BREWER I ES
hopefully nearing the edge of the forest.” While the cancellation of the beer festival – the second-largest in the country – is a setback, Milton Brewery will be hosting another in its stead in Waterbeach to raise a glass to Cambridge brewing. “It’s enormously more diverse than it was when we started,” says Richard. stamped its seal on the scene, despite never having poured at the Cambridge Beer Festival – something the pandemic prevented. Heeding the global craft beer movement, its brewers – Stuart, Nicholas and Aureja – embark on in-depth research FRESH NEW FLAVOURS BrewBoard, founded in 2017, has before getting to work, consulting the Brewers Association on what hops and malts result in certain flavours, sampling beers from around the world and gathering concepts for future projects.
IF SOMETHING HAPPENS WITH THE YEAST, IT CAN HAVE A MUCH LARGER IMPACT THAN YOU THINK
the company. Experimenting with various yeast strains, he recently procured a San Franciscan variety which yields flavours in- between lager and ale. “With anything that comes in contact with a living organism, you’re never 100% sure of reliability,” he explains. “Big breweries have a controlled process. If something happens with the yeast, or you add the hops a bit earlier, it can have a much larger impact than you would think. It’s quite exciting – your predictions are never set in stone.”
“It’s really interesting to discuss ideas with other brewers, because they might have heard of a technique or tried something that you haven’t,” says Nicholas. “We want the craft beer scene in Cambridge to expand, so it’s nice to support others.” Stuart explains that over the past six months, a group chat has been kindled among local breweries. Nicholas, BrewBoard’s resident microbiologist, studied a PhD in the subject before bringing his scientific approach to
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