479: Building Better Fruit and Spice Character in Your Beer

From the very earliest days of what we now know as craft beer, flavor has been a defining factor and a guiding mantra for brewers casting themselves against the monolith of light macro lager that dominated American brewing for so many decades. If you track it back, fruits and spices have been ingredients in beer for as long as beer has been made, so this modern era of craft brewing is more rediscovery than revolution. But there’s no denying that familiar and enticing, or even exotic and intriguing, flavors have been an incredible draw in bringing people into the fold who might never have considered themselves beer drinkers. Of course, the ways we can add those fruit and spice flavors to beer have evolved significantly from the earliest days of craft brewing, and brewers now have tools to target and dial in fruit and spice notes with incredible precision—something that is increasingly important as brewers explore low-ABV and nonalcoholic beers and beverages. In this episode, produced in partnership with Amoretti, we explore best practices for delivering flavor impact that’s noticeable, authentic, seamless, and artful, but that also works to support the bottom line for breweries facing ever-increasing input costs. Joining the discussion are: Michael Lalli, brewmaster, Krebs Brewing and Prairie Artisan Ales (Krebs, Oklahoma) Micah Rush, R&D manager, The Bruery and Offshoot Beer (Placentia, California) Nic Bortolin, brewmaster and brand ambassador, Amoretti To connect directly with Nic Bortolin for questions or more information, please email him at [email protected].