Wicked Weed’s Richard Kilcullen joins BrewDog

Brewdog has found the brewmaster for its Overworks sour facility with the hiring of Wicked Weed’s Richard Kilcullen.

Construction on the sour beer facility started this week and the Scottish brewery said Kilcullen combines more than  a decade’s worth of brewing experience with a lifetime obsession with homebrewing old-world styles and wild ales.

Kilcullen has been with Wicked Weed since its opening, moving up from assistant brewer to overseeing its barrel programme in only three years.

He explained: “These beers take months to create and you can taste that time and layered development.

“To me, these ‘cultured’ ales create a sense of place and terroir that you can never get from conventional beer.

“You get the natural barnyard notes of wild yeasts, the vinous notes of aged hops, the bright acidity of fruit fermentations and the minerality of the local water, all playing together in a layered beer that begs you to take your time and think while you enjoy it.”

The geographical shift will also allow Kilcullen to call on the wild flora of Aberdeenshire in the production of beers at Overworks.

He added: “One of my greatest passions as a brewer is incorporating the local flavorus and flora into my beers. I look forward to finding native yeasts and microbes everywhere from the heather-strewn fields, the oldest of orchards, and maybe some of the icy peaks in the Highlands as well.

“The Scots are no strangers to wild yeast and barrel aging and I hope to tap into that tradition to give BrewDog beers an identity all their own.”

Photo: Brewdog

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