401: Superior Stouts and Standout Sours With Louisville’s Atrium

Feb 22, 2025

Mark Rubenstein, cofounder of Atrium Brewing, and head brewer Spencer Guy dive into the art of brewing. They explore the success of their award-winning barrel-aged stout, discussing innovative techniques like reiterated mashing for sweeter stouts. The duo elaborates on blending bourbon and brandy barrels for complexity and crafting flavor-forward fruited sours, incorporating unique ingredients such as yogurt powder. Their passion for experimentation shines through as they share insights on brewing lagers and pilsners alongside their specialty beers.

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ADVICE

Make High Gravity With Reiterated Mash

Use a reiterated mash: make a high-pH pilsner wort, hold it, then use it as strike water for a stout mash.
This yields very high pre-boil gravities without extremely long boils.

INSIGHT

Reiterated Mash Yields Very High OGs

Reiterated mash can produce extremely high OGs (1.12–1.13) pre-boil from all-grain alone.
That method reduces labor compared with very long concentration boils.

ADVICE

Manage Fermentation For High ABV Stouts

Ferment big imperial stouts with a neutral, reliable yeast (e.g., Safale US-05), overpitch and fully oxygenate.
Expect slow finishing times and plan for long ferments (14+ days).

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In our latest issue, Louisville’s Atrium Brewing scored a category-leading 98 for their barrel-aged stout Denny-Lou, Blend 1, and that was as good a reason as any to check in with cofounder Mark Rubenstein and head brewer Spencer Guy for some background on brewing stouts. Their proximity to some of the best distillers in the Western hemisphere informs their approach to both aging and blending, and they take the same iterative approach to building flavor in more ingredient-laden beers.

In this episode, they touch on:

brewing flavored imperial stout as well as barrel-aged stout
using a reiterated mash in lieu of longer boils for higher starting gravity
building lower color stout with very low bitterness to let coffee shine
balancing sweetness with tannins in barrel-aged stout
blending with multiple stout threads
the impacts of brandy and bourbon barrels
kettle souring with a hazy IPA grain bill
using probiotic beverages for kettle souring
adjusting acids in the brite tank for proper fruit expression
choosing fruit formats for clarity and quality
spinning tanks then bench testing between each ingredient addition to confirm quantities with sensory
constructing fruit blends and highlighting with yogurt

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