Known for their high-gravity beers and irreverent attitude, the Struise Brouwers have injected fresh energy into Belgian beer over the past two decades. Yet the systems they’ve built to brew these big beers are as creative as the beers themselves.

Jamie Bogner , Joe Stange Apr 8, 2022 - 5 min read

Today, the brewery operates with a brewhouse that is as unique as their beers—two mash tuns, with internal vessels and screens that lift and drain the mash, to feed three separate kettles. The team brews four turns per day on the system, filling a fermentor one-quarter full as fermentation starts. Over the following days, subsequent brews fill the tank as the carefully controlled fermentation progresses. By adjusting the mash temperatures of each day’s brews, they’re able to approximate a step-mash regimen without tight temperature control and automation in the brewhouse.

In this episode, cofounder Urbain Coutteau discusses the creative and the technical, including:

Launched on a shoestring budget, the Struise team has always had to rely on clever problem-solving—what Coutteau refers to as “peasant intelligence.” That spirit is alive and well at the brewery today, scaled to address bigger challenges, in bigger ways.

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This episode is sponsored by BSG CraftBrewing. Explore a whole universe of hop sensory with unique varieties like Cashmere, Comet, Triumph, El Dorado, and many more. Sourced directly from growers and processed at BSG’s FSSC-certified facility in Yakima to bring you only the very best hops, from farmer to fermenter. For contracting, spot sales, and more info, reach out to us at [email protected]

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Jamie Bogner is the Cofounder and Editorial Director of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine®. Email him at [email protected] .

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