For our first installment of Meet the Brewers, a behind-the-scenes snapshot of the hard-working people who produce our bier, we’re introducing you to Mike McGuigan, our resident Englishman. Mike has been brewing with KC Bier Co. for two-and-a-half years, after 22 years as a professional brewer in the U.K. When asked if if he could be any KC Bier Co. bier, he said, “Dunkel; because I’m approachable and well-rounded!” We can always count on Mike for a good bit of that English humour.
Favorite bier to drink:
Dunkel. It’s just got such a good balance of flavours: bready, malty, rounded, clean. It’s relatively simple, but so more-ish. Great on its own, or perfect with KC barbecue, especially my favourite: burnt ends. The bier’s malt sweetness matches the sauce, the carbonation and gentle bitterness cutting through the richness & char.
Favorite bier to brew:
Doppelbock. We use ‘decoction’ for most of our bier, a somewhat rare brewing European lager-brewing technique. It involves boiling a portion of the grain and results in a richer malt flavour. For Doppelbock, we went a step further and triple-decocted the grain. The extra time, attention and a little head-scratching that this involved is a real change from our normal brew days, and to me, the resulting rich, silky mouthfeel and rounded malt sweetness is very much worth the effort.
What do you enjoy most about working at KC Bier Co.?
I love being part of a well-trained, experienced, quality-minded and supportive team of brewers. We all work together to the same end: to make great, tasty, fresh bier.
Most challenging part of the job?
Compared to some of the other breweries I’ve worked at, we run a pretty complex set of procedures, equipment and QA measures and compared to some of the brew crew, I’m a bit of an old duffer, so I’m forever asking questions…the young whippersnappers are very patient with me!
Most rewarding part of the job?
Knowing that our hard work and attention to detail results in some great bier that is drunk and appreciated by people across KC and further afield. A pint or two after work for quality control purposes has its charms too.
