Why Adjusting a Recipe For Consistency Can Be Important

​Jeremiah Johnson​ points out that a​ focus on high​-​quality​/​no-nonsense beer​ is vital for any brewery to survive​​ in a crowded beer market​.

​The ​Great Falls, Montana brewery won’t chase ​styles.

​”We make a Hazy IPA that is popular,” Johnson said. “Aside from that, we stick to our core styles for the most part.”

Although it’s been discussed, the brewery has not swapped out any hops for any of its core products in an attempt to update the brand to help with any shifting consumers’ needs.

“It’s been discussed but never made the decision to do so,” he said.

​But recipe adjustment can help in some matters.​

​Making sure your batches are consistent in similar flavor profiles means a constant analysis and adjustment for variations in water, hops, and malt.

​Whether it’s through perception or ​changes to their palate​,​ a beer ​a consumer loved ​just two years ago, they could lose interest quickly now. Breweries ​constantly combat that.

The core beers for Seattle’s Stoup Brewing are constantly being evaluated for quality, but Brad Benson said the changes to core beers are done gradually.

“We have a strong selection of rotating styles and one-off IPAs,” he ​said. “These allow us to try out new ideas and keep an eye on consumer’s shifting palates.”

The flagships for Cheboygan Brewing has undergone very few changes over the last few years.

Brewmaster Brian Lindsay did point to IPA #11 as being the exception.

“As IPAs around the country started shifting away from the ultra-bitter West Coast style to reflect more juicy hop characteristics, we felt it was necessary to tone down the IBUs of that brand,” he said.

Instead of creating a new brand Cheboygan made small changes to maintain the same hop flavor profile but decreased the bittering addition. The resulting product is what Lindsay describes as a more balanced IPA that showcases more depth of hop flavor without the piney finish.

“Changes like this are essential to staying relevant,” he said. “Consumer preference is always evolving sometimes cyclical and sometimes in completely new directions.”