416: Derrick Robertson of BreWskey Narrows His Hop Palette to Explore the Variations Within Varietals

Before he took the leap and started his own, BreWskey cofounder Derrick Robertson was a process engineer who helped design breweries. That background was invaluable when building out a brewhouse and cellar in a building that’s a historic landmark in Vieux-Montréal.

With multiple spaces and sprawling patios, BreWskey is popular among travelers who drink plenty of pale lager in warmer months—with many who also appreciate BreWskey’s creative and contemporary approach to hazy IPA. Robertson has an unquenchable thirst for experimentation, treating each batch on their two- and 10-barrel systems as an opportunity to tweak variables, test ingredients, and dial in processes.

He’s not afraid to brew beer with a point of view informed by his own tastes—witbier without phenolic Belgian yeast, for example—and he’s always up for experiments, such as pushing 34/70 to see just how much heat it can endure. When it comes to hazy IPA, however, he can’t bear the astringent burn that certain hops exacerbate, so he’s dialed in processes to turn beers at brewpub speed with robust body and just enough haze—because, as he says, there is such a thing as too much haze.

In this episode, Robertson discusses:

• balancing brewpub and taproom beer menus with an on-the-fly creative process
• adjusting the beer program week to week, based on tourism trends
• brewing white beer with London Ale III while replacing certain yeast-driven flavors with targeted ingredient additions
• using New Zealand hops strategically for light color without the burn
• the fungibility of many hazy IPA grain bills
• selecting hop varieties, such as Rakau, that improve the expression of others
• why Riwaka is like smoked malt
• avoiding “Galaxy paste” when brewing with the Australian hop
• accepting inefficient extraction techniques when using certain hops, to avoid picking up off-flavors
• dialing in his hop palette to eight to 10 hops, while expanding the number of lots of each
• dry-hop bench-testing for lot selection, to understand how the rub connects to the actual flavors and aromas in finished beer

And more.

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