First things first, could you tell us a little bit about your brewery?

João Guimarães: Debron Bier was founded seven years ago. It was one of the first craft breweries here in the state of Pernambuco in Northeastern Brazil. Initially, we started with more classic style beers, primarily lagers, pilsners and we had an IPA. And then, a year later, we started to expand into IPA variations—Vienna, Weizen, Golden Ale, the Empire Stout, and several other styles. We have many line styles that we can offer to market frequently.

When did you first start brewing with Kettle Redi?

João: Many of our beers come in brown or green bottles, so we’ve always needed our beer to be light resistant. Other products we’ve used in the past to deal with light-stuck flavors are hard to use. They come in a can and they are not homogenous. So you have to heat it up, then homogenize it, to get the dosage that we wanted—otherwise you’d be pouring this stratified liquid. So every time you’d pour it, you get different layers in different fractions you might use. So, you have to heat it up before using—also because it’s very, very viscous.

And did Kettle Redi help you solve this?

João: Yes, yes. Kettle Redi is very easy to dose. We didn’t have to heat it, and it was very easy to measure and pour. It was much, much easier having a homogeneous product to work with from the start.

How did Kettle Redi perform in the beer?

João: Well, to be honest, there was no difference in the final beers, which is what we were hoping for. It was a perfect replacement for the product we used to brew with. The bitterness was virtually the same, and we only had to make minor adjustments to the recipe. But, as I said, the dosing was much easier and there was less prep needed, so that made a big difference for us.

Would you recommend Kettle Redi to a colleague of yours from other breweries?

João: Yes, I would recommend it—even for people who don’t use clear or green bottles. If you are going to have a beer that will have a very long shelf life, I recommend using Kettle Redi because you will never have light-struck problems. Even when you package beer in dark bottles, over time there is often light exposure, or even at the point of sale. With Kettle Redi you have the security of knowing that the flavor will not be affected.

That’s the interesting point. Because even in places like South America or Africa, where there is a lot of sun—and beers often need to be transported over long distances.

João: We haven’t done any formal shelf-life testing, specifically. But I just got a sample of some beer that is about four months old and, sensorially, there hasn’t been any light-struck or off flavors that we have detected. So, we’ve been very happy with Kettle Redi.

Thanks so much for talking with us today!

To learn more about Kettle Redi®, visit our new product page. To give Kettle Redi a try, contact your HAAS representative, or your favorite HAAS distribution partner. And, please, let us know what you think!

Cheers!