488: Wynn Whisenhunt of Wondrous Makes Better Beer by Doing Less

When Wynn Whisenhunt launched Wondrous in the compact bay area town of Emeryville, California—wedged between more well-known neighbors Oakland and Berkeley—he brought with him big ideas about what it would take to make great beer. After growing up around well-known homebrewers like Mike “Tasty” McDole and Jamil Zainasheff, studying brewing in the Siebel-Doemans program, and working at breweries of various scales like Lagunitas and Sante Adairius, he had both the theoretical knowledge and first-hand experience in its practical application, but the first few years of running his own brewery, writing all the recipes, and brewing all the beer taught him the most important lesson of all—the best beers are made by subtraction more than addition. Understanding exactly what each beer needs, and eliminating ingredients or techniques that don’t serve that goal or that cause excess intervention, is the real key to taking beers from good to great.

In this episode, Whisenhunt discusses both Wondrous Hell—for which he won broze at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival—and his related approach to West Coast IPA like the 98-rated Single Cuff. Along the way, he touches on:

• designing Hell with initially more complex processes, then simplifying
• going from a three-yeast blend to dry 34/70 yeast
• moving from step mashing to single infusion in lager beer
• unitank process for minimal lager intervention
• embracing good sulfur and controlling its expression
• changing from European to North American pils malt in West Coast IPA
• judging hops not on flavor and aroma but on impact and loudness
• incorporating modern hop products
  

And more.

G&D Chillers
G&D now offers their Elite 290 Micro-series with 5H chillers—bringing even more flexibility to their propane-powered lineup. In fact, they’re building one right now for Red Clover Ale Co in partnership with Efficiency Vermont. It runs on a Natural Refrigerant with near-zero Global Warming Potential—projected to deliver around 10% more efficiency than A2L refrigerant systems. With 24/7 support and remote monitoring, your cold side stays dialed in—day or night. Explore the Elite 290 Micro-series and more at gdchillers.com/podcast.

Berkeley Yeast
Berkeley Yeast just launched Dry Tropics London! Our best-selling liquid yeast strain, now with all the ease-of-use benefits of dry yeast. Dry Tropics London delivers the soft, pillowy mouthfeel and juicy character you’d expect from a top-tier London Ale strain, but with a serious upgrade: a burst of thiols that unleash vibrant, layered notes of grapefruit and passion fruit. A lot of brewers love the clean passion fruit you get from Tropics, but they don’t want every IPA to be a tropical-fruit bomb. At the dry yeast price point, you can pitch and ditch without breaking the bank. Or, you can co-pitch with your house strain to adjust the intensity of the notes. And with nationwide free shipping, there’s never been a better time to try Dry Tropics. Order now at berkeleyyeast.com and experience the ease and impact of Dry Tropics London Yeast.

PakTech
This episode is sponsored by PakTech—delivering craft-beer multipacking you can trust. Our handles are made from 100 percent recycled plastic and are fully recyclable, helping breweries close the loop and advance the circular economy. With a minimalist design, durable functionality you can rely on, and custom color matching, our carriers help brands stand out while staying sustainable. Trusted by craft brewers nationwide, we offer a smarter, sustainable way to carry your beer. To learn more, visit paktech-opi.com.

Indie Hops
Oregon hop country is heaven to world-class lager varieties, and Indie Hops is proud to have introduced Oregon’s newest lager hop, Lórien, in 2022. Lórien is in a growing list of beers that have found their way to the podium and—more importantly—into the hearts of lager lovers across the country. Discover Indie Hops Lórien. (Side effects may include rampant festivity, sales bumps, and exceeded expectations.) Indie Hops—Life is Short. Let’s Make It Flavorful.

Midea 50/50 Flex
This podcast is sponsored by the Midea 50/50 flex—the industry’s first dual compartment three-way convertible freezer. The 50/50 Flex is designed to flex with your life. It can convert to all fridge, all freezer, or half and half with just the touch of a button. Plus, with reversible doors and adjustable storage compartments, you can stay organized no matter your food-storage needs. The 50/50 Flex is also designed to maintain a stable temperature even in non-climate-controlled spaces. So it’s perfect for your garage, man cave, or wherever you need a little more space. Maybe use all 20 cubic feet as a beer fridge! Check out [Midea.com/us/](https://Midea.com/us/) for more information on how to take your beer storage to the next level.

Old Orchard
The beyond-beer space is booming, and Old Orchard is here for it, supplying breweries with fruit ingredients for all your beverage needs: low/no alcohol, hard lemonades, seltzer, cider, and more. Old Orchard has supplied hundreds of industrial customers across 49 states, including nationally and internationally loved brands, so you'll be in good company. More information and free samples are waiting at oldorchard.com/brewer.

Encompass
You know the pain all too well. You're guessing at market trends, left in the dark about how your liquids are performing on the shelves. You can't tell if your distributors are actually executing the objectives you gave them. But now there's a faster, more real-time, and value-packed way to get the full picture instantly and strengthen those distributor partnerships. Introducing Orbit by Encompass. Orbit Data & CRM connects your production performance directly to the wider beverage market. Orbit Data provides real-time visibility into retailer data, sales, and inventory so you can make faster and clear decisions. It's also a CRM for your supplier sales team that brings total transparency to your distributor relationships, keeping them accountable to what they need to sell and how. Orbit empowers producers to drive decisions with accurate data, discover new profit streams, and pivot faster than ever before. Go to encompasstech.com/launch-orbit for more details.

Arryved
Running a brewery means juggling a lot—managing production, serving guests, selling online, and keeping everything moving behind the scenes. That’s where Arryved comes in. What started as a point-of-sale system has grown into the technology your brewery runs on—built specifically for the teams behind great beer. Unlike generic systems, Arryved brings together taproom service, online sales, brewery management, payments, reporting, and growth tools into one complete platform. So instead of bouncing between systems, you can brew, serve, and sell—all in one place. Visit arryved.com to learn more.

John I. Haas
Brewing has always been about creativity—but at scale, it’s about control. For more than 100 years, Haas has worked with brewers to push what’s possible with hops. And today, that means more control over flavor, efficiency, and consistency. Our advanced products help you get more out of every brew—more flavor where you want it, less waste in the process, faster tank turns, and results you can count on—batch after batch, year after year. From next-generation pellets, such as LupoCORE and LupoMAX, to innovations such as Incognito and Euphorics, our products fit seamlessly into your process—from the hot side through fermentation to the cold side. Advanced hop products are just one of the ways Haas is growing the future of brewing. Learn more at johnihaas.com.