What do you like in a beer?
I like clean, crisp, drier IPAs. In terms of hops, I like fruity, citrusy hops. Mosaic is a new hop that we like. It’s on the fruity side.
How do you come up with new brews?
We do an experimental batch on tap every month. If customers like it, then we develop a label and bottle it. Our Spring Sipper was experimental. It’s a double IPA, on the citrusy side.
Knee Deep has an experimental chocolate hazelnut stout called Stoutella. What’s the backstory?
Our sales manager’s wife was pregnant, and she told us she wanted something with Nutella in it. Chris, our head brewer, had done a mocha cream stout. We changed the recipe to be less roasty and more chocolatey, and we added the hazelnut flavor with an extract. It was good. It might actually get turned into a bottling because of the response we’re getting.
What’s next?
We’re going to try to do a mandarin IPA, using local mandarins.
What’s your favorite Knee Deep beer?
Lupulin River. It’s on the fruity side, with a little bit of pineyness. It’s easy to drink and has a lot of aroma and flavor.
