Episode 132: How to Prod a Brewery [Pushing the Boundaries with Every Beer, featuring Vault City Brewing]

Edinburgh's Vault City Brewing have earned a reputation in a short time as one of Britain's most well-respected, sought after breweries.  Bucking the hazy producing trend, Vault City focus solely on Modern Sour Beers.With flavours such as Guava Banana Banoffee Toffee Smoothie, Apple Cherry Cinnamon Swirl and Strawberry & Lime Session Sour, Vault City have captured the heart and imagination of craft beer drinkers with their off-the-wall flavour combinations.Sour beers have increased ever more in popularity since the 2010’s, to the point now where they are mainstream enough to be stocked by national grocery stores.  Brands such as North Brewing Co, BrewDog and Vocation here in the UK all have a variety of sour beers on the shelves.It was the placement of Edinburgh’s Vault City, though - a brewery that solely focuses on modern sour beers - that caused a bit of a stir recently when they were listed in one Britain’s biggest supermarket chains.For some, this was a huge step forward for modern sour beers, while for others, another example of supermarkets attacking craft beer.  This is one of the many topics I discuss in this week’s episode with Steven Smith-Hay, co-founder of Vault City.It’s not hard to see why craft beer veterans love them so much and why people who may not necessarily be into traditional beer styles - dominated by bitterness - may enjoy a glass or two of Vault City’s sour beers.Me and Steve chat at length about the brewery, the challenges they’ve faced - especially in their cuckoo brewing days using lactobacillus in another host brewery - and what the future holds for this contemporary brewery pushing the boundaries of modern beer.THIS WEEK'S EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY LALLEMAND BREWINGLallemand Brewing, a division of Lallemand Inc., a global producer of yeast and bacteria, is helping breweries achieve their growth and quality goals by offering products, services, and education.Lallemand Brewing’s premium brewing yeasts and bacteria deliver unmatched consistency, reliability, and purity, allowing brewers to take full control of the brewing process.At the forefront of innovation, Lallemand Brewing recently launched several dry yeast products: LalBrew Voss, LalBrew Verdant IPA, and WilBrew Philly Sour.For more information about Lallemand products in the UK please contact our local representative Andrew Paterson, global contacts details for the UK and other territories can be found via our website www.lallemandbrewing.comADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM CRISP MALTSince 1870, Crisp Malt has been producing the finest malt at Great Ryburgh in Norfolk. With 5 maltings located in the best barley growing areas in the UK, they produce a wide range of malts and non-malted cereals in 25kg sacks for craft brewers and distillers all over the world.  Visit crispmalt.com to find out moreFollow Hop Forward on Social MediaFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn