“Vanilla” in common use, has become synonymous with “boring” or “plain.” And yet, brewers will tell you that it is an excellent flavor in beer – and not just stouts. Real connoisseurs of vanilla will even tell you it is one of the most complex spices, with a broad array of aromas and flavors coming from different varieties of vanilla grown in different areas around the world. Think you know vanilla? Think again. There’s nothing boring or plain about it.
Vanilla Expert Guests
Horus Aged Ales was started in in April 2015 by Kyle Harrop. It has been a one man operation since the beginning. It was built around a business model that would allow him to do it on a small scale and work a full time aerospace career. Horus has had a bottle club named The Convocation for seven years now that has grown from its original 200 members to 600 members now. There is a lottery for a few new members every May.
Ted Jones has a long history in restaurants and food services, having started seven restaurants, and other companies involved in commercial kitchens and ingredients. Since 1993, Ted has been working with vanilla and now sources vanilla from over 50 countries at Vanillas of the World, supplying major internet resellers, ice cream manufacturers, breweries, chocolate makers and spice companies.
Additional Listening
This Episode is Sponsored by:
Estrella Galicia is an independent, family-owned brewery in northwest Spain, founded in 1906. Estrella Galicia Cerveza Especial, a world class lager is brewed with the finest malt and locally cultivated Galician hops in a state-of-the-art facility in A Coruna. Recognized around the world for quality and exceptional character. Estrella Galicia is “A beer like no other.”
Don Tse
Living near seven malthouses, Don Tse is a freelance beer and malt writer and consultant known globally as The Don of Beer. He has been active in craft beer for over 25 years and has famously sampled and written tasting notes on almost 27,000 different beers. He is the co-host of the All About Beer podcast. Don has also written for magazines and presented on beer in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine and Singapore. Nobody in those countries thinks his jokes are funny.
Em Sauter
Em Sauter is an Advanced Cicerone®, cartoonist, author, beer reviewer, international beer judge and public speaker who runs the award winning website Pints and Panels, which focuses on visual beer education. Her first book "Beer is for Everyone! (of Drinking Age)" was published in 2017 by One Peace Books. Her second book "Hooray for Craft Beer!" was released in April 2022 with Brewers Publications. Em is also co-host of the All About Beer Podcast. She lives in New England with her husband Matt and two cats- Milbo and The Geen.