Imperial Strength Brews and Small Batch Experimentation w/ Imperial Oak Brewing (Plus: When and Why Should You Age Your Craft Beer, and For How Long?)

Learn about a taproom-focused brewery that brews a wide variety of styles and does a lot of small batch experimentation.

01:40 Beer Myth: Should all craft beer be aged to improve the flavor? Or is craft beer ready to drink when it’s served? And how long do you need to cellar a beer before you notice a difference in how it tastes? Learn when a beer is worth aging and when it’s not, and get some ideas for when and why you might want to hang onto older beers.

08:51 Interview with Brewer Grant Hamilton, Co-Owner and Co-Founder of Imperial Oak Brewing: Grant shares the story of how he and a couple of other beer-minded individuals got together to start a brewpub. He discusses the range of styles he brews at Imperial Oak Brewing, what makes a stout an imperial stout, and what types of beer you can make with a wood foeder, and the surprising similarities between homebrew recipes and brewery recipes. He also gets into his brewing process for milk stouts, how he decides when and how to experiment with new styles of beers, and the pros and cons of brewing mushroom beers. Grant also talks about his experience integrating ingredients like cantaloupe and hibiscus to his beer brewing process and what motivated the business decision to focus on the brewpub instead of distribution.

40:39 This Week in Bad Customer Behavior: There are ways to be a cool person using a gift card and there are ways to be a not cool person using a gift card. Katherine has hot takes when it comes to gift cards, and Brian is ready to cash in on the tremendous merchandising possibilities! Learn why gift cards don’t age as well as beer, and what not to do if you have a gift card in your possession.

Learn more about Imperial Oak Brewing at https://imperialoakbrewing.com/

If you enjoyed this episode, then please tell at least one friend about the show! And if you’re a brewer or know any brewers who would like to share their story on the podcast, then email craftybrewerspod@gmail.com. We’re always happy to hear from you!

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Crafty Brewers is produced by award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you’ll learn about: craft beer, beer aging, imperial stouts, barrel-aged stouts, craft beer brewing, beer maturation, brewing techniques, craft beer industry, homebrewing, lactose in beer, innovative brewing, beer tasting, craft beer taprooms, beer distribution, beer recipes, beer aging myths, beer strength, yeast strains, beer fermentation, beer flavor, aging craft beer, beer adjuncts, milk stouts, brewing experiments, beer alcohol content, craft beer scene, craft breweries, beer storage, beer aging process, stout beer, beer drinking experience, beer drinkers, beer myths, direct beer sales, brewing science, beer ingredients, beer gift cards, beer brewing company, beer canning, and brewing innovation.