Last year, Raf Souvereyns produced virtually no beer. A debilitating and still-mysterious illness kept him largely out of his Bokke blendery and often in the hospital. Now he must live with the condition, without knowing if or when it will strike again. Yet he is back in his blendery, working, upbeat, with a refreshed outlook and plenty of ideas for what he wants to do with his life and his beer.
In this episode of the podcast, he discusses:
The challenge of running a small-scale, palate-dependent blendery when also facing difficult personal health issues
Rethinking the blendery's production processes by investing in equipment to reduce manual labor wherever that labor doesn't improve the beer
Working less, but at higher quality
Searching and developing local sources for heirloom fruit varieties that create better flavor in fruit beers
Timing fruit picking to maximize ripeness, at the expense of timing and flexibility
Utilizing underappreciated elements of fruit, like skin, pits, and leaves, that make valuable flavor contributions
Refermentation strategies for limiting oxidation and maximizing flavor in fruit beers
Thinking about lambic and gueuze as "low-intervention" more than "natural" beers
Aging and blending strategies to improve texture and mouthfeel
And more.
"Making a product that’s different—everyone can do that," says Souvereyns. "Everyone can piss in a bottle. But making a product that’s different and also very tasty, not just unique but also something new and refreshing—that’s something different. That’s what I’m aiming for, of course."
This episode is brought to you by:
G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): What if you could chill your beer with a more efficient chiller? The Answer? G&D Chillers new Micro Channel Condensers! G&D’s Micro Channel Condensers are highly efficient in hotter regions, use a fraction of the refrigerant over traditional chillers which provides less opportunity for leaks along with lower global warming potential. G&D Chillers’ Engineers are committed to green technology design, while developing a more energy efficient chiller for the brewing industry. Contact G&D Chillers today at gdchillers.com (https://gdchillers.com)
BSG (https://go.bsgcraft.com/Contact-Us) Get back to the future with Weyermann® Isaria 1924®. Made from the oldest German malting barley variety, Isaria shows malty-sweet flavor and a soft, biscuit-like aroma. This heirloom malt makes amazing traditional Bavarian-style lagers, not to mention modern craft lagers and malt-forward ales. For more info, samples, and orders please visit go.bsgcraft.com/Contact-Us (https://go.bsgcraft.com/Contact-Us)
Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Is your brewery struggling to source or afford berry ingredients? Historic heatwaves devastated U.S. berry crops, causing supply to dwindle and prices to skyrocket. That’s why brewers are switching over to Old Orchard’s craft concentrate blends, which mimic straight concentrates but at a better price point—and with more reliable supply. Is it any surprise that Old Orchard’s best-sellers are Raspberry and Blackberry flavors? Reclaim your margins and order your craft concentrates at oldorchard.com/brewer (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer)
Precision Fermentation (https://precisionfermentation.com/brewing): BrewMonitor, from Precision Fermentation, is the first real-time, comprehensive fermentation monitoring solution. It works with your existing fermentation tanks to track dissolved oxygen, pH, gravity, pressure, temperature, and conductivity in real-time, from any smartphone, tablet, or PC. BrewMonitor provides detailed insight into your fermentations that helps improve beer consistency, reduce tank-time, and increase overall efficiency–saving your brewery time and money. Get started for 30 days, risk-free. Visit precisionfermentation.com/brewing (https://precisionfermentation.com/brewing).
Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): From the rotatable pick-up tube on Rogue Brewing's pilot