Esters

You don’t need fruit to brew a fruit-flavored beer—malt, sugar, hops, and yeast can all be used to mimic the character of various fruits. Yet, once mastered, there is another use for this power of deception: boosting the flavors of real fruit.

Josh Pfriem, brewmaster and cofounder of pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon, breaks down their approach to Kölsch-Style Ale—an exercise in precision and a gold-medal winner at last year’s Great American Beer Festival.

Open fermentation is not a method used by many breweries, especially for IPAs—though Russian River is a notable exception, as is Anchor Brewing. Here, Anchor head brewer Scott Ungermann talks pros and cons.

Leave understatement to the lagers. These big, estery wheats celebrate the fine flavors of rich fermentation.