New hops

PART 1: KEHRWIEDER CREATIVE BREWERY

Craft beer has firmly established itself in cities like Hamburg: in kiosks and supermarkets, young competitors are lining up alongside the market leaders, offering the palate more than just the familiar taste of Pilsner, and in more and more pubs, new creations or revived brewing styles are bringing variety to the glass. Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei has done some real pioneering work in this regard. In the first part of our series, we introduce you to these trendsetters – and reveal why, of all things, a non-alcoholic beer is their best-seller.

“Kehrwieder” – this old Hanseatic farewell was once used to remind seafarers to return home one day. Oliver and Julia Wesseloh followed this very motto. The graduate brewer and his wife began their overseas adventure in 2003 in Dominica, followed by the Cayman Islands, where Olli oversaw the construction of a brewery. This was followed by professional postings in South and North America. “Beer has taken us to the most beautiful places,” says Julia.

Bringing the trend with them

The Wesselohs spent a total of eight years abroad before returning to Hamburg. On the one hand, because their two daughters were starting school. On the other, because Olli “saw the light”, as he puts it today: in North America, he came into contact with the US craft beer scene and visited the various brewers. He discovered a diversity that was virtually unknown in his home country at the time – and which was unlikely to be a sure-fire success in a land of long-established Pils drinkers. Nevertheless, the couple decided to set up the creative brewery in Hamburg – as one of the first representatives of the scene in the north.

Olli made up for the lack of start-up capital with his craftsmanship: in Bavaria, he built a brewing system from discarded milk tanks and stored it in a barn until, in 2014, he found the young company’s current home on the site of a former dairy in Harburg. Prior to that, the founding members of the “Deutsche Kreativbrauer” association had been brewing their beer at friendly companies. The pair deliberately avoided investors throughout this period in order to retain decision-making power in their own hands at all times.

Every bottle a new taste experience

Boss Olli’s ideas are a sight to behold – or rather, a taste to savour. From cold-hopped lager, where the hops are added to the storage tank during the brewing process, to the popular Single-Hop India Pale Ale series (SHIPA) – each featuring different hop varieties and fruity notes – right through to a full-bodied porter with a hint of sweetness, Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei offers a range of bottled taste experiences. Alongside six standard varieties, there are many other variants in circulation, which are adapted to the season. For the coming winter, special editions aged in whisky and wine casks will enrich the product range.

The bestseller, however, is a non-alcoholic beer. What may sound ironic at first given the wide selection can be explained logically: the “überNormalNull” IPA tastes – unlike many other zero-per-cent beers – really good. This is down not only to the strong hop character typical of an India Pale Ale, but also to a very special yeast that prevents the malt sugar from fermenting. Unlike other methods, this means the fermentation process does not need to be artificially halted, nor does the alcohol need to be removed afterwards.

And the winner is…

The “überNormalNull” clearly appeals to judges too: it has repeatedly come out on top against the competition at international festivals, fitting perfectly into the success story of this young company, which has already been named “Hamburg’s Best Brewer” five times. In 2013, Olli also secured the title of World Beer Sommelier Champion. The only thing missing now is an award for the most fitting company name.