115: Cycle Brewing’s Doug Dozark on the Choices That Matter When Barrel-Aging (and Pasteurizing) Beer

Over the past decade, Cycle Brewing (St. Petersburg, Florida) has made a name for themselves with big barrel-aged stouts. These stouts make up more than half of the brewery’s yearly production, and are so important to the brewery that they custom-designed a brewhouse with a massively oversized mash tun (more than twice the capacity of the kettle) in order to brew they efficiently. In this episode, owner and head brewer Doug Dozark walk through everything from recipe design to blending process, touching on hot-button subjects like using sugars in high gravity beers (“If you can get over some of the preconceived notions about adding sugar, and just think of these as materials, and different colors on your palette to paint with, it opens up a lot.”) to caramel components in the malt bill, to the ideal age for bourbon barrels, temperature for barrels, and one of the most controversial positions of all—his love of pasteurization. Many factors impact the flavors and stability of high gravity, adjunct-laden beers, and here Dozark shares his experience, and dispels the myths, surrounding the dark art of barrel-aging imperial stouts. This episode is brought to you by: G&D Chillers ( https://gdchillers.com ) : As the brewing industry’s premier choice for glycol chilling, G&D Chillers has set the standard on quality, service, reliability and dedication to their customer’s craft. For 25 years G&D has led the way with innovative solutions for the craft brewing industry. Contact G&D Chillers today at 800.555.0973 or reach out online at Gdchillers.com. Mention Craft Beer and Brewing podcast and you’ll receive up to $1000 worth of glycol with the purchase of any new G&D chiller unit. Tavour ( https://about.tavour.com ) : Tavour makes it possible to access and discover the highest-rated craft beers from all over the world through the free mobile app. Twice a day you get access to a new limited beer from an independent craft brewer. Imagine sipping a Vanilla Ice Cream Stout from Wild Leap Brewing in Georgia or Juicy Bits IPA from WeldWerks in Colorado. Join the independent beer community today and get $10 in beer money with code “brewing”. Clarion Lubricants ( https://www.clarionlubricants.com ) : Clarion Lubricants, balancing barley and hops is your expertise, food-grade lubricants is ours. The team at Clarion knows that when it comes to making great beer, you’re the expert, and when it comes to supplying food-grade lubricants backed by service-oriented professionals, they're the experts. Clarion will work with you to create an efficient lubrication program that helps protect your brewery. To speak with an expert dial 1-855-MY-CLARION (855-692-5274) or visit clarionlubricants.com. Clarion Lubricants. The expert that experts trust. Oktober Can Seamers ( https://oktoberdesign.com/podcast ) : Whether you’re a full-scale production brewery, a taproom, or a homebrewer striving for the ultimate setup, Oktober Can Seamers has THE small-scale canning solution. They’ve proven that breweries increase revenue through to-go sales with Oktober Can Seamers, and everyone loves to sell more beer. You’re only a few clicks away from selling more beer, just head over to oktoberdesign.com/podcast and use offer code “jamie” to save $50 on any can seamer purchase. Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast