An overview of the arc of food and drink history, from ‘The Real’, into ‘The Matrix’ of heavily engineered foods, and the modern ‘rebellion’ of which craft brewers and wild fermentationists are a part.

A both technical and philosophical/spiritual (What is ‘real’?). Navigating the flow between the spiritual side and the technical side of the work is really the life’s work of most of us.

Volatile phenols contribute spicy, smoky, or solventy aromas to beer. While phenolic aromas are prized in certain beer styles like hefeweizen or Belgian beers, they are often considered defects in others, to the point that the industry commonly refers to phenolics as “POF” (Phenolic Off Flavour). Yet, the discussion around phenolics is often reduced to a simple binary concept of yeasts and beers being POF-negative or POF-positive.

This talk will cover how phenolic aromas are formed from flavourless precursors. We share data showing that phenolic aromas are produced across a spectrum of intensity, within both Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces yeasts. Practical advice on how to control phenolic aromas in beer will be provided. Attendees will also taste beer spiked with common phenolic aroma compounds to gain first-person experience in clearly identifying these flavours.

One yeast good, two yeasts better! Lager swept around the world but Britain maintained an ale brewing tradition, and mixed culture and multi-strain fermentation played a part in this.

When single strain pure yeast cultures were developed at the Carlsberg brewery they were rapidly adopted by breweries in many countries. But they found few fans in Britain. From the 1890s to the present day we will look at why pure cultures didn’t work for British ales and how the use of multi-strain yeasts has continued in the best of British beers.

Kester found a quest in working with the unknown. This is all about brewing with Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Lachancea thermotolerans, Lactobacillus sakei.

From cell to Corny keg, brewing with actual wild yeasts!

“My argument is that bottom fermenting yeasts are undervalued for brewing beer other than pilsner/lager beers. I wish to present this argument based on practical experience at the former Christoffel brewery in Roermond and my decade of experience at Gulpener Brewery. Bottom fermented yeasts are extremely interesting because they can actively ferment within a temperature range of 2 to 30 degrees Celsius. Due to this temperature range, the brewer can exert significant influence on the formation of fermentation aromas. Relatively speaking, bottom yeasts also produce much more aroma than their top fermenting sisters at a given temperature. Thanks to “natural” selection for the production of pilsner beers, we have strains at our disposal that handle hop aromas very mildly and do not consume them as food. And last but not least, these yeasts are extremely suitable for classic active lagering of the beer. Naturally, there are some practical challenges involved in using bottom yeasts for primary fermentation and active lagering. Points for discussion include wort aeration, cultivation, and yeast extraction.”

A wild entanglement of fungus and plant, connection and exchange. Neither singular nor isolated, mycorrhizae form the extensions and belowground networks connecting plants, roots and the living soil. Often described as mutualistic symbioses, these relationships may however rest on dependence—arrangements never entirely without tension. A talk exploring physiology, ecology and nutrient economics.

Gijs Troost, head brewer at de Gooische bierbrouwerij has a fascination for the use of heirloom grains (and alikes) in his brewery. In this talk he will explain the need for these choices, and give tips and tricks when using these varieties.

Table beer, the low ABV beers as seen in Belgian can be considered a historic beer style. They’ve had many transformations during the last decades, both in recipes as in cultural value.

While non-alcoholic beers are becoming a huge success, classic table beers became the about least sexy beer one can be seen with, even in Belgium.

What is the (modern) history of this style? What is, was, its cultural function, and can we revive this nourishing beer?

As requested! When a couple of years ago, Carnivale did its enigmatic camping edition, we had Ed Wray over talking about Beer and revolution. Workers controlling breweries during the Spanish revolution, German anarchist immigrants with their breweries and bars in New york around the fin de siècle, and no, this is not about that recently closed brewery in Aberdeen.