Brewmaster's Page -
Everything You Want To Know About Our Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches; mainly derived from cereal grains€”the most common of which is malted barley. Wheat, maize (corn), and rice are also widely used. Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative. Other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may also occasionally be included. Alcoholic beverages distilled after fermentation, or fermented from non-starch sources such as grape juice (wine) or honey (mead), are not classified as beer.

The basics of brewing beer are shared across national and cultural boundaries and are commonly categorized into two main types €” the globally popular pale lagers, and the regionally distinct ales, which are further categorized into other varieties such as pale ale, stout, and brown ale. The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume (abv.) although it may range from less than 1% abv., to over 20% abv. in rare cases.

Beer forms part of the culture of various beer-drinking nations and has acquired various social traditions and associations, such as beer festivals and a rich pub culture involving activities such as pub crawling or pub games such as bar billiards.

Our Microbrews

At our microbrewery we are proud to offer six distinctively different "beer experiences", at least four of which are available at any one time. All of our beers are brewed entirely without the use of chemical preservatives, additives, or pasturization.

Because we focus on the quality of the product instead of the packaging and marketing, there is no "corner cutting" in either the ingredients or the process. This means we can use the best possible malts and hops available and age each batch in the slow traditional way, resulting in the freshest, smoothest, and tastiest beers available anywhere.

The Brewing Process

Industrial beer brewing starts with malted grain, which is passed through a milling machine...

1. This will crack the dried kernels and grind them into a coarse powder. The cracked malt is then steeped with hot water in a large, stainless steel vat called a mash tun...
2. producing a thick, sweet liquid called wort. The wort is boiled, or brewed, for up to two hours in a large kettle
3. After it is cooled, the wort is then transferred to a fermentation tank...
4. where yeasts slowly convert the grain sugar to alcohol. The liquid (now beer) may then be passed through a filter
5. to remove the yeast residue. The wort is pumped into a large conditioning tank to age
6. where it undergoes another fermentation. During aging, the beer becomes naturally carbonated. Some brewers elect to filter the beer again after aging. The finished beer is then mechanically bottled, and may be pasteurized
7. to kill any of the remaining yeast and any other microorganisms.

Beer Facts

Ales

A modern ale is commonly defined by the strain of yeast used and the fermenting temperature. The important distinction for ales is that they are fermented at higher temperatures and thus ferment more quickly than lagers. Typically ales have a sweeter, fuller body than lagers.

Lagers

Lager is the English name for cool fermenting beers of Central European origin. Pale lagers are the most commonly consumed beers in the world. The name lager comes from the German lagern for "to store", as brewers around Bavaria stored beer in cool cellars and caves during the warm summer months. These brewers noticed that the beers continued to ferment, and to also clear of sediment, when stored in cool conditions.

Ingredients

Malt

Malt contributes flavor, color and body to beer. Malt flavor is generally sweet, and, depending upon the type of malt used, may be toasty, caramelly, nutty, chocolate-like and even acrid-ash-like. Virtually all of the color of beer comes from malt.
"Malt" is short for malted barley, the most fundamental ingredient of beer. Barley is a cereal grain, similar to wheat, rice or oats. Beer has been made from each of these grains at one time, but barley is the grain best suited to beer making.

Hops

Hops contribute bitterness, flavor and aroma to beer. They also reduce the potential for bacterial infection and contribute other positive chemical properties.
Technically hops are flowers, but they look more like small green pine cones. There are dozens of different hop varieties and each contributes a slightly different character to beer. The flavors and aromas associated with hops include flowery, perfumy, spicy, herbal, resinous, citrusy and grassy characteristics.
The use of hops in beer is a bit like making tea. We soak (or boil) hops in hot wort at various times, but only a small portion of the hop weight is extracted. Only five to 15 percent of the hop actually gets used in beer.

Yeast

Although brewers take the credit, it is yeast that actually makes the beer. These small, single celled organisms eat sugar and excrete alcohol, carbon dioxide and important beer flavor compounds.
The world of brewers yeast is generally divided into two groups: one for ales and one for lagers. Ale yeast ferment best close to room temperature (65-70 deg F).
They work quickly, and generally finish the main fermentation in three to five days. These yeasts characteristically contribute fruity flavors to the finished beer: subtle apple, banana, pear and even peach notes may be found. .

Water

Despite the amount of advertising devoted to the subject, "pure" water is not ideal for making most styles of beer. Water naturally contains various minerals such as calcium, magnesium, choride, sulfate and carbonate. Each of these contributes a subtle, and often postive, flavor effect to beer.
Most famous brewing centers, including Munich, Dortmund, Burton and Dublin, have relatively hard water supplies. Their beer styles have been formulated to capitalize on the character of the water to make a tasty beer.