245: Jaega Wise Lowers the Barriers to Making Great Pale Ales and Mixed-Culture Beers

Wild Card head brewer Jaega Wise loves breaking down difficult problems with no-nonsense solutions. An early career in chemical engineering gave her the understanding of brewing mechanics that she uses today to hone processes and simplify the brewery’s approach to beer making, yet she remains constantly pragmatic and encouraging.

In this episode, she joins the podcast on the occasion of the U.S. release of her new book, Wild Brews. Through the conversation, she discusses:

• growing up and attending university just down the road from Burton-on-Trent
  
• the challenges of brewing a 2.7 percent ABV, hop-forward, New England–inspired table pale ale
  
• differences in British and American drinking culture
• tackling similar hop flavors and body in a nonalcoholic IPA
• the delicate handling and food-safety concerns of NA beer
• good haze vs. bad haze
• fundamental questions all brewers should ask themselves
• combining different yeast strains to ferment hazy beers
• using dried yeast
• making wild beer accessible
• working with various fruits

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

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