Uiltje Lallemand: You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat

This summer’s boldest Fresh & Fast release—You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat—is a tribute to half a century of swimming in fear. That’s right, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of JAWS, a film that still scares the bejesus out of us. For the occasion, Uiltjebrewmasters teamed up with the yeast gurus at Lallemand to brew a Cold IPA with real bite. Lallemand’s Carlos de la Barra stopped by our brewery for the launch and shared his ambition to inspire a new beer style for beer geeks around the globe: Northern IPA. 

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Too busy or too lazy to read the whole interview? Here’s the gist. When it comes to IPAs, yeast has always taken a back seat to hops. But those days are coming to an end. More craft brewers are celebrating yeast in both their beer and their storytelling. Uiltjenewest small-batch brew, You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, puts this experimental hop to the test as a Cold IPA. Are we witnessing the rise of a new beer genre? Time will tell. 

Uiltje: What the hell did you do to our beer?

Carlos: It wasn’t just me. There were 55 other brewers, scientists, and R&D professionals involved in cultivating this unique strain of yeast. 

Uiltje: We don’t often get to hang out with biotech geeks around here. How should we think of Lallemand? A yeast factory? 

Carlos: We’re more like a high-tech lab run by people with extensive experience in food and biotechnology. My background is in brewing and spirits. I spent many years in the wine industry before discovering beer, then founded my own brewery and worked with the Swedish brewer Omnipollo for four years. When I joined Lallemand, they asked me if I knew anything about their products, and I said, “Uh, yeah, I’ve been using them my entire professional life.” 

Uiltje: So this collaboration between Uiltje Lallemand feels like it was bound to happen. You and our head brewer, “Paddi” (Aditya Parupudi), have been hanging out in the same circles for years. 

Carlos: So I’ve been a big fan of Uiltje is that how you pronounce it? 

Uiltje: Uh , no, it’s “Owl-tcha,” but don’t worry about it.  

Carlos: Thanks . Well, anyway, your cans, the artwork, the beer, the stories—the whole experience—it’s just a great brand. There’s a concept behind it; you already have an opinion before you open the can or take a sip from the glass. That’s exactly why we sought you guys out. And yes, the relationship is also a bit personal. I lived in New Zealand for about 12 years, where Paddi also worked. We never ran into each other, but we did move in the same circles. So when we started looking for brewers to experiment with, Uiltje at the top of our list. We want to work with brewers who aren’t afraid to try new things. I called them up and said, “Hey, we’ve got this experimental new yeast—do you guys want to try it?” Without hesitation, they said, “Send some over.” Everything took off from there.

Uiltje: The yeast is a new strain called Aurora, but until it was officially named this June, it was known as experimental number 483, right? 

Carlos: The timing of "You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" is perfect, since this is the first time we’re launching the yeast under the new name. I think Uiltje the first to release it. 

Uiltje: So the name Aurora has some significance. You named it after the Northern Lights because you’re hoping to inspire a new beer style called Northern IPA. 

Carlos: We have a yeast bank of over 4,000 strains that are incredibly interesting for craft brewers. Many of them are used in one-off brews, just to test whether the market likes them. Because this strain ferments so well at lower temperatures, we see it bridging the gap between Cold or West Coast IPAs and New England IPAs. We’re simply calling this missing link a Northern IPA, and we came up with a name that reflects that. 

Uiltje: Let’s just state the obvious: the hops get all the glory. What’s up with that? 

Carlos: Exactly , but the tide is turning. I’m seeing more and more brewers incorporating interesting yeasts into their beer and making it part of their storytelling. Maybe they’re not listing Aurora on the cans, but definitely in the descriptions on their websites. At the end of the day, it’s the yeast that makes the beer. The story I always tell is: the world has always existed as a unique symbiosis between humans and yeast. Hops can’t say that. 

Uiltje: That sounds kind of cool when you put it that way. Hops are the wild child, and yeast is its more philosophical sibling. 

Carlos: If it leads to a new style, great. We just want to give brewers like Uiltje new tool to create something interesting. The yeast is crisp, clean, and fruity, with moderate bitterness and low haze. I think it has great potential.   

Uiltje: Aside from Uiltjeselling out this collaboration and all our fans cheering, what do you consider success for Aurora? 

Carlos: Let’s just say that would be a great start. That’s why we’re here. After that, we’ll see.