Mixing it up, from a twist on kettle sours to cocktail-inspired beers, is what Robin Barden likes to do as head brewer at Edge Brewing, Barcelona, Spain.
“We are a mixed group of guys – British, American, Ukrainian, Argentinian, Catalan,” he says.
Edge Brewing was established in Barcelona in 2013 by two Americans, Scott Vanover and Alan Sheppard, who joined the craft beer revolution in Europe by buying a brewery in the city’s Poble Nou district.
They are best known for kettle-soured beers combined with fruit, spice and herbs. Barden brought these beers to the Leuven Innovation Beer Festival 2019:
- Triple Virgin Cherries, Belgian Tripel with Cherries, 7.7%: Triple refers not just to the yeast and malt but also to the triple fermentation – involving a batch of sour lacto fermented wort, regular fermentation with a Belgian yeast strain, finishing with champagne yeast towards the end.
- Patxaran Sour, Berliner Weisse with Sloe Berries & Spices, 5.1%: collab with BrewDog (Scotland), and inspired by the classic Spanish liquor, Pataxaran. It includes a dose of sloe berries along with a touch of anis, cinnamon, and coffee.
- Blush, Rosé IPA, 7.2%: collab with Dry & Bitter (Denmark), A dry IPA with Hallertau Blanc hops and infused with hibiscus.
- Pionero, DDH Double IPA, 8.2%: Their first beer in a can.
- Maya, Imperial Pilsner, 8.2%: Collab with To Øl (Denmark), brewed with all English malts and German hops (Mandarina Bavaria). Lagered in tanks for three months.
- Barrica 31, Bourbon BA Imperial Stout, 9.8%: A blend of two Imperial Stouts barrel aged in Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, and Jim Beam barrels for 18 months.
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See the other fantastic Beer Idiots interviews at Leuven Innovation Beer Festival 2019
- André Janssens of Brouwerij Hof ten Dormaal, Belgium
- Pekka Kääriäinen of Bryggeri Helsinki and Lammin Saht, Finland
- Philippe Minne of Brasserie Minne, Belgium.
- Patrik Hellström of Bryggverket brewery, Sweden.
- Casper Vorting and Gitte Holmboe own Bøgedal Brew in Vejle, Denmark.
- Julien Bretheau of À Tue-Tête, Switzerland.
- Iacopo Lenci, brewmaster and owner of Birrificio Brùton, Italy
- Pim Zomerdijk of Brouwerij De Moersleutel, the Netherlands.
- Paul Herbert of UK-based Kent Brewery.
- David Cohen of Dancing Camel Brewery, Israel.
- Robin Barden of Edge Brewing, Barcelona, Spain.
- Breandán Kearney of Siphon Brewing, Damme, Belgium.
- Stephen McGirr of Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
- Vasyl Mikulin of Varvar Brew, Kyiv, Ukraine has been mixing his experimental beers.
- Botond Prischetzky, brand manager at Monyo Brewing, Budapest, Hungary
- Pia Morgenroth, founder of G’Bräu, Berlin, Germany.
