Description
The use of wooden vessels for storage, transportation, fermentation or aging of beer is deeply rooted in history. Today’s talented brewers are innovating, experimenting and enthusiastically embracing the seemingly mystical complexity of flavours and aromas derived from wood.
From the souring effects of microbes that take up residence in wood to the character drawn from barrels or foeders, this book covers the history, physiology, microbiology and flavor contributions of wood, as well as the maintenance of wooden vessels. Join Dick Cantwell and Peter Bouckaert as they examine the many influences of wood as a vehicle for contributing tremendous complexity to beers fermented and aged within it.
Explore the many influences of wood as a vehicle for contributing tremendous complexity to beers fermented and aged within it. Wood & Beer: A Brewer’s Guide is about both wood and beer, and the mysteries that arise when the two come together.
About the Authors:
Dick Cantwell is among the most well-respected and experienced craft brewers, co-founding Elysian Brewing Company in 1996, where he served as head brewer until its sale to Anheuser-Busch in 2015.
During his tenure, Elysian was named Large Brewpub of the Year three times at the Great American Beer Festival® (1999, 2003 and 2004). In 2004, Cantwell received the Brewers Association’s Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing.
Peter Bouckaert, co-author of Wood & Beer (Brewers Publications, 2016) relocated to the U.S. in 1996 to become New Belgium Brewing Company’s brewmaster in Ft. Collins, Colo. Bouckaert had previouslyl brewed for a decade at Brewery Rodenbach. When Peter joined New Belgium, the company’s portfolio included five Belgian-inspired beers.
He was an early advocate of brewing hoppier beers outside the Belgian tradition, exploring IPAs, Czech-style lagers, fruits, spices, wood-aging and fermentation, and experimenting with yeast and microbe strains from around the world.
Peter earned the equivalent of a Master’s degree in brewing and fermentation technology from the University of Ghent, Belgium, as well as a Quality Engineer degree from CKZ Kortrijk. He was honored to be awarded the 2013 Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing by the Brewers Association.
