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| Nothing beats a real tour of the brewery, but this virtual tour and virtual brew will let you get in on the action without breaking a sweat! |
This is our malt storage area. We use about 12 different kinds
of malted barley, wheat, and rye to make all of our different
beers.
The first step in a brew is to pack a recipe pallet and check it
twice. Just one bag of grain can mean the difference
between a great beer and something tasting not quite right.
The recipe pallet, below, is packed up and ready for a brew. It
takes anywhere from 12 - 20 bags of grain to make 500 gallons
of beer. Some recipes use 6 different types of grain. Some
use only three types.
of malted barley, wheat, and rye to make all of our different
beers.
The first step in a brew is to pack a recipe pallet and check it
twice. Just one bag of grain can mean the difference
between a great beer and something tasting not quite right.
The recipe pallet, below, is packed up and ready for a brew. It
takes anywhere from 12 - 20 bags of grain to make 500 gallons
of beer. Some recipes use 6 different types of grain. Some
use only three types.
The brew day starts with Milling and
Mashing-In.
During Mash-In the malted grains are lightly
crushed in a mill and fed into the
Mash-Tun. In the mash tun, water is
added to the coarsely ground malt and the
mixture is mashed (soaked) at carefully
controlled temperatures. This activates
various enzymes present in the grain.
Some of the enzymes present (primarily
amylase) convert complex carbohydrates to
simpler sugars such as maltose and glucose.
These sugars, along with amino acids
released during the malting process, will be
food for the yeast. The conversion can be
monitored by tasting the grain mixture. It
gradually becomes intensely sweet over a
30-minute rest.
Mashing-In.
During Mash-In the malted grains are lightly
crushed in a mill and fed into the
Mash-Tun. In the mash tun, water is
added to the coarsely ground malt and the
mixture is mashed (soaked) at carefully
controlled temperatures. This activates
various enzymes present in the grain.
Some of the enzymes present (primarily
amylase) convert complex carbohydrates to
simpler sugars such as maltose and glucose.
These sugars, along with amino acids
released during the malting process, will be
food for the yeast. The conversion can be
monitored by tasting the grain mixture. It
gradually becomes intensely sweet over a
30-minute rest.
To the left is a picture of the
opening to our grain mill. The
opening is level with the floor so
that no one has to heft up a 50-lb
bag of grain to dump it into the mill.
Even a little 120-lb girl could do this
job!
Below is a picture of the
flex-conveyer that moves the
crushed grain from the mill to the
mash tun.
opening to our grain mill. The
opening is level with the floor so
that no one has to heft up a 50-lb
bag of grain to dump it into the mill.
Even a little 120-lb girl could do this
job!
Below is a picture of the
flex-conveyer that moves the
crushed grain from the mill to the
mash tun.
| Continue the tour--click here |
| We don't tell people what to like, we just give them great choices! |
