78: La Cumbre's Jeff Erway: Another Way to Think About Hops

With six GABF medals and four World Beer Cup medals under his belt (in categories ranging from Pilsner to stout to IPA), La Cumbre Brewing Company’s Jeff Erway has built a reputation as a perfectionist and outspoken proponent of brewing quality. He’s both a traditionalist and an iconoclast, depending on the style, occasion, or issue—not afraid to break a few eggs, but deeply respectful of the history and tradition of brewing. In this conversation, he discusses building a malt base for IPAs, creating color with malts other than caramel malts, promoting stability of hops aromas through whirlpool and hop back hopping, the impacts of lower temperatures in hops processing on hops performance in the brewhouse, managing refermentation after dry hopping, hops evaluation and blending, and his joy in beating some of the world’s biggest lager producers at their own game with his gold-medal-winning BEER light lager. “There are some styles that I’ll take a great deal of artistic license with, and there are those that I will not,” says Erway. “I’m going to take a lot more artistic license with an 8% alcohol hazy double IPA than I am with a Pilsner.”

This episode is brought to you by:

Ss Brewtech (https://www.ssbrewtech.com): The founders launched Ss Brewtech with a very clear goal to advance brewing equipment design, performance, and quality to the very highest standards in the industry. With a team that draws upon strong functional backgrounds in brewing science, mechanical engineering, industrial design, supply chain, and manufacturing, Ss Brewtech has the people and skill sets you would want and expect from your supplier of pro brewing equipment. Head over to SsBrewtech.com for more information on their brewhouses and brewing gear.

BSG (http://bsgcraftbrewing.com): Great beers are made from select ingredients. With BSG, you’ll bring the world to your brewhouse with an unparalleled and diverse selection of ingredients, from across the globe to just down the road. Our dedicated customer service team and industry experience provides you with the assistance you need in every step of the way. Let BSG be your supplier of choice for products essential to making great artisanal beverages, so you can stay focused on your craft. For more information, visit us as bsgcraftbrewing.com, or contact us at 1.800.374.2739.

G&D Chillers (http://www.Gdchillers.com): As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, and dedication to their customer’s craft. For 25 years G&D has led the way on innovative solutions that match their brewing customers immediate and future needs. With a wide selection of custom built chillers; G&D offers the Nano chiller, the perfect solution for Nano breweries all the way up to their larger capacity units like the Vertical Air Chiller, built for higher volume operations. Contact G&D Chillers today for your chiller sizing needs at 800.555.0973 or reach out online at Gdchillers.com

American Homebrewers Association (https://www.homebrewersassociation.org): This episode is brought to you by the American Homebrewers Association, an orgnization dedicated to homebrewing and the worldwide community of homebrewers.