August 17, 2024

374: Joe Wells of Fair State Brews Lagers, Ales, and More With Texture and Occasion in Mind

1 hour 14 minutes

Fair State Brewing Collective head brewer Joe Wells has a deep love of tradition but no fear of the future, and the brewer’s multiple focuses on everything from pale lager and modern IPA to sparking hemp-derived THC beverages is evidence of such. The point is matching flavor and experience to occasion, and Wells thinks about the entirety of that engagement when designing beers and beverages.

In this episode, recorded on the eve of the World Brewing Congress in Minneapolis, Wells talks about:

brewing classic lager with American grains and ingredients

embracing the cereal mash with corn grits and rice flour for lighter beers that don’t sacrifice character

lager brewing with American Noble hops

using Columbus cryo in lager and IPA

dialing in Tetra for foam retention in adjunct lagers

using the cheapest ingredients as expensively as possible

triple decoction and its place in the certain beers

debunking conical versus horizontal lager fermentation

dank and sticky West coast IPA

layering aromas like perfumers

designing and making interesting hemp-derived THC beverages

And more.

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