Todd DiMatteo never intended to head up the production side of Good Word Brewing and Public House (https://goodwordbrewing.com) in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. However, after a rocky start with a previous brewer forced him to quickly step up to the brewdeck, he embraced the role with verve. Thankfully, his homebrew experience plus more than a decade serving beer at Atlanta’s legendary Brick Store Pub provided a palate and a point of view—two things that he’s leaned into while further developing Good Word’s beer program.
Small beers are a big deal for DiMatteo. Through collaborations and core brews, he routinely plays across the beer map—from “petite IPA” to Czech-style dark lager and English-style bitter. In this episode, he talks about the challenges and techniques to brewing small beers, including:
sharpening critical faculties to focus on constant improvement
finding inspiration in source material for beer styles
staying respectful of style and naming conventions, in part to keep styles alive and vibrant
key points for maximizing character and minimizing detracting notes in small beers
the value of decoction in low-ABV beers
evaluating ingredients and selecting them for flavor
using multiple lager and ale strains while remaining efficient from a production standpoint
spunding for natural carbonation
And more.
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