Batch, Not ContinuousThe vat does not care about your quarterThere is a moment in every brewery tour when someone in the group, usually wearing a lanyard from a conference they are avoiding, asks the guide whether the fermentation could be sped up. The guide always smiles. It is a patient, well-rehearsed, slightly sad smile, because the guide has heard this question roughly nine thousand times and knows exactly what it means. It means I have been trained to believe that all durations are negotiable. They are not. Lager conditions cold for weeks because that is how long the yeast takes...