Ask anyone and 90% of the time you will be told that beer consists of malt, yeast, water, and hops.
John Midgley of Cool Cousin Brewing in New York is brewing without malting, just using enzymes and grain. He says it uses less water and energy.
Many cultures around the brew beer without malting and have done so for millenia. So in principle this is nothing new, though the exact method might be.
John joined me for a chat about his method, how it came about, the potential upsides and downsides and how his first beer using this process won awards. We talked about the environmental savings when using enzymes, the history of exogenous enzymes, and how other brewers can brew this way.
