275: Brett Taylor of Brooklyn’s Wild East Runs a Brewery, Not a Museum

Brooklyn’s Wild East is a brewer’s brewery. It’s the kind of place that other local brewers go for a beer when they’re not working. The lagers are exceptional, characterful more than crispy, and their best-selling IPA is a West coast-style iteration—a stark contrast to the hazy and juicy IPAs that make up the bulk of the offerings from neighbors Other Half or Finback.

Cofounder and head brewer Brett Taylor has some strong opinions about brewing lagers—decoction isn’t optional, water is very important, and the imperfection of more “rustic” malt offers a tension that makes for more interesting beers. In this episode, Taylor discusses those approaches to lager, as well as their techniques behind West coast IPA and mixed fermentation farmhouse beers, and along the way, he covers:

• leaning into Czech-style lagers due to the similarity in water between New York and Pilsen
• designing a brewhouse with decoction methodology in mind
• treating lagers gently in every step of the process to preserve the delicate flavors
• using the same yeast in different ways across the lager program
• brewing West coast and New England IPAs with Conan yeast
• modernizing West coast IPA recipes
• the challenges of scaling up farmhouse brewing cultures
• optimizing for light Brett character and very gentle acidity in foeder saisons
• achieving juicy yet dry notes in everything from IPA to mixed culture beer

And more.

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