106: Mitch Steele of New Realm Brewing on Designing Characterful IPAs, Pilsners, and Hard Seltzers

If you brew IPA, you’ve probably read Mitch Steele’s book on the subject. His storied brewing career has taken him from from positions as Brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch and Stone to his newest venture as Brewmaster at Atlanta’s New Realm Brewing. This latest chapter has posed one of the biggest creative challenges he’s faced—designing an entire beer program from scratch. In this episode, Steele discusses creating beers to style that still contain unique character, explores the structure of their hoppy lager, admits to goofing on their first IPA releases and discuses how they made recipe and brand changes to satisfy their customers, cracks the code on hazy IPA and discusses the ways they’ve designed and brewed that style, delves into the resurgence and reinvention of West Coast IPA, shares their innovation process from small scale evaluation brews on up, and talks about their latest tests in the hard seltzer space with what works and what doesn’t. 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. Brew Guru ( https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/brew-guru/ ) : Brew Guru, the free mobile app that alerts you to local discounts on beer, food, and homebrewing supplies! Created by the American Homebrewers Association, Brew Guru is your essential guide to brewing and drinking great beer. Start a 30-day free trial, no credit card info required, when you download Brew Guru for iPhone or Android. Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast