Our Brewmaster
FLORIAN KUPLENT
Brewmaster Florian Kuplent brings two decades of artisan brewing experience to Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. From serving as a brewer’s apprentice in a small German brewery to developing award-winning beer recipes for one of the world’s largest brewers, Florian now shares his distinctive brewing creations with the craft beer enthusiasts of St. Louis from the brewhouse of his start-up brewery, Urban Chestnut Brewing Company.
At UCBC, Florian makes use of a unique brewing philosophy UCBC refers to as Beer Divergency—a ‘new world meets old world’ brewing approach wherein UCBC contributes to the “revolution” of craft beer through creations of artisanal, modern American beers, and pays “reverence” to the heritage of beer with offerings of classically-crafted, timeless European beer styles. This philosophy is also utilized at the Urban Chestnut Hallertauer Brauerei located in Wolnzach, Bavaria, where timeless regional styles are brewed alongside modern styles.
Education
University of Munich-Weihenstephan
Nov. 1997 – Sept. 2000, Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany
· M.S. (equivalent) Malting and Brewing Science
German Chamber of Industry and Trade
May 1996, Munich, Germany· Brewer and Maltster Certificate
Bavarian College of Food and Beverage Science
Sept. 1994 – April 1996, Munich, Germany
· Degree in Brewing Science
Memberships
· Master Brewer's Association of the Americas
· Member of the national MBAA Technical Committee
· Technical Chair of District New York (2003 - 2004)
· Club Auslaendischer Weihenstephaner (Club of International Weihenstephan Students)
Competitive Chairs
Judge, Great American Beer Festival – 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019
Judge, World Beer Cup – 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020
Judge, North American Beer Awards – 2006, 2007, 2014
Judge, European Beer Star – 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Judge, International Brewing Awards – 2015, 2017, 2019
Publications
Behind the green door – Anheuser-Busch's 13th Brewery
The Brewer & Distiller Int., Vol. 2, Issue 11, 2006, pp. 56 – 58
Die Hefevermehrung in der Brauerei – eine Übersicht (Brewery yeast propagation – an overview)
Brauwelt, 35/1999, pp. 1563 – 1566
Berliner Weißbier
Brewing Techniques, Jan/Feb 1999, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 26 – 33
Berliner Weisse
Brauwelt International, 1/2015, pp. 18-19
Pumpkin Ale
Brauwelt International, 6/2015, pp. 18-19
Awards
Over the years, Florian has created the recipes for many award and medal winning beers including:
-Zwickel Bavarian Lager (UCBC)
-Schnickelfritz Bavarian Weissbier (UCBC)
-Maximilian Weizenbock (UCBC)
-Pierre’s Wit Belgian Wit (UCBC)
-Daft Barleywine (UCBC)
-Stammtisch German Pilsner (UCBC)
-Urban Blacktop Black IPA (UCBC)
-Ku’damm Berliner Weisse (UCBC)
-Apotheosis French Saison (UCBC)
-Springbock Hefeweizen (Meantime Brewing Co)
-Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.)
-Michelob Bavarian Style Wheat (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.)
-Shock Top Belgian White (Anheuser-Busch, Inc.)
Brewery Locations
The Grove
Bierhall
Our Grove location has a full kitchen, with a bit broader selection, from German fare to pizzas to sandwiches.
The Midtown
Biergarten
Visit our Midtown location for delicious build-your-own burgers, wings, and fries.
Hallertauer
Brauerei
Urban Chestnut's third brewery is located in the Hallertau region of southern Germany, near our Brewmaster's home town.
