415: Mathieu Paquette of Dunham Goes Hard on House Character

This small brewery in Dunham, Quebec, just north of the Vermont border, features a pub, guesthouse, and extensive beer garden that make it the perfect stop-through or weekend destination for those heading south from Montreal or north from the States. But Brasserie Dunham is much more than a waypoint. Over the past 13 years, the brewery has built a reputation for world-class saisons, finding expression through refined fermentation, an evolving culture, and intriguing use of hops. Today, Dunham brews a range that includes 750 ml bottles of saison as well as cans of lager and pale ale. Yet saison remains core to their identity.

In this episode, head brewer Mathieu Paquette shares their approach to recipe development and process. Along the way, he touches on:

• designing beer for their mineral-heavy well water
• the evolution of yeast and water over a decade-plus of brewing
• using ingredients such as flaked rye, oats, and wheat to add body to dry beers
• maintaining precision in the brewhouse to moderate other downstream factors
• blending modern and classic hops for dynamic range
• building a living mixed culture with periodic backups for safety
• adjusting fermentation temperature dynamics to refine expression
• blending foeder-aged ale into light, dry table beer to add depth
• troubleshooting bottle-conditioning issues
  
• hosting the upstart Bad Bones brewery in the former barrel cellar

And more.

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