Consuming the Craft

CBI010 Improving Quality & Consistency of Fermented Brews with Dan Kuleric of Precision Fermentation

 

Dan Kuleric is the COO of Precision Fermentation. Since it’s founding in 2017, Precision Fermentation has been dedicated to providing real-time monitoring solutions to craft brewers that dramatically enhance their control over the fermentation process. With over 20 years of experience in the brewing industry, Dan is passionate about craft beer and the people that produce it.

 

Dan joins me today to share how Precision Fermentation got started and how they help brewers improve the quality of their craft while working more efficiently. He explains what the BrewMonitor is and how the data it collects helps brewers ensure brew consistency from batch to batch. He also explains how the system allows brewers to spend more time with their families while monitoring the fermentation process in real-time through the use of technology and artificial intelligence.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• How Precision Fermentation got started and how they help brewers improve the way they monitor the fermentation process.
• What the BrewMonitor is and how it helps brewers monitor the quality of their fermented brewed products.
• How CBI plans to use the BrewMonitor with our students.
• How the data collected with the BrewMonitor can help brewers ensure brew consistency.
• How the BrewMonitor uses AI technology to alert brewers when their fermentation benchmarks are not met.
• The Booze Clues ‘Hoppy Pale Ale’ surprise.
• What’s next for Precision Fermentation?

 

 

Connect with Dan Kuleric:

• Precision Fermentation

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI009 Telling the Social, Cultural & Economic Story of NC Through the Craft Beverages Lens with Kimberly Floyd

 

Kimberly Floyd has a Masters degree in Public History with a concentration in Museum Studies from North Carolina State University. She currently serves as the Site Manager at Zebulon B Vance Birthplace as well as the President and Founder of the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum.

 

Kimberly joins me today to explain what the NC Craft Beverage Museum is and the projects and programs currently being planned for the museum. She explains her mission for telling the social, cultural, and economic story of North Carolina through the lens of craft beverages and the project ideas she has planned to educate children on the historical culture of our state. We also share a Booze Clues moment with a “purple port surprise” while discussing some of the unusual and taboo museum attendee behaviors Kimberly has seen while traveling the world and critiquing museums.

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Tips for museum enthusiasts from a museum professional.
• What is the North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum?
• The projects she has collaborated with UNC Greensboro for research and developing programs for the museum.
• Upcoming public access to oral history content.
• The Booze Clues Purple Port Surprise.
• What Kimberly is excited about for the upcoming NC Craft Beverage Museum.

 

 

Connect with Kimberly Floyd:

 

• North Carolina Craft Beverage Museum
• Facebook
• Instagram

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

 

CBI008 Life’s Too Short to Drink Bad Brandy with Dan McConnell of McConnell Farms

 

Dan McConnell is the owner of McConnell Farms, a family-owned farm based in Henderson County, North Carolina. Since its establishment in the 1940s, McConnell Farms has grown and produced a wide variety of crops and livestock. Today, the farm primarily focuses on growing row crops such as strawberries, blackberries, and corn as well as fruit trees. Dan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Horticulture with a special focus on Fruits and Vegetables from North Carolina State University. McConnell Farms is one of our generous donors of fresh-pressed cider that allows our students to learn hands-on how to ferment and develop great tasting brandy and other adult beverages.

 

Dan joins me for today’s Booze Clues segment and discusses why life’s too short to drink bad brandy. We discuss how consumers can change the flavor profile of various wines and brandies by simply adding a fruit juice ice cube into their beverage. Dan explains what the “variety trials” are at his farm and how they are creating new heirloom fruits for consumers. We also discuss why consumers want smaller apples than in previous years when he expects to see high-yield harvests from his fruit trees and the real reason why Johnny Appleseed started planting apple trees.

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Changing the flavor profile of adult beverages with fruit juice ice cubes.
• Tasting “a winner” of the peach variety trials at McConnell Farms.
• Distilled spirits with figs.
• CBI’s experiment with concentrating ginger.
• Marrying apricots and peaches - and other fruits - to create heirloom fruits.
• Why consumers want smaller fruits.
• When to expect high yields from fruit tree crops.

 

 

Connect with Dan McConnell:

 

• McConnell Farms
• [email protected]
• (828) 692-2819

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI007 Everyone Has an ‘O-pina’ on Scotch & Tequila with John Lyda

 

John Lyda is the master of all-things-brewing. He is a full-time faculty member and instructor at CBI where he shares his wealth of knowledge and experience on brewing, distilling, and fermentation with his students.

 

John joins me for today’s Booze Clues Special - his favorite type of spirit - tequila. We share our “o-pinas” on tequila and scotch and discuss some of the best-tasting tequila and scotch drinks we’ve enjoyed. We also discuss how CBI aims to help students learn the art of making craft beer, some of the upcoming classes you can participate in, and how we help breweries, distilleries, and companies develop and improve their products.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• What CBI does to help students learn the art of making craft beer.
• Who the upcoming Stainless Steel Welding class aims to help and what you can expect from taking the class.
• How we help breweries and companies troubleshoot various problems and pain points in their products.
• How we help brewers and distillates develop new products and flavors.
• Our history while working in the brewing industry.
• What makes tequila a high-price product?
• Varying flavor thresholds of certain types of beer.
• Former students returning to CBI to become instructors.

 

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI006 Lazy Brewing, Brilliant Marketing, and Remembering Bill Coors with John Lyda

 

It’s a sad time in the brewing industry. Bill (William) Coors, an executive at Coors Brewing Company, recently passed away at the age of 102. So, today, as John Lyda and I tip our glasses to remember the great Bill Coors, we share our thoughts on proper beer filtration methods and brewing styles.

 

John joins me to discuss “lazy brewing” and the brilliant marketing strategy behind the New England Style IPA beers. John shares his concerns for New England’s style and filtration methods and why he believes they should adopt better methods. I share why I believe their filtration method is a brilliant marketing strategy and the ying-yang balancing act of achieving optimal bitterness levels. We also share our thoughts on experiencing Brut IPA, and I learn an important lesson on what “dusty yeast” is and how it impacts the clarity of your brew.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Remembering Bill Coors and his amazing accomplishments in the beer brewing industry.
• Why John believes New England Style beers practice “lazy brewing’ techniques.
• Why your filtration method matters when brewing beer.
• Why I believe New England IPA’s beer style is a brilliant marketing strategy.
• Experiencing Brut IPA beer.
• Balancing beer bitterness in your beer finish.
• What ‘dusty yeast’ means.
• How dusty yeast impacts a beer’s clarity.

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI005 Homemade Flavored Vodka and Scratching the Beer-y Itch with Lite Beer with John Lite

 

This week on Consuming the Craft, John joins me to scratch the ‘beer-y itch’ and discuss all things related to lite beer. We dive deep into the history of lite beer and share who really invented the golden elixir. We discuss the process of reducing calories in beer, why lite beer was originally created, and the characteristics of the best selling beer in the world. We also share our most and least favorite beer and wine choices and share how to infuse your favorite flavors into vodka.

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Who invented lite beer?
• How to reduce the number of calories in beer.
• Why lite beer was originally created.
• The best selling beer in the world and the characteristics that make it great.
• Our most and least favorite beers and wines.
• How to infuse flavors into vodka at home.
• Deconstructing beer to create new flavor recipes.

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI004 Han Solo Hops and the Brew-Union Hop Report with Ian McHarg of Country Malt Group

 

Ian McHarg is the Herald of Hops; the Leader of Lupulin at Country Malt Group. With over 100 years of combined brewery and brewing experience as well as 11 warehouses across North America, the group is committed to providing a wide range of quality ingredients and excellent service throughout the craft beverage industry.

 

Ian joins me today to discuss the State of Brew-Union and share his analysis of the Hops Report. He explains why European hop harvest yields are low for 2019 while those in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the United States, are above average. We also discuss why now is the time for brewers to consider contracting their hops to external producers as well as the Han Solo of Hops - a.k.a. Cryogenic hops - and the cryogenic process of separating noble hops from the lupulin.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Why malt is the backbone of craft beer.
• The state of hop harvest yields in the United States.
• The state of the European hop harvest and what caused the decrease in yields.
• What is force majeure and should brewers expect it from European hop producers?
• Why Ian encourages brewers to contract their hops for 2019 - and what that entails.
• How the source of your water impacts the taste of your product.
• Hopped vodka and the interesting “experience” of tasting it.
• The balancing act involved in creating hopped vodka.
• Cryo hops, noble hops, and the cryogenic process.

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI003 Hop & Spicy Cider, Cake-Flavored Rum, and Avoiding Blueberry Face Punches with Greg Hill of Urban Orchard Cider

 

Greg Hill is a Certified Cicerone and the Production Director at Urban Orchard Cider, a family-owned and operated craft cider producer based in Asheville, NC. Since it’s launch in 2015 at the Craft Beer Rising event, the company has gained multiple awards and recognition including taking First Place as the Best Place to Drink Cider in America in 2017 by Food & Wine Magazine. In addition to crafting some of the best tasting cider in the country, the company frequently holds events at their West Asheville and new South Slope locations.

 

Greg joins me today to discuss Urban Orchard’s newest location and the type of cider beverages they currently have on tap. We discuss their unique dry ciders and their process for using different yeast varieties to achieve various flavor profiles unattainable by other cider producers. We also discuss their carbonation process and how they achieve their champagne-like bubbles, as well as their new flavors such as the blueberry-flavored Blue Monday and jalapeno-infused Hopaleno.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• Urban Orchard’s newest location and the variety of beverages currently on tap.
• How they make their blueberry lager.
• Their unique dry ciders and how they use different varieties of yeast to achieve different flavor profiles.
• What is flocculation?
• Their carbonation process and how they achieve champagne-like bubbles.
• Why he enjoys teaching at CBI.
• New flavors the Urban Orchard Cider is currently working on.

 

 

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

CBI002 Booze Clues, Scotch Jacuzzis & the Food Safety Modernization Act with Chris Reedy of NC BioNetwork

 

Chris Reedy is the Director of Food, Beverage, and Natural Products at NC BioNetwork. NC BioNetwork offers educational and lab resources, courses, and training programs that impact the economic and workforce development within the biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and life sciences industries across North Carolina. Chris is responsible for providing leadership and administrative oversight for statewide programs and resources.

 

Chris joins me today to discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act and what brewers and alcohol producers need to know to comply with the new FDA policies. He explains the difference between good brewing practices and good manufacturing practices, what producers should consider when storing and reusing spent grain, and how producers can determine when it’s time to conduct a hazard analysis to comply with FDA standards. We also discuss the difference between micro-toxins and aflatoxins and the long-term health effects of excessive aflatoxin consumption.

 

 

 

This week on Consuming the Craft:

 

• What brewers and producers need to know about the Food Safety Modernization Act
• The difference between good brewing practices and good, current manufacturing practices.
• What breweries and producers can do with spent grain while being compliant with the new FDA standards.
• Proper storage of spent grain under the new policy.
• Chemical and physical contaminants to consider when storing or reusing spent grain.
• When producers need to conduct a hazard analysis, according to the new FDA standards.
• What aflatoxins are, how they lead to bottle gushing and the long-term health effects of human consumption.

 

Consuming the Craft is produced by Podcraft. You can create your own great podcast - faster and easier - at Podcraft.com

 

CBI001 Consumer Trends, Marijuana Market Share & the Magical Spice of Beer Hops with Beau Evers of Crosby Hops Farm   Beau Evers is the Account Manager at . Founded in 1900 by Albert and Mary Crosby,