October 03, 2025

439: Ben Howe of Otherlands Manipulates pH and Process in Pursuit of the Perfect Franconian-Style Lager

1 hour 12 minutes

Ben Howe’s brewing career reads more like that of a chef than a typical brewer—stints in Denmark, brewing jobs on both the East and West coasts, weeks spent interning at breweries that intrigued him—but one fateful visit to the Zehender brewery in Monchsambach opened his eyes to Franconian lager and inspired a nearly decade-long quest to understand the beer and its mechanisms of flavor. More recently at Otherlands, he’s pushed boundaries of accepted brewing dogma, mashing with pH levels far past any sensible range in an effort to build color and flavor—and the things that shouldn’t work still obviously do work.

In this episode, Howe discusses both his traditional methods and modern concessions, including:

learning from Will Meyers and Megan Parisi at Cambridge Brewing

capturing Franconian-ness in long-boiled lager beers

old-style vs. new-style German lager brewing

kräusening to carbonate rather than spunding before terminal

never raising the temperature for a diacetyl rest while using ALDC to control precursors

finding color with only pilsner malt

hardening water for lager brewing with calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and gypsum

mashing above 5.8 pH

maintaining atmospheric pressure for yeast during fermentation

boiling large amounts of low-alpha hops for a long time to build flavor and texture

And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

G&D Chillers (https://gdchillers.com): For years G&D Chillers has chilled the beers you love, partnering with 3,000+ breweries across North America and beyond. Remote monitor your chiller for simple and fast access to all the information you need, and gain peace of mind your operation is running smoothly.

Berkeley Yeast (https://berkeleyyeast.com). Berkeley Yeast bioengineers ordinary strains and make them extraordinary—enhancing the flavors you want and eliminating the ones you don’t. Visit berkeleyyeast.com to learn more and start brewing with science on your side.

Old Orchard (https://www.oldorchard.com/brewer): Every beer menu could use a refresh button on the fruit flavors. Old Orchard's latest craft juice concentrate blend additions include Fruit Punch, Guava, Kiwi, and Pomegranate. More information and free samples are waiting at oldorchard.com/brewer.

Indie Hops (https://indiehops.com) Celebrating 16 years of delivering compelling new hop varieties along with classics that thrive in Oregon’s terroir, Indie is the original source for Strata, Luminosa, Lórien, Meridian, and their newest variety Audacia. Release your creativity with the magic of pure, uncut Oregon hops from Indie. Indie Hops — Life is short. Let’s make it flavorful.

Five Star Chemical (https://fivestarchemicals.com) Looking for a powerful, no-rinse sanitizer that gets the job done fast? Meet Saniclean PAA Pro from Five Star Chemicals. This EPA-registered, PAA-based acid sanitizer is tough on beerstone and perfect for everything from kegs to packaging lines. Learn more at fivestarchemicals.com.

Canoe Wild Rice (https://breweryworkshop.com) Brewers, have you ever considered brewing with North America’s only Ancient Grain—Wild Rice? Joe at Canoe Wild Rice has a stockpile of this unique roasted grain ready to ship to you. Send Canoe Wild Rice an email at [email protected] or give the office a call at 1-800-626-3809

Prairie Malt (https://prairiemalt.com) For over 50 years Prairie Malt has been producing high extract malts forged from the fertile soils of Saskatchewan. Stop by the Roadhouse & Melvin booth at GABF to sample some award-winning beers produced with excellent malts and learn more at prairiemalt.com.

Sennos (https://prairiemalt.com) The Sennosystem platform delivers real-time fermentation control and predictive insights, while the SennosM3 modular in-tank sensor delivers continuous, real-time monitoring. Turn your tank into a smart tank. Order your SennosM3 at sennos.com.

Briess Malting (https://BrewingWithBriess.com) Briess offers the largest product line of specialty malt and is continuing to innovate. New malts include Heritage Gold and Lighthouse Munich. Check out why so many craft brewers trust Briess for their specialty malt at BrewingWithBriess.com.

Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast

...more