveaux produits chez Brasseurs du Monde comprend toutes les parties de l'entreprise. Le marketing et les ventes auront leur mot à dire et une fois le consensus atteint, Charbonneau explorera comment faire de cette bière une réalité.

Les idées discutées lors de ces réunions ont abouti à des bières qui sont devenues des sorties régulières populaires pour la brasserie comme L’Infusée, le mariage de la bière et du thé.

Cette série comprend des infusions d'orange et de citron vert, de citron et de camomille et de myrtille. "La consommation de ces deux boissons remonte à l'Antiquité", explique Charbonneau.

La bière produite peut aller de ces bières infusées au thé aux stouts, aux tripels aromatisés au désert et jusqu'aux 25% de volumes ABV qui ont contribué à faire le 5e anniversaire de la brasserie en 2016.

Depuis ses débuts, Thibault affirme que Brasseurs du Monde s'est fixé pour objectif d'offrir une variété de produits qui satisferont les goûts variés de ses clients.

C’est l’une des principales raisons pour lesquelles elle a investi beaucoup de ressources dans sa gamme de bières déglutenisées.

Thibault explique: "Au cours de nos recherches, nous avons constaté que la plus grande critique des bières brassées avec des ingrédients naturellement sans gluten (sans orge, blé, avoine ou seigle) est que la bière obtenue a un goût spécial, différent de la bière traditionnelle.

"C'est pourquoi nous avons décidé d'opter pour une

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Thibault explains: “During our research, we found that the biggest criticism of beers brewed with naturally gluten-free ingredients (without barley, wheat, oats or rye) is that the resulting beer has a special taste, different from traditional beer. This is why we decided to opt for a deglutenized beer alternative which does not alter the taste of beer and which allows us to offer beers full of flavour.

“Our deglutenization process uses protease-type enzymes which have been specially developed in order to fragment gluten into several of its constituents, namely chains of more or less long amino acids.

“Once the gluten has been broken into pieces, most people with gluten intolerance or allergies will be able to consume the product without experiencing discomfort.

“Imagine that gluten is an image that we cut into pieces to form a puzzle. Once it is undone, it is impossible to glue the pieces together. Some people are allergic only to the whole puzzle, while others will be allergic to a particular room. This is the idea behind the deglutenization process.

“Good beers, without compromise!”

However, regardless of the beer style or ABV of a beer Brasseurs du Monde release, Thibault believes that educating the consumer is all-important when building relationships between brewery and consumer.

“Most beer geeks think they know more than us.

That’s fine because they know enough and don’t seek information when it comes to flavour, he says. “But personally, it’s the drinkers migrating to the scene who enthuse us. They are thirsty for knowledge and want to learn more, and we love sharing that with them.”

Brasseurs du Monde packages its beers into bottles and, since 2016, cans, too. The investment enabled them to sell their beer to a wider market including festivals and for the consumer that wants to bring a beer to the park or the beach.

“That market is growing each week,” says Charbonneau. “There is a demand for cans but I believe there is very much a place for both. I don’t want to be drinking or selling a 10% Old Ale aged in Scotch barrels from a can. It doesn’t feel right."

But Charbonneau and the team are not approaching the brewery’s 10 anniversary by accident and know the value of listening to, and working with, the consumer.

“In 2010, people were more likely to enjoy the beer from one brand. They had it, and they stuck to it,” he says.

“Now, people are in the market for what’s appealing. They are open to trying new flavours, new styles and new experiences.”

He adds: “That means you always have to be better than you were before to meet those demands. We’re constantly improving and we’ll hopefully be here for another 10 years as a result.”

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alternative à la bière déglutenisée qui ne modifie pas le goût de la bière et qui nous permet de proposer des bières pleines de saveur.

"Notre processus de dégluténisation utilise des enzymes de type protéase qui ont été spécialement développées afin de fragmenter le gluten en plusieurs de ses constituants, à savoir des chaînes d'acides aminés plus ou moins longs.

"Une fois le gluten brisé, la plupart des personnes intolérantes ou allergiques au gluten pourront consommer le produit sans ressentir d'inconfort.

"Imaginez que le gluten soit une image que nous découpons en morceaux pour former un puzzle. Une fois défait, il est impossible de coller les pièces ensemble.

Certaines personnes ne sont allergiques qu'à l'ensemble du puzzle, tandis que d'autres seront allergiques à une pièce particulière. C'est l'idée derrière le processus de dégluténisation. "Bonnes bières, sans compromis!"

Cependant, quel que soit le style de bière ou l'ABV d'une bière Brasseurs du Monde, Thibault estime que l'éducation du consommateur est primordiale lors de l'établissement de relations entre la brasserie et le consommateur.

"La plupart des amateurs de bière pensent en savoir plus que nous. C'est bien parce qu'ils en savent assez et ne cherchent pas d'informations en matière de saveur, dit-il. "Mais personnellement, ce sont les buveurs qui migrent vers la scène qui nous enthousiasment. Ils ont soif de connaissances et veulent en savoir plus, et nous aimons partager cela avec eux."

Brasseurs du Monde conditionne ses bières en bouteilles et, depuis 2016 également, en canettes.

L'investissement leur a permis de vendre leur bière sur un marché plus large, y compris les festivals et pour le consommateur qui veut apporter une bière au parc ou à la plage.

"Ce marché croît chaque semaine", explique Charbonneau.

"Il y a une demande de canettes, mais je pense qu'il y a beaucoup de place pour les deux. Je ne veux pas boire ou vendre une Old Ale à 10% vieillie en fûts de scotch en boîte. Ça ne me semble pas bien. "Mais Charbonneau et l’équipe n’approchaient pas des 10 ans de la brasserie par accident et connaissent la valeur de l’écoute et de la collaboration avec le consommateur.

"En 2010, les gens étaient plus susceptibles d'apprécier la bière d'une marque. Ils l'avaient et ils s'y sont tenus ", dit-il. "Maintenant, les gens sont à la recherche de ce qui est attrayant. Ils sont ouverts à essayer de nouvelles saveurs, de nouveaux styles et de nouvelles expériences."

Il ajoute: "Cela signifie que vous devez toujours être meilleur qu'avant pour répondre à ces exigences. Nous nous améliorons constamment et nous espérons que nous serons ici pour encore 10 ans."

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M O N T R É A L

IN CONVERSATION | ÉMILIE LECLERC We sat down with Émilie Leclerc also known as @la_petite_biere on Instagram. Here Leclerc, who is an actress, model and performer from Montreal, Quebec, shares her thoughts on what makes the beer scene so special and where it’s going next.

© Carl Theriault

Brewers Journal Canada: What sets it apart from other towns and cities in Canada?

Leclerc: Montreal a une vibe unique au monde.

Et c’est pareil pour la bière. Ce que j’aime quand je fais des suggestions de brasseries Montréalaises à mes abonnés, c’est que je peux pratiquement satisfaire toutes les envies. On a des brasseries qui sont bons dans tout les styles et qui ont un menu éclectique. D’autres, elles, se spécialisent dans un style de bière plus précis, pour en faire un art. T’aime juste le haze? Vas chez Messorem bracitorium! Stout seulement? Vas chez Beauregard Brasserie distillerie. Barrel aged? Brasserie Harricana.

Brewers Journal Canada: Montreal and its surroundings boasts so many great breweries, taprooms and bars to enjoy those beers in. Is it possible to define the Montreal beer scene?

Leclerc: C’est plutôt difficile de définir la scène brassicole Montréalaise en quelques lignes. Mais si je me limitais à trois mots je dirais: Ambitieuse, curieuse et passionnée. Et j’ajouterais aussi: De haut calibre! On brasse de la maudite bonne bière à Montréal!

It’s rather difficult to define the Montreal brewing scene in a few sentences. But if I limited myself to three words I would say: Ambitious, curious and passionate. And I would also add: High caliber!

We brew damn good beer in Montreal!

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Montreal has a unique vibe in the world. And it's the same with beer. What I like when I suggest Montreal breweries to my subscribers is that I can practically satisfy all desires. We have breweries that are good in all styles and have an eclectic menu. Others specialize in a more specific style of beer, making it an art. Do you just like "haze?

Go to Messorem bracitorium! Stout only? Go to Beauregard Brasserie distillery. Barrel aged?

Harricana Brewery.

Brewers Journal Canada: In your experience, how has the beer scene changed in recent years. Have you seen any trends in the type of beers Montreal’s breweries are producing or the types of bars that are opening?

Leclerc: La scène a énormément changé. Au Québec, on avait surtout des styles classiques, souvent les même: blonde, blanche, rousse.

Maintenant c’est difficile de faire un choix tellement il y a, et chaque jour il y a des nouveaux produits, styles, qui arrivent sur les tablettes des magasins.

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Et ce que je remarque comme trend chez les brasseurs Montréalais, je dirais depuis un an ou deux, c'est un retour aux sources. On revient aux recettes traditionnelles… avec une touche de modernité et d’interprétation personnelle du brasseur bien évidement!

Un style qui ne se démode pas ici, c’est la NEIPA. Pratiquement toutes les brasseries aujourd’hui en ont une sur leur menu. Je vois aussi de plus en plus de bières sures, Impérial stout et des bières de style lager.

En terme de type de bar qui ouvre: Ce qui se multiplie depuis quelques années, dans le paysage brassicole Montréalais, c’est les brasseries avec une salle de dégustation adjacente. Où souvent les enfants et les chiens sont bienvenus. Une formule similaire à celle des brasseries américaines. Moi personnellement, c’est ma formule préférée.

The scene has changed enormously. In Quebec, we mostly had classic styles, often the same: blonde, white, red. Now it is difficult to make a choice because there are so many, and every day there are new products, styles, which arrive on store shelves.

And what I notice as “trending” among Montreal brewers, for the last year or two, is a return to the roots. Back to traditional recipes ... with a touch of modernity and personal interpretation from the brewer of course!

A style that never goes out of fashion here is the NEIPA. Almost all breweries today have one on their menu. I also see more and more safe beers, Imperial stout and lager style beers.

In terms of the types of bars that are opening increasingly, in recent years in the Montreal brewing landscape, are breweries with a adjacent tasting room. Where often children and dogs are welcome. A formula similar to that of

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American breweries. Me personally, this is my favorite formula.

Brewers Journal Canada: Looking ahead, where do you see the next developments in Montreal's beer and brewing sector? Or as importantly, what would you like to see, and collectively, could it be doing anything better?

Leclerc: Je pense que les lois québécoises devraient être adaptées pour permettre une plus grande flexibilité aux brasseries. Car en ce moment, ça peut devenir rapidement un cassetête! Ça serait bien aussi que les brasseries Québécoises puissent livrer leur produits directement aux particuliers, via leur site web. Ça permettrait aux brasseries loin des grands centre d’avoir une chance supplémentaire de se faire connaître du public.

Et bien sûr, je trouve qu’il reste une éducation à faire au niveau du consommateur. Il n’a pas encore assez de repères à sa disposition pour le guider. Il faut démocratiser et vulgariser la bière d’avantage pour éclairer le consommateur sur ses préférences. Et ça La petite bière va s’en charger! ;-) It would also be good if Quebec breweries could deliver their products directly to individuals, via their website. This would allow breweries away from major centers to have an additional chance to make themselves known to the public.

And of course, I find that there is still some educating to be done at the consumer level.

However there are not enough guidelines available necessary to democratize and popularize beer in order to enlighten the consumer on their preferences. And that "The little beer" (Microbrew) will take care of! ;-)

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KÖ L S C H

S C I E N C E

DEFINING KÖLSCH Kölsch, a type of pale golden German ale, shares some of the processing characteristics normally associated with brewing lager beers but due to the yeast strain employed, technically it is an ale. Its strength lies both in its well-balanced and easy drinking nature as well as the drinking culture and location which it, and the law, defines, explains Andrew Paterson, technical sales manager at Lallemand Brewing.

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KÖ L S C H

BY ANDREW PATERSON

F

or the average Brit, Kölsch is not a beer that is easy to understand. It looks like a lager, it’s cold like a lager, it tastes quite similar to a lager, it’s served like a lager; albeit in tiny glasses, and it comes from Germany. Surely then, this beer must be a lager!!?

But, Kölsch is not a lager. Why, you ask. Why is this beer so reminiscent of lager then not a lager?

The answer is simple, Kölsch is not a lager because it is not produced using lager yeast. The generally accepted, but slightly flawed, definition of a lager beer is one which is produced using a lager yeast. That is, yeast of the species Saccharomyces pastorianus and not Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

So if Kölsch is not a Lager, what is it? In its broadest sense Kölsch is a rare breed, a type of top fermented German Ale which is not a Weisse bier, a category that also includes Altbier. There is propensity of German brewers to cold store their beers for long periods following fermentation in a manner quite unlike that of traditional English ale brewing; a practice from which Kölsch is not exempt. So it is probably most accurate to describe Kölsch simply as Kölsch. A beer which walks the fine line between the production of lager and ale.

In addition to its microbiological distinction, the brewing of Kölsch is defined by a series of laws agreed by the brewers of Cologne governing the methods of its production, as well as the geographical area in which Kölsch can be produced. A move more likely originally intended to curb competition from larger national breweries producing bottom fermented beers than to preserve regional tradition. Local protectionism at its finest! The 1986 Kölsch Konvention set this limit to within 30 miles of the town of Cologne. Since the original conception of the law, Kölsch has also achieved a protected geographical indication (PGI) extending the reach of the original law to the entire European Union.

Flavour

K

ölsch as we know it today is a relatively young style of beer and probably bears little resemblance to the beers produced in Cologne in centuries prior. In the same way that the invention of indirect fired kilns for malting barley caused a step change in the production of English Pale ales and Pilsners, so too the beers of Cologne would have

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KĂ&#x2013; L S C H

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KÖ L S C H

Differences between two groups of lager yeast Yeast

Low temperature

High alcohols

Ester

Utilises maltotriose

Fermentation performance

Dimond Frohberg, II

More sensative

+

+

+

++

Saaz Calsberg, I

Less sensative

+++

+++

-

+

Summary of the differences between the two groups of lager yeast

embraced the new technologies available to produce pale, rather than darker and smoky flavoured beers.

Today’s Kölsch beer is pale gold in colour, generally resides within the vollbier category of between 3.5 and 5.3% ABV and is moderately hopped. The fermentation characteristics resemble that of a well-balanced pale ale with soft fruity esters and an absence of any sulphur. See end of article for recipe.

Genetics

W

e have already established that Kölsch conforms more to the definition of ale than that of lager and that the critical difference between the two is the species of yeast employed for fermentation. But what is the real difference between these two yeast strains?

On the face of it both strains are very similar. Both are single celled yeast strains, of the same genera which reproduce asexually by unilateral budding. It is at the genetic and metabolic level where the key differences arise.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ale yeast), is an ancient strain which has been domesticated for its ability to both leaven bread and produce alcohol. Reuse and selection by humans has led to these strains becoming well adapted for life in the brewery environment, while geographical isolation has led to the development of specific traits within the sub species.

Recent work done by Kevin J. Verstrepen et al has allowed the classification of industrial Sacchromyces yeasts into five distinct lineages. It is this genetic diversity that leads to the differences in fermentation characteristics between ale strains, for instance a Kölsch strain of yeast like Lalbrew Köln and a Belgian yeast such as Lalbrew Abbaye.

Lager yeasts have a more recent, and arguably more interesting genetic history, resulting from an interspecific hybridisation event between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a wild ancestor yeast. It is only in the last ten years that this wild species has been identified as Saccharomyces eubayanus. Found residing in the Patagonian beech forests of southern Argentina (José

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Paulo Sampaio et al, 2011). How this yeast made it to European shores, at this stage is anybody’s guess!

The consequences of this hybridisation event explains the changes seen in terms of sulphite and sugar metabolism as well as cryotolerance, which are the main practical differences between lager and ale strains (José Paulo Sampaio et al, 2011). The result of the more recent genetic history of lager yeasts is that there is less diversity within the species, with two groups generally being recognised. The type two, or Frohberg group yeasts which include Lalbrew Diamond, generally have greater fermentative ability than the type one or Carlsberg yeasts. These differences relate to the relative proportion of S.cerevisiae to S.eubayanus genome present within DNA of the yeast cell. See above for a summary of the differences between the two groups of lager yeast.

Kölsch Culture

K

ölsch defines the city of Cologne in terms of beer.

Served by traditionally dressed waiters called Köbes, Kölsch is drunk in bars and brewpubs around the city from 0.2L glasses called Stange. The theory goes that these were introduced to stop the beer from getting warm or flat before it could be consumed.

The number of Stange one has drunk on a given evening is calculated by counting up the number of marks made on the clients beer mat, one for every beer drunk. At the end of an evening of imbibing these marks are added up to work out the final bill.

To conclude, Kölsch is a type of pale golden German ale. While Kölsch shares some of the processing characteristics normally associated with brewing lager beers, due to the yeast strain employed, technically it is an ale. Its strength lies both in its well-balanced and easy drinking nature as well as the drinking culture and location which it, and the law, defines.

With the newly released Lalbrew Köln yeast, brewers can create their own (Kölsch style) beers safe in the knowledge that they are using an authentic Kölsch yeast strain. This strain was specially selected for its ability to create moderate levels of soft fruity esters while keeping sulphur production to a minimum.

Brewers Journal Canada

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S C I E N C E

LOW

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GRASP THE LOW AND NO ALCOHOL OPPORTUNITY The growth in no and low alcohol products presents a real opportunity for craft brewers to enter and disrupt a growing market dominated almost exclusively by the big global players, explains Andrew Paterson, technical sales manager for the UK at Lallemand Brewing.

BY ANDREW PATERSON

I

n the craft beer industry we are used to transient developments in beer styles which seem to come and go over the years. These can be short lasting; Brut IPA anybody? Popular in the medium term, Saison; or long lasting with multiple reiterations, IPA, American West Coast IPA or NEIPA. One style which seems likely to buck this trend is low and no alcohol beer. While technically a category in its own right rather than a style per se, sales of low and no alcohol beer are outperforming the beer industry as a whole with UK annual sales growth of 28%, and a current European market share of 6%. Big brewing companies are investing heavily in the trend with the largest global brewer AB InBev predicting that no and low will make up 20% of its global sales by 2025. Others are entering the market with innovative new products such as Heineken Zero and Carlsberg 0.0%.

The growth in no and low alcohol products presents a real opportunity for craft brewers to enter and disrupt a growing market dominated almost exclusively by the big global players. AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito almost summed it up perfectly when he said: “Choice is key, the NABLAB category is no longer about having one or two alternatives to traditional beers: it’s about mirroring the choice found in the traditional beer category with a wide range of no and low beers”.

Herein lies the advantage for craft brewers.

Craft brewers have always been more agile and innovative than the global players, while creating choice for consumers is the mainstay of their business. Until

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now the no and low category has been dominated by lager and wheat beer styles. With craft brewers entering the game the potential for innovation within the sector is almost limitless.

While clearly a market in growth there are real barriers to entry to the no and low market for Craft and Global brewers alike. These can broadly be broken into three distinct areas. The first of these is flavour; it is not easy to develop a low alcohol product. There are various methods than can be employed and most require capital investment in plant and machinery.

This leads us to the second issue; this capital investment might be achievable at the larger brewers but is probably beyond the reach of most craft brewers.

Finally there is the question of how to assess the market potential of newly developed products.

For the craft brewer the route to market for no and low alcohol products is far more of a challenge than for larger brewers. The assessment of this market access will ultimately control how much effort is put into new product development and where investments should be made.

At Lallemand we recognise the need for a reliable method of creating a credible tasting, low alcohol beer without the need for capital investment. This led us to review the current methods of creating low alcohol beer without specialist equipment and see how we might apply our knowledge and cutting edge research in the areas of yeast, fermentation and carbohydrate chemistry to improving these techniques.

The high temperature mashing technique

T

he most often used method for creating low alcohol beer in craft breweries is based around the process of high temperature mashing.

Understanding this method requires a certain degree of knowledge of mashing biochemistry. Essentially the idea is that you alter the fermentability of the wort by using a high mash temperature to inactivate the beta amylase enzyme, which generates the vast majority of fermentable sugar in a brewery fermentation. At the same time you allow enough residual alpha amylase activity to break down the starch molecules within the malt into

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Mash Temperature 0C

Mash time (min)

95

74

78

82

86

60

S1

S5

S9

S13

S17

70

S2

S6

S10

S14

S18

80

S3

S7

S11

S15

S19

90

S4

S8

S12

S16

S20

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S C I E N C E 80

90

74 78 82 86

Figure 1: Table detailing the trial mash temperatures and times used in this work as well as the initial results from starch testing of the worts

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Sugar

Degree of Polymerisation (DP-n)

Fermentable by Brewers yeast

Glucose

1

Y

Maltose

2

Y

Maltotriose

3

Y/N

Maltotetraose

4

N

Maltopentaose

5

N

Maltohexaose

6

N

Maltoheptaose

7

N

High Molecular Weight (HMW)

>7

N

Figure 2: The different length sugars and HWM dextrin material in a brewery wort

longer chain dextrins and sugars, thereby preventing starch positive and hazy beers.

Using this method will not produce alcohol free beers, as no matter how mashing is conducted some fermentable sugars will be produced. The amount of alcohol that can be generated from these fermentable sugars can be altered to some degree by using specific yeast strains which are not capable of fermenting the sugar maltotriose, in this case Lalbrew Windsor and Lalbrew London. This has the effect of making the wort more unfermentable than it otherwise would be when using yeasts strains which are capable of metabolising this sugar.

Clearly in addition to the correct choice of yeast the key to the success of this method is the temperature used for mashing and the resultant dextrin profile of the wort. Most microbreweries lack the facilities for an in depth investigation of this dextrin profile and therefore results are based on trial and error. Work we have done has elucidated the effect of differing mash temperatures

Brewers Journal Canada

on this method and allowed us to create some guidelines for brewers wishing to create low alcohol beers using this technique. Please see our following best practice document for recommendations of mash temperatures and yeast strains to use when targeting different alcohol levels in low alcohol beer.

The experiment

I

n order to create our best practice document, we designed a study to investigate the effect of temperature on the mashing process. We undertook trial mashes on a laboratory mash bath for a series of different times and temperatures. See fig 1. The worts from these trials were first tested with iodine to give an idea of the level of starch breakdown within the wort.

See fig 1. Interestingly we saw that starch breakdown was almost complete at 74 and 78 degrees, temperatures that would ordinarily be considered very high for a

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860c

740c

950c DP4

820c 860c

DP1

DP5

780c 740c

780c 950c

DP6

820c

DP2

N O

DP3

AN D

DP7

LOW

HMW

S C I E N C E

Figure 3: Graphs showing the variation in different sized sugars and HWM dextrin material in worts produced from different high temperature mashes

74

78

82

{ { { { {

Too much fermentable sugar

Too much fermentable sugar

Good potential

Possibly too much starch

86

95

Too much starch and fermentable sugar

Figure 4: A heat map showing amounts of HMW dextrin and fermentable sugars produced in the mashing trials. The colour gradient from white to dark red shows increasing concentration

brewery mash. At 82 degrees iodine tests suggested that starch breakdown had occurred but to a lesser extent than at the lower temperatures. This is what we consider to be the sweet spot for low alcohol beer production using the high mash temperature technique. Above 82 degrees we saw that there is limited starch breakdown, this would lead to hazy and starch positive beers.

Following iodine tests these worts were stabilised at high temperature before being sent to one of our

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laboratories in the eastern US for further analysis by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). This allowed us to investigate the breakdown of different sized sugars within the wort from one glucose unit up to a chain of seven glucose units (DP-1 to DP-7). Figure 2 shows the sugars present within a brewery wort from DP-1 to DP-7.

Figure three shows the initial results obtained by size exclusion chromatography detailing the proportions of sugars created at different temperatures from degree of

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Figure 5: 3D bar chart showing the size distribution of sugar chains from DP-3-DP-30 in worts created by high temperature mashing

polymerisation 1 to degree of polymerisation 7, as well as higher molecular weight dextrins (HWM or High DP dextrins).

The findings of the size exclusion chromatography revealed that at the lower temperatures of 74 and 78 degrees higher proportions of fermentable sugar (DP-1 to DP-3) were created. This was in line with our expectations from the previous work done using iodine. Interestingly the results also suggested a significant amount of fermentable sugar was created at 95 degrees. This can probably be attributed to starch hydrolysis due to the high temperature. When looking at the longer chain sugars (DP-4-DP7), we saw that greater proportions were created at the higher temperatures of 82 degrees and 95 degrees. Interestingly at 86 degrees less of these longer chain sugars were produced. This would indicate that at this temperature alpha amylase activity is significantly reduced leading to an increased amount of higher molecular weight dextrin material but less longer chain sugars due to temperature mediated hydrolysis. Analysis of this data allowed us to produce a heat map showing the potential of each temperature for creating low alcohol wort. See fig 4.

Finally we subjected the worts to MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In this technology the worts were vaporised and the constituent sugars ionised by irradiation with a laser before being accelerated through an electric field.

The point (time of flight required to hit the detector) at which the ionised sugars hit the detector corresponds to their accurate molecular mass (mass to charge ratio; m/z) and therefore, correlate accurately to their degree

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of polymerisation. See fig 5. This allowed us to look at the relative abundance of various DPs of sugars all the way from DP-3 to DP-30.

A clear peak can be seen corresponding to the mass of maltoheptaose at 82 degrees indicating good breakdown of starch to longer chain unfermentable sugars at this temperature, but as previously seen, without being starch positive.

Other considerations

I

n addition to the mash temperature there are other considerations one must take into account when brewing low alcohol beer. Worts created using this method must be low in starting gravity to prevent too much sugar being produced. The worts we used were between 1.020 and 1.027. This can lead to a lack of body which can be combatted using lactose and chloride heavy water as a mouthfeel enhancer. In addition the lower amount of malt creates a lower pH buffering capacity when compared to an ordinary brewery wort.

The pH must be monitored and controlled to within normal brewing specifications throughout the process.

Failure to control pH can lead to astringent and overly bitter beers through extraction of tannin material and excessive hop utilisation.

Finally this work could not have been possible without the help of our excellent teams in the R&D laboratories.

Special thanks go to Sivakumar Pattathil at Mascoma, NH, USA and Jeff Zhang at AB Vickers UK.

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H O M E B R E W I N G

BREW4.0 TAKES ON 2020 2020 is shaping up to be a very exciting year in the Canadian Homebrewing space, and we want to celebrate it! So make sure you keep in touch to share the innovations and invention that makes you tick. As always, this is the part of the magazine to showcase the fantastic work taking place in Canada’s buoyant home brewing scene.

Jeff Kiffman | @jeffkiffman From Milton ON I started in High School 25+ years ago but the taste of the finished product wasn’t great then. Some reading I’ve done since indicated that the ingredients available were often old or expired and QC may not have been great at the time. I left it and came back to it 3 years ago…wish I’d never left though as I'm motivated by always trying to improve my finished product.

My system needed to be full dismantled to allow for storage. Space in my house is limited so always know I would have to break the system down, which also helped for cleaning. I started with a keg and expanded off of it bit by bit over the years. Went to a local welding shop in down started with one NPT nipple for a bottom outlet then added 2 more. One for a thermometer and the other for a return inlet when I got a pump.

I wanted to add a sight glass to track my volumes but a sight glass doesn’t work for a gets stored under my deck and knocked around a lot. I put the sight glass/ ball valve on a camlock assembly in order to store safely. My sight glass/ball valve assembly is supported by a car jack to keep the weight off camlock. It’s not as pretty as I would like to be but works. I have dreams of an electric, automated system after I launch my children into the world.

I started with the Keggle as I wanted the volume to do larger batch if brewing with a friend and to avoid any

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boil over when doing a 5-6 G batch on my own. The first batch I watched at a friends boiled over during a hot break and I thought I don’t want to deal with that mess.

I also knew I would want to expand slowly over time to avoid paying out all at once.

I started really simple – keggle with a bottom valve and homemade copper immersion chiller. Added thermometer to track my pitching temp and after I learned about whirlpooling temps. Sight glass to get a better handle on my volumes and hit a better target Alcohol %. Then the pump to drop my temp faster and whirlpool properly. Finally I added a plate chiller to close system off better. To chill I would jiggle and shake the chiller around and I just didn’t like it.

Outside of the hot side of the process I made a temp controller for fermentation chamber, but then realized that I really don’t have space right now for another fridge or chest freezer so that was put on hold (for now). During that research I came across the benefits of fermenting under pressure so found the Fermentasaurus. I love it.

It’s a lightweight, durable, cost effective way to get into conicals. I ferment under pressure and use pressure to push it into the keg to avoid oxygen during the transfer.

I found the bottom bottle to remove trub resulted in too much beer loss, but I use the bottle to dry hop again avoiding oxygen impact.

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A

bout a year ago Brewers Journal Canada and Brew4.0 came together for a little experiment we dubbed "Focus: Homebrewing" of which you are currently holding the 4th instalment of in your hop stained hands.

We have been very excited by the feedback from people in the entire Brewing ecosystem. Homebrewers are excited to have a Canadian showcase.

Professional Brewers were pleasantly reminded of their roots and are excited to see the Homebrew scene flourishing.

And relevant business owners such as Homebrew shops, Equipment Suppliers, Ingredient Suppliers, and more, are excited to have a strong technical industry platform with proven reach to communicate their message though.

The often vaunted but seldom achieved win/win/win so who are we to slow this train down?

Check out our announcement about expanding our Homebrewing focused content at the end of this article, right after you check out Jeff and Mike's stories below.

Paddy's Thoughts on Jeff In my correspondence with Jefff during the process of putting this article together a few things became very clear. 1) As a Biochemist in an engineering focused role in his work at a Pharmaceutical manufacturing facility he is inspired by the science and processes of homebrewing 2) He pines after a bigger fancier system (as we all do) but real estate limitations have forced him to be creative and 3) he loves his Heffies and Wits.

I was also reminded that Homebrewers do not follow anywhere near the same path when procuring equipment or refining their process. Every Brewer has different focuses and potential limitations to address when defining their next expansion just as professional Breweries do so it simply can't be linear. For example as I grew up a sanitary fitter welder my kit is more automated but I dont transfer under pressure nor have a conical fermenter. Although my system is all hardpiped and such its very bulky which may not be better for everyone right? So Jeff found another way to improve his liquid by fermenting in conicals under pressure and limiting oxygen content during transfers.

I look forward to seeing what his next improvement will be and in the meantime I'm going to investigate the Fermonster for my next potential equipment addition. I wonder if it comes with an option for a cooling coil from the lid or if that will be my next Homebrew Project?

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FO C U S

H O M E B R E W I N G

Mike MacKinnon | @shortfinger_mike from Kitchener ON A good friend and I started Homebrewing back in December 2012 with a Brewer's Best Brown Ale Starter Kit. It took us 4 hours to bring 9.5 L of wort to a boil on his stove.

As far as influences I'm pretty traditional, though I tend to try to make beer that isn't particularly easy to get a hold of these days. Lately, I've been digging nut brown ales, but I am pretty easy going style wise. I'm loosely affiliated with True Grist, but generally independent considering I work for a Shortfinger Homebrew shop.

Recently I had my biggest homebrew disaster. I usually ferment in kegs and on a Imperial Stout I brewed, I forgot to remove a poppet in my gas tube which caused my pressure relief to blow off at 1 am. I had beer shooting everywhere in my basement in the middle of the night which was spraying on my gas stove.

Malty steam everywhere. Seven years since I started and I made the rookiest of mistakes. Great time!

One unique thing about my system is because it is isn't a true 3 vessel system (I use a cooler mash tun and heat all my water in my boil kettle and sparge by hand), I use a second, smaller pot as a wort grant. It was needed it for a few reasons. I use a chugger pump, which I could never quite tune in well enough that I wasn't collapsing

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the grain bed in my mash or having to stop the pump periodically.

It always led me to pumping a bunch of air through my wort and oxidizing it. The grant allows me to mash out slowly and sparge at a decent rate and avoid tunneling or collapsing in my grain bed. We use a similar system on the Short Finger systems albeit at a bit more of a volume than what I play with at home. It's a pretty straight forward system. My mash tun sits higher than the grant, which sits higher than my chugger pump.

This still allows gravity to do the majority of the work for me and minimizes pump use. I only pump from the wort grant to my boil kettle, though I also use the pump to fill my mash tun from the bottom with the grain already in it to, again, minimize oxidation. I restrict flow from my mash tun into the grant to maintain the grainbed and do the same from the grant to the pump and on to the kettle to ensure I don't suck any air through the system.

I am happy with how it turned out. It is by no means fancy, but it gets the job done and allows for minimal change to my existing system. I have the kettle and mash tun dialed in to where I know what to expect from them, so it was pretty important that any additions avoided having to swap out those two pieces.

Brewers Journal Canada

H O M E B R E W I N G

FO C U S

Closing Paddy's Thoughts on Mike Mike is a brave soul and the team at Brew4.0 appreciate that. We need to commend Mike for sharing his harrowing tale of Fermentation gone wrong that many of us will be all to familiar with. Its funny how the science of brewing makes rookies out of all of us at times. I had a particularly gnarly experience with a big porter recipe one of my students at Niagara College designed for me and we brewed together in the Garage-Ma-Hall.

The carboys blew in my basement and I had a decent mess to clean up before my wife found out. As I stood back to angrily take stock of the damage I noticed the virtually unused, fully enclosed shower, that was approximately 6' away from the mess that would have contained the calamity nicely. What can you do but laugh right?

I dig the grant set up Mike's incorporated into his rig.

I tried to do one myself by using a 3" site glass but the volume it contained was way too small, especially when you consider the lack of speed control of my chugger pumps. This is a process commonly used in production level systems to prevent transfer pumps from pulling suction on the bed leading to stuck mashes if the crush is out of balance to the fine grind side of the spectrum.

It's something that I plan on taking another run at when I repipe my system in the coming months.

I'm also with Mike on the Nut Brown Ales these days and just brewed a big Oatmeal Brown that won't be long for this world.

T

hanks to Jeff and Mike for putting time and energy into telling us their stories. One of the very best things about putting these together is meeting all sorts of people and the unique take-a-ways we garner from each one.

We've focused on Influencers, Award Winners, and Average Janes/Joes so far and every single time something new is learned regardless of the brewers status or experience. 2020 is shaping up to be a very exciting year in the Canadian Homebrewing space. Keep an eye on what Brewers Journal Canada and Brew4.0 have cooking by following us on "the Instagram". It's a thing. I googled it. @brewersjournalcanada @brew4.0 If you are an industrious Homebrewer and would like to be featured in an upcoming issue please direct message me a pic and a quick summary of your innovation @brew4.0 and we will start a short back and forth that'll change your life. Or at least give you something cool to show your friends when they come over to drink your sweet sweet homebrew.

B

rewers Journal Canada is excited to announce our new ongoing focus on the Canadian Homebrewer Segment. The connection shared between Homebrewers, Professional Craft Brewers and the in-the-know Suppliers that service them is undeniable and given the success of our recent trial "Focus Homebrewing" articles we are making changes to better serve the community.

Our immediate plans for the magazines content expansion include: - How to Design and Build a Brewcave on a Budget - Gadget Review (Now accepting submissions!)

- National Competition Info - Award Winning Recipes - National Homebrew Shop Directory - Brewing Education Updates - And we will of course be continuing our Canadian Homebrewer Focus

About Paddy Finnegan Paddy Finnegan started his career as a sanitary fitter welder in his families business before moving into Business Development for Food and Beverage Engineered Solutions Providers. He still services many of his early customers today and is part of a team that designs and executes sanitary process projects for Food and Beverage processors, including breweries, across North America. He is a Prudâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Homme Certified Sommelier, a MBAA Beer Steward, a Recognised BJCP, an active judge and an avid homebrewer.

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EVENTS

EVENTS

The Ottawa Winter Brewfest will be celebrating it’s 6th year and invites you once again to celebrate our brewing wealth in a warm and festive atmosphere.

8th February 2020

WINTER BREWFEST

Gunbarrel Saloon Restaurant www.apexresort.com

Lansdowne Park, Ottawa www.brewfest.ca/

15th February 2020

BRIDGEWATER’S CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Bridgewater Best Western & Convention Centre​ www.mileeast.com/lobstercrawlbeerfestival 15th February 2020 - 23rd February 2020

6th March 2020 - 7th March 2020

FREDERICTON CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Fredericton Convention Centre www.facebook.com/FrederictonCraftBeerFestival 10th March 2020 - 11th March 2020

NANAIMO CRAFT BEER WEEK

ONTARIO BEER SUMMIT

Various Venues www.nanaimocraftbeer.com

Hamilton Waterfront Trust www.ontariobeersummit.com

16th February 2020 - 22nd February 2020

KV CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Qplex, New Brunswick www.facebook.com/KVCraftBeerFestival

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6th March 2020 - 7th March 2020

APEX RESORT BREWSKI

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21st March 2020

NOVA SCOTIA CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Cunard Centre www.nscraftbeer.ca

Brewers Journal Canada