111: Brewmaster Peter Bouckaert on Brewing With Wood, Creativity in the Brewhouse, and the New Belgium Sale to Kirin

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more bombastic, opinionated brewer than Purpose Brewing & Cellars’ Peter Bouckaert. But with decades of experience in both Europe and the US, leading the brewhouse for iconic breweries, he’s earned the right to speak his mind. In this episode, he shares thoughts on a range of technical brewing subjects, from using wood as a spice, to malt biotransformation, using yeast to unlock the flavors of ingredients, his decision process behind ingredient additions, toxicology screening when using new ingredients, and more. But the conversation really heats up when Bouckaert hops on his soapbox and delves into the philosophy behind brewing, from style constrictions to inspiration from the culinary world and the ways brewing is far superior in a creative sense to winemaking or distilling. “I love the brewing process and think we should treat [brewing] as more important than any winery,” says Bouckaert. “Opus One? That’s a joke. That’s a marketing ploy. Compared to Purpose? There’s way more happening here, flavor-wise.” Throughout, Bouckaert remains committed to the new. Moving things forward, trying new ingredients and processes, and building a better, higher touch experience for beer consumers. In this episode, he discusses the hows and whys of this different approach. 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