Why I Brew With Briess
Dan Carey, New Glarus Brewing Co.
“Brewing to me is alchemy. It’s magic. It’s a wonderful combination of art and science.”
It’s partly being a chef because you’re cooking something. Flavor is complex and difficult. The magic of that combination, that alchemy, that Renaissance mindset is interesting to me.
“I like dealing with Briess because like our business, they’re a family‐run business. They’re a family‐owned business.”
They have the same values that we do. They’re quality led. They understand us. They are always getting better. They’re always trying to improve their game, and they always surprise us with new and interesting products. So, they’re a good partner for us.
At New Glarus Brewing Company, we’ve made hundreds of different beers. In a given year, we might make 20, and most of those beers in one way or another contain products from Briess. Briess caramel malt is extremely important to our number‐one‐ and number‐two‐selling beer because those beers must be consistent. Our customers expect the beer to taste the same every time.
“To really understand the malting process, we’re always testing new malts, and one of the reasons that we like to deal with Briess is they’re very open to collaboration, to trying different things.”
Malt is something that I don’t really think brewers spend enough time on. I first started buying malt from Briess in 1982. Roger picked up the phone, and I told him who I was. And I was going to make a bock beer, so he literally said, “Grab a pen, and let’s go through a recipe together.” And from that, I made a purchase of specialty malts from Briess and made bock beer. Yeah, I remember the first phone call with Roger. Even now, 40 years later I can still hear his voice like it was yesterday.
“Briess was and is the preeminent supplier of specialty malts in the United States.”
They are very strongly invested in the craft‐brewing business. They have been since day one. And they have always been the go‐to supplier for specialty malts in the United States.
