The Brewing Process
Mashing: Crushed malted barley and grain, called "grist", is added to the Mash Tun, a large insulated container with a screen bottom, and is mixed with hot water. The mixture, called "mash" is stirred to the consistency of oatmeal. Enzymes present in the heated mash convert starches in the grist to sugars. After conversion, hot water is evenly sprayed over the grain bed to wash or "sparge" the sugars from the mash. The sugar water or "wort" is transferred to the Brew Kettle.
Brewing: The gas fired kettle boils the wort. Here hops are added at carefully timed intervals to give bittering, flavor, and aroma characteristics to the beer.
Heat Exchanger: The boiling wort is cooled to about 72 degrees by running it through a heat exchanger. The cooled wort is aerated with pure oxygen to aid in yeast growth.
Fermentation: The wort is then transferred into the fermentation tank along with yeast and is fermented, a process by which the yeast convert the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide. This takes 3-4 days.
Conditioning: The fermented beer is then transferred into a conditioning tank to age. We never serve our beer before it has conditioned fully 2-4 weeks depending on the style.
Serving: Next the beer is transferred or racked into the Serving Tanks in a refrigerated room where it is carbonated. The beer is then "pushed" with a carbon/nitrogen gas mix. Our beer is never filtered and always served at 38-42 degrees for fuller flavor. The "Freshest Beer in the Lakes Region" is then ready to be poured straight from the serving tank into your waiting pint glass for total enjoyment. Cheers!