The fanfare in craft brewing often seems to be around new hops, exotic malts and experimental adjuncts, but for me yeast is where the real magic lies. Everything else is additive, linear and predictable - add strawberries, get strawberry flavour - but yeast is transformative.
I often joke that you can divide homebrewers into cooks and DIY-enthusiasts, but when it comes to yeast-driven styles, they have to become football managers. You don’t just pick your players, you have to coax and cajole them, controlling their environment, understanding their quirks and knowing exactly how to push them to get the results you want.
(Thanks to Boak and Bailey for suggesting the 100 words format - it was fun to write and other bloggers should try it too!)
(Another thing that other bloggers should try is writing a piece about "farmhouse brewing" for the next issue of The Session, which I'm hosting on June the 1st.)
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