November 29, 2024

389: An International Look at Brewing Barrel-Aged Stout with Firestone Walker, Omnipollo, and FrauGruber

1 hour 23 minutes

Barrel-aging is nothing new for Firestone Walker’s Matt Brynildson. He got his first exposure to the process while working for barrel-aging pioneer Goose Island in Chicago, and for the better part of two decades has been exploring the impact of wood, aging, and blending in the development of beer flavor at Firestone Walker. A post-pandemic initiative at the Paso Robles brewery, the Brewmaster’s Collective, has created new occasions to explore processes and approaches through collaborations with a range of brewer friends, and in this episode Brynildson is joined by two collaborators—Henok Fentie of Stockholm, Sweden’s Omnipollo, and Enzo Frauenschuh of Gundelfingen, Germany's FrauGruber. Together, they take a look at the similarities and differences in barrel-aged stout brewing in the United States and Europe. Along the way, they discuss:

building recipes that can support strong flavors

finding the balance between sweetness and drinkability

artful flavor composition

maintaining some semblance of house character through collaborations

expressing barrel notes cleanly through lean and well-attenuated beers

temperature impact on barrel expression

varying ingredients based on the continent

developing flavorful bases both through English malts and with blends of Pilsner and Munich malts

managing barrel-entry gravity for long term success

planning for adjuncts in recipe design

adjunct addition processes and extraction efficiency

And more.

Note: Firestone Walker is a media partner of Craft Beer & Brewing

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