Tips for adding fruit and spices to your brew from Cincinnati’s Urban Artifact

Urban Artifact is one of Ohio’s most interesting craft breweries. The Cin City brand built its taproom and music venue into the heart of a historic 1873 church (it looks awesome) in the hip neighborhood of Northside, and its specialty is fruited and sour beer creations that are both adventurous and delicious. Recently, Bret Kollmann Baker, brewer and owner at Urban Artifact, appeared on BrewDog’s YouTube channel (a Brew School segment) to give out some tips for how to use fruits and spices when brewing. Perhaps, like me, you are familiar with Baker’s excellent Twitter feed, which entertains me on a weekly basis.

That’s pure gold. Now enjoy more of Baker’s charm and expert insights in this video above. What’s the best and most economical way to capture fruit flavors in a beer recipe? Well, you can use fresh fruit, 100 percent fruit juice or maybe fruit puree, but which fruit to use? Baker suggest fruits that exude depth and go beyond “sweet” like plums, raspberries and blackberries that do really well and get “loud” when fermented. When pairing fruit with a particulate style (stout to IPA), Baker educates on ideas like contrasting, enhancing and complementing. Learn more in the video above, and then definitely make the trek to Urban Artifact. It’s one of the best breweries in the Buckeye State.