History & Culture
Beer Terroir - Place and Taste in the Pre-Prohibition Rocky Mountain West - Braden Neihart
Braden Neihart [+]
Independent Scholar
Braden Neihart received his M.A. in history from Colorado State University in 2019. His thesis, "Frontier Beer: A Spatial Analysis of Denver Breweries, 1859-1876," examined how Denver breweries acquired resources and situated themselves in local and national networks in order to compete. He is interested in how beer helps understand racial, cultural, economic, and environmental patterns. His research focuses on beer in Pre-Prohibition Rocky Mountain West.
Description
Necessary for fermentation, yeast is a microscopic fungus that surrounds us and grows on all matter of organic material. They float through the air and facilitate fermentation. Saison and farmhouse ales are the most notable styles that rely on yeast terroir; they are open fermented and let local yeasts that cling to walls of the brewers to fall in. This is many ways where we will see terroir the most as yeast is a local product. It can be cultured and imported, but quickly takes on new characteristics.