231: Cameron Owen of The Eighth State Can’t Afford to be Average

The Eighth State is small—very small. The three-barrel, open-vessel brewhouse sits adjacent to the taproom, with brewing gear spilling over on days when they’re not open. Barrels are packed into every inch of unused space, while an assortment of plants help to create a more comfortable vibe in the small ground-floor space. It feels cluttered yet relaxed—in that way that suggests creative minds are at work—and cofounder/head brewer Cameron Owen is determined to have some serious fun. This tiny brewery has earned an outsized reputation for their flavorful beers—from tart fruit beers to ingredient-heavy barrel-aged stouts. Despite the limited capacity, Owens is committed to doing things his way—even if that means more tank time and slower turns—to get the exact flavors he wants. In this episode of the podcast, focused on tart fruit beers and ingredient-laden stouts, he discusses: using a solera process with Lacto and Sacch cultures to create the base for fruit beers packing tart fruit sours with live cultures, but including sulfites to prevent refermentation achieving “wild” flavors and minimizing sulfur expression without Brettanomyces making complex beers more accessible to customers blending fruits for contrast and juxtaposition, finding counter-notes while creating tension achieving vegan-friendly results without lactose building multiple layers of flavor in big barrel-aged beers adjusting the multi-day brew schedule for bigger beers, to aid fermentation using a two-step process for certain ingredient additions, to increase impact And more. At The Eight State, their goal is to stand out. They want to be exclusive but not impossible to get. Most importantly, for a brewery their size, they aim to keep excitement high and keep people coming through that door. As Owens says, “I really can’t afford to just be average.” This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For nearly 30 years, G&D Chillers has set the mark for quality equipment you can rely on. G&D stands above the rest as the only chiller manufacturer that engineers your glycol piping for free. G&D also stands alone as the only chiller manufacturer with an in house team of installers and engineers, with 30 years of real world, field labor experience in breweries, wineries and distilleries. Contact the total glycol system design experts today at gdchillers.com BSG (https://go.bsgcraft.com/Contact-Us) Support from this episode comes from BSG and The Malt Haus by Rahr. The Malt Haus is your online source for cool and exclusive Rahr Malting Co. gear that you can’t get anywhere else. 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