New Columbus craft brewery Species X embraces AI, wild yeast, beer futurism

A craft brewery called Species X opened up in Columbus, Ohio, this week, promoting itself as not just a full service taproom but a research and development hub for experimental brewing. As you can see from these photos, Species X is embracing a neon-soaked technology theme, promising it will be experimenting with AI, data modeling, wild-caught yeast fermentation and genetic engineering to brew some cutting-edge craft beer. To tease this fact, Species X’s Founder and Head Brewer Beau Warren is launching with two series of beers that celebrate tech culture:

• The Silicon Species brand originates from artificial intelligence and machine learning, building unique models to generate novel beer recipes within human-engineered guardrails.
  
• The Carbon Species brand includes fermentation methods that are both novel and ancient — such as yeast hybridization, genetic engineering, mutagenesis, novel capture and spore germination. Below is a delicious-looking example of a Carbon Species variant.

Species X is launching with three beers from each series, with styles ranging “from a light, crisp lager to a unique triple IPA made in collaboration with Prototype Brewery to a sour made with strawberries, lime, pineapple, and vanilla,” according to the press release. There’s also some fun collab ideas going on here. Species X is partnering with Jon Krohn, author, leading thinker in the field of machine learning and host of the SuperDataScience podcast. 

The bar looks to have a cool vibe as well. Species X completely reimagines the former Platform Brewing Co. space into a taproom that doubles as a research and development hub for brewing experimentation. Dig it…

The Species X taproom will be open Wednesday to Sunday, serving beer, spirits and wine alongside a food menu featuring salads, toasted sandwiches and focaccia pizzas, using ingredients that are freshly cut and locally sourced. 

Who is Founder and Brewer Beau Warren? During his eight years in commercial brewing, Beau served as head lab tech and lead brewer at Aslin Beer Co., overseeing quality control, barrel aging and blending programs. He further bolstered his technical skills by earning Cicerone certification (Level II), studying beer microbiology in Canada, and completing data analytics coursework at Ohio State University. This diverse background of sales, production, and analytics fueled the launch of Species X as an innovative new endeavor to push the boundaries of beer brewing. If you live in Ohio and like craft beer, the data indicates you’ll probably enjoy this brewery.