Episode 497: Todd Malloy and Robin Reed of Glenwood Canyon Match Lager Discipline with Brewpub Ingenuity for Medal-Winning Results

Over the past 30 years, the Glenwood Canyon Brewpub has earned an impressive 18 Great American Beer Festival and eight World Beer Cup medals. Mostly recently, there have been back-to-back GABF golds in festbier and a 2024 silver in helles, plus a score of 99 for that same helles from our blind panel at Craft Beer & Brewing—so, they’re showing no sign of letting up.

Brewing lager on a 10-barrel pub system with no mash rakes and a host of other challenges is a physical endeavor that requires intention and precision. But they’ve made thoughtful process and ingredient choices to overcome limitations around decoction and step-mashing.

In this episode, owner Todd Malloy and head brewer Robin Reed share their technical approach to distinctive festbier and helles. Along the way, they discuss:

brewing lager with an open-top, manual mash tun

adjusting malts to replace character that might otherwise be created through decoction

step-mashing by starting thick and adding water for each temperature raise

targeting higher pH to facilitate Maillard reactions

acidifying with sour wort

using a diacetyl-free Andechs strain

balancing festbier with higher final gravity and higher IBUs, plus a small whirlpool hop addition

targeting proper hop intensity for competition beers

filtration and its function in building flavor clarity and contrast