476: Matt Topping of COVA Finds Fruit Beer Gold with a Focus on Fresh Flavor and Drinkability

About this episode

Matt Topping discusses innovative techniques for brewing fruit beers at COVA Brewing.

Matt Topping of COVA Brewing in Norfolk, Virginia, has a knack for winning medals with his fruit beers—but they aren’t what you think. From the full fruit refermentation to the light herbal spicing, he’s found an equation that’s equally successful on draft in the taproom and on the final judging table at the World Beer Cup. From slightly higher pH to low mash temps for fermentable wort, and from frozen purée to Ebbegarden kveik for the primary fermentation, he’s built a systematic approach to both the gose-style base and to the fruits and spices he layers on top. In this episode, Topping discusses: using Lactobacillus plantarum from Goodbelly for souring wort low mash temperatures for greater fermentability using frozen rather than aseptic purée to maintain the fruit flavor’s fresh edge strategically adding salt and hibiscus in the brite to dial in perfect amounts cleverly pairing fruit-and-spice flavors such as rosemary-lemon, passion fruit–hibiscus, and more proper temperature for herb steeping brewing with difficult ingredients such as watermelon and strawberry controlling finished pH for greater function And more. G&D Chillers A quick word for the brewers out there…

People in this episode

Guest: Matt Topping

Topics covered

• fruit beer
• brewing techniques
• souring wort
• fermentability
• flavor pairing
• brewing challenges

Keywords

• fruit beer
• souring
• Lactobacillus
• brewing techniques
• flavor pairing
• G&D Chillers

Sponsors

G&D Chillers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: COVA Brewing

Products: Lactobacillus plantarum, Goodbelly, Ebbegarden kveik, G&D Chillers

Places: Norfolk, Virginia

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