The Secret to Great Beer is Character

The process of brewing beer begins with malting: soaking grains in water to encourage germination. Towards the end of the germination process when a sprout begins to form, the grains are kilned to produce malt. The grain you choose (such as barley, oats, buckwheat, or spelt) and the length of the kilning will impact both the colour and flavour of your beer. 

Lightly roasted malts produce lighter, golden colours, often associated with pale lagers and pilsners. The longer malt is roasted, the richer it becomes, with flavours reminiscent of dark chocolate and coffee, as is found in porters and stouts.

Yeast

All beer falls into the category of ale or lager. Ryan explains that the difference lies in the yeasts used to ferment them. Ales are top fermented, which means that the yeast is fermented at a warmer temperature, settles at the top of the beer, and produces more ester—a compound that gives beer a fruity flavour. Lagers are bottom fermented at cooler temperatures. The yeast settles at the bottom of the beer and produces a crisper taste. 

Different strains of yeast create different kinds of beer, but beer doesn’t have to be limited to a single strain; using several strains can give your beer a more complex flavour. It’s something the brewers at Luppolo experiment with. “The world of craft beer is vast and we're just constantly learning new things with yeast strains and brewing techniques and styles,” he says. 

Hops

Hops are often lauded as the soul of beer because they help with foam stability, keep beer fresher for longer and act as a bittering agent. Hops produce a variety of flavours and aromas when added to beer. 

“Hops is one of the things that gives beer different flavour profiles,” Ryan says. “You get fruity notes, piney, earthy flavours and aromas, and bitterness to balance the sweetness.” 

Italian pilsners, for example, were inspired by German pilsners, one of the most commonly brewed lager styles in the world. Italian pilsners, however, are dry-hopped—adding hops to beer that has already been fermented to give it a stronger floral aroma. This makes them far more hoppy, bitter and aromatic than German pilsners. 

One of the first beers Ryan recalls getting excited about was an Indian pale ale by Central City Brewers + Distillers over a decade ago. “I hadn’t tasted anything like it. It was really hoppy, really bitter, and just an eye opener to the bigger flavours that are in craft beer.” 

Regardless of the grains you choose, the fermentation process or hopping method you use, or adjuncts (such as apricots or limes) you include, Ryan says beer tastes best when it has character and complexity and “is true to whatever type of beer it's trying to be.” 

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