153: Grains of Wrath Head Brewer Mike Hunsaker Strives For Quality That Fellow Brewers Respect

Grains of Wrath’s Mike Hunsaker has never been afraid to work for his success, and that journey of working and learning has led him to brewing gigs from Virginia to Cleveland and Oregon. Today, as Cofounder and Head Brewer for Grains of Wrath (Vancouver, Washington), he’s focused not just on commercial success, but also on making beers that his peers respect.

“I’m happy with making a little less money, but having more respect, as far as what we’re doing here and how we go about our business,” says Hunsaker.

In this episode, Hunsaker discusses both his approach to new-school West coast IPAs, and his approach to lagers like his twice GABF medal-winning Vienna Lager. The conversation covers:

• Tweaking the malt blend in IPAs based on the oil content of hops
• Regional variations in approaches to malt in IPA
• The impacts of Munich, Vienna, and Carablonde when blended in West coast IPA
• Blending hops for maximum impact
• Hot and cold side hopping regimens
• Planning for hops creep and adjusting recipes and techniques
• With each new crop year, testing varieties for hops creep culprits
• Bittering lagers with low-alpha hops
• And much more
  

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