Interview with Daniel Schappert from Mondo Brewing

We talked to Daniel Schappert from Mondo Brewing about the international influences that make Mondo’s beer so unique and we got his perspective, from the position of a German brewing in the UK, on the benefits of using Oculyze in achieving consistent results of yeast monitoring, regardless of who is doing the analyses.

 

Oculyze: Could you tell us a few things about yourself and your role at Mondo Brewing?
Daniel Schappert: My name is Daniel Schappert and I’m originally from Germany. I’ve studied at the Technical University of Munich and then went to London in 2020 to work for Mondo as a brew master, a small brewery with 7000 hectoliters per year. And, yeah, that’s what I do.

Oculyze: You take pride, and rightfully so, in your international roots and diverse team. Tell us a bit more about the impact this environment has had on your products.
Daniel Schappert: So the founders of Mondo both come from the U.S. and have traveled all over the world, and then set up as brewers in England. And our whole team is very international with brewers from America, from France, Italy, Germany – which means that not only do we have different ways of brewing, which influences which raw materials go into the product, but also the whole approach; how the product is perceived in the end plays into it and which fruits, spices, etc. are used. We try, as the name Mondo says in Italian – i.e. world, to get influences from every part of this world on the final product.

Oculyze: You’re a German yourself, brewing in the UK. What was your biggest culture shock experience, beer related, if any?
Daniel Schappert: I think the most classic is cask beer. You have to get used to it, warm, relatively uncarbonated beer. But if you spend a few years here and on a light hangover Sunday afternoon, then Cask Beer is actually the best.

Oculyze: You say that “quality and consistency are the cornerstones of your beer.” But with fermentation being such a, let’s say, capricious process, how does one go about achieving consistent quality?
Daniel Schappert: So, of course, it starts first with getting a good raw material. We have a very good relationship with a laboratory in Ireland, and we get a constant supply of good yeast. Then it is also important for us to use liquid yeast because the quality is simply better, the live content is higher. And then, of course, it is important that you work cleanly in your process, giving the yeast the opportunity to be exposed to as little stress as possible, and that you set the parameters correctly and keep them constant, such as aeration, the right pitch rate, all these factors. And that you also monitor this very closely during the process.

Oculyze: And while consistency is wonderful, you also like to tap into artsy seasonals. What are the challenges and advantages of these seasonal experimentations?
Daniel Schappert: So, the challenges are, of course, especially when we are brewing new beers, new styles that we have or have never done before, to first get to know a little bit about this beer style, so that you are sure that a reasonable beer will come out. Of course it is always much easier to simply brew the old familiar, but yes, we want to develop naturally and especially with collaborations and new impressions from brewers all over the world. It is very helpful to experiment, the results of which can then perhaps also be used for the core range.

Oculyze: You do not shy away from using technology to stay at the top of your game. What, would you say, have been the most noticeable positive impacts of using Oculyze for yeast monitoring in your brewery?
Daniel Schappert: So, I think the biggest advantage is definitely the consistency of the results, regardless of who is doing the experiment, because even though all of our brewers are studying brewing part-time, or have been studying brewing part time here in the UK, they are still not as trained on some of the laboratory aspects as those who did a full course of study in Germany, for example. And that’s why if everyone just used the normal microscope, the variance in the results would be very high, and it would take a long time to get the brewers on the same level; that would take a lot of time. And so after a very short introduction I can trust that the results are consistent, no matter who is doing them.

Oculyze: Last question: you don’t approve of leads for cats. How about of drinking beer alone? YES / NO / ONLY UNDER ATTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES
Daniel Schappert: So, I can only speak for myself: I have set myself the rule that I will never drink beer alone I think that’s, I would say, a slippery slope. So I don’t condemn that now, but for me it’s a very social drink, and in the end it’s still a drug that you should probably enjoy, but think about when and how.

Many thanks, Daniel Schappert and Mondo Brewing!

Passionate about the beer and/or wine making process? So are we! If you’re interested in finding out how you can use our technology to control fermentation and monitor your yeast, save work hours and improve the cost-efficiency of your business, drop us a line at [email protected] or check out our product pages:

• Oculyze BB 2.0 (Better Brewing) Yeast Cell Counter App + Hardware
• Oculyze FW (Fermentation Wine) Yeast Cell Counter App + Hardware

Also, you can now get access to a fully functional demo account to test your yeast via our Web App. Completely free of charge and with no commitment to purchase.