A Conversation on Craft with BrewBilt Brewing
Photos by Ingrid Nelson
Bennett Buchanan, BrewBilt Brewing CEO, co-founder, and resident “Culture and Vision” chassis for the local craft brewery and taproom, BrewHaus, in Nevada City, sits beside Brian Williams, Head of Sales, and Austen Conn, Head Brewer. Among the three, none have lived more than 5 years in Nevada County, and yet the characteristics of their impact have become endemic to our towns, creating a flavor, a hang, and a beer that has surpassed neighboring breweries in both volume and expectation.
A lager-leading brewery, BrewBilt prioritizes principle ingredients, with beer and beliefs centered on the same ideas that make farm-to-table dining so quintessential Nevada County, establishing an agriculturally-focused brewery, and investing locally into a partnership with Admiral Maltings in Alameda, California, which contracts directly with family farms in the Sacramento Valley for no-till (reducing soil-erosion) or organic barley, “The heart and soul of a good pint.”
GOLDFOLK: What makes BrewBilt Brewing an improvement over traditional craft beer?
Bennett, CEO: For many years, there was a heavy focus on IPAs and hops as the ‘sexy’ ingredient that makes craft beer. The idea was, malt didn’t matter, it was all about the hops. But if we’re looking at the foundation of beer by weight, malt is the largest ingredient, second only to water. As a lager-focused brewery, every sip of our Cour Four – Wizard Boots Hazy Pale, Party Eyes Kölsch, Jester’s Privilege IPA, and Brain Bypass Helles Lager – is proof of the difference that can be made by simply prioritizing the core components of what makes a great brew. Lagers have a very subtle flavor profile with a lower ABV (alcohol by volume), making them light, crisp, and easy drinking. When we’re not overloading our product with the bitter, citrous, and pine-heavy flavors you get from hops, the flavors of Northern California, of our locally harvested barley, shine through.
Austen, Head Brewer: Most malt, if it’s not shipped from the UK, Germany, Czech Republic, or Belgium, has been sitting in a bag on a shelf anywhere from 6 to 12 months (or more) by the time it gets to the brewer. When we receive our malt, it’s usually days old, and fresh out of the kiln, which means the malt, and the unique components created in the germination process, are still intact. It’s the difference between cutting into sourdough bread fresh from the oven, and sawing through it after it’s sat on the counter for a week. It might be a personal crusade of mine, but I think we’ve all jumped on board with a hyper-awareness of what freshness means for BrewBilt Brewing – both to the consumer, and to the finished product.
Brian, Head of Sales: There’s a lot of conversation around the transport of beer and the damage to the product in the time between the brewhouse and that first crack of the can. We don’t have that at BrewBilt Brewing. Not only do we use local ingredients that haven’t traveled through time zones, but ours go right from the farm, to the malthouse, to our cooler, and into the beer. You can’t get any more fresh. We are hyper-local.
GOLDFOLK: Your tagline reads, “Inspired by European brewing traditions and American craft Innovation.” How does BrewBilt Brewing successfully toe the line between tradition and innovation?
Bennett, CEO: We draw our inspiration from classic European styles and production techniques like fermenting under pressure, cold lagering, and horizontal aging-tanks which allow us to naturally clarify our beers. Where other craft brewers might run their beer through a filter to get it to a visually clear state more quickly, we never use filters in our breweries. These methods sacrifice flavor for time. We also allow our beer to naturally carbonate using the CO₂ that was produced in fermentation, which creates a really pleasant carbonation level and a smaller bubble. Essentially, we’ve just applied patience. We then incorporate these time-honored techniques into our modern American brewery through innovative technologies, like magnetic-inductive flow meters and precision temperature controls, that allow us to execute traditional beer styles with consistency and reliability.
Austen, Head Brewer: There are some lager producers that will make their beer in anywhere from 14 to 20 days. But it takes a minimum of 50 to 60 days for our lager to go through the entire process. Some might say, ‘the beer is just being parked there, nothing’s happening’ but the entire time there’s a natural process occurring. Yeast is a living organism, and we like to think that because we haven’t stripped our beers through filtering or injecting CO₂, our brew remains a living product, which translates into a better flavor experience and taste expression for the consumer.
GOLDFOLK: Let’s talk about BrewHaus. What was the intention behind opening a restaurant and taphouse in Nevada City?
Bennett, CEO: BrewHaus represents our home, our gathering place. It’s a spot where we can open our doors and welcome our community into an environment with our beers on tap, with food that pairs well, and with the same experience and environment we imagined ourselves enjoying when we dreamed up BrewBilt Brewing two years ago. Because of this, we knew we wanted to put extra effort and expense into a build out and design that was not just the standard copy-paste model of what a taproom has been. We wanted to include interesting visual elements that range from the tile we chose, to the greenery, to an incredible draft system. It was very important for us to bring Nevada County a “step-above” when it came to experiencing our product and in terms of food, we wanted something elevated but approachable, which was really the bedrock of our entire mission when we envisioned BrewHaus – elevated but approachable.
Austen, Head Brewer: At BrewHaus we always have our “Core Four” on draft – the Wizard Boots Hazy Pale, Party Eyes Kölsch, Jester’s Privilege IPA, and Brain Bypass Helles Lager – and then we rotate between our seasonal brews. Each of our beers has a particular glass it’s served in, which is something that creates a lot of conversation and curiosity. This method is another nod to our European influence, since this is the way beer is traditionally served in Europe, and each of the glasses accentuate the accompanying style, whether it’s a lager, IPA, Helles, or Kölsch. From the moment we serve our beer, customers notice that we’re doing things differently.
GOLDFOLK: Speaking of seasonal, tell us how BrewBilt Brewing will be celebrating Oktoberfest at BrewHaus?
Austen, Head Brewer: Oktoberfest was born from a wedding that became an annual celebration, so our offering to the Bavarian Prince is our Royal Event Fesbier, with a slightly higher ABV (6%) making it a very rich, jovial, golden beer that’s still very drinkable and refreshing. We’ll have a party at BrewHaus, games, a costume contest, music, and bring people together making it a tradition that our community can continue to celebrate with us year after year.
GOLDFOLK: What does beer mean to you? Why have you chosen to devote your life to the making of craft beer in Nevada County?
Bennett, CEO: I mean, this is our home. I was really attracted to the small town vibe with a very vibrant social scene. It’s the perfect example of what we had in mind for BrewHaus, and what we have in mind for BrewBilt Brewing in general. Beer, in my mind, unites people; it brings them together over a shared love. When there’s so much to disagree about in this modern world, I think it’s very easy to come together and find common ground over a pint. I moved here four years ago, and to be able to contribute something to a really incredible community is very meaningful to me.
300 Spring Street
Nevada City, Ca 95959
