Category: microbrews

Methods Of Microbrewing

The first thing you’ll need to do when brewing is
to sanitize everything that will come in contact
with your unfermented beer. It will take time
for the sanitizer to do its job, so don’t rush
things.

Next, you’ll need to rinse everything to remove
any remaining sanitizer. Any remaining sanitizer
can kill of your yeast if you don’t rinse things
well. Add 3 1/2 gallons of water to your
fermenter then seal it with the fermenter’s lid
or a rubber stopper. This should be done as
soon as you can before you begin to cook the
wort.

Cooking
Add 2 gallons of cold water to the pot and bring
it to a boil. Once the water has started to boil,
add your malt syrup or extract kit. Always watch
your pot boil and never leave it. Stir it well,
until the extract has dissolved.

Boiling over can create a mess and cause you to
loose precious ingredients. Malt doesn’t boil
like water, as it comes to a boil the liquid will
expand and foam over the top. Stir constantly
and keep a close watch to avoid boiling over.

Add a few tablespoons of your boiling wort to
1 cup of cool water in a santized container,
making sure the temperature isn’t too high.
Next, add your yeast packet and cover the
container with a saucer or lid.

Pitching yeast
After the wort has finished boiling, allow the
mixture time to cool to 70 – 80 degrees then
pitch the yeast into your fermenter, which you
already have filled to 2/3 of the desired
final level with cold water.

These are the basic steps for brewing your
own microbrews. You’ll also have to siphon,
bottle, then pour your brew. The final steps
aren’t that difficult, although they do
require a certain level of precision. If
this is your first time brewing, you should
watch someone experienced first.

With microbrewing, there are many different
methods, including fruit. Fruit is unlike
other types of microbrews, as the method
introduces fruit into the equation and makes
for a very unique – yet interesting taste.

When brewing your own beers, you can use
any method you prefer. Some are harder than
others, although a little bit of time is all
you need to become a pro. Once you have been
brewing for a while, you’ll be able to
brew even the most exotic of microbrews – all
it takes is time and dedication.

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The Brewing Process

Brewing is the actual process of alcoholic beverages
and alcohol through fermentation. This method is
used with beer production, although the term can
also be used for other drinks as well. The term
brewing is also used to refer to any chemical
mixing process as well.

The process of brewing has a long history indeed,
which archeological evidence tells us that this
technique was actually used in ancient Egypt as
well. Many descriptions of various beer recipes
can be found in Sumerian writings, which are
some of the oldest writings of any type.

Even though the process of brewing is complex and
varies greatly, Below, you’ll find the basic
stages relating to brewing.

1. Mashing – This is the first phase of brewing,
in which the malted grains are crushed and soaked
in warm water in order to create an extract of the
malt. The mash is then held at constant
temperature long enough for the enzymes to convert
starches into fermentable sugar.
2. Sparging – At this stage, water is
filtered through the mash to dissolve all of the
sugars. The darker, sugar heavy liquid is known
as the wort.
3. Boiling – The wort is boiled along
with any remaining ingredients to remove any excess
water and kill any type of microorganisms. The
hops, either whole or extract are added at some
point during this stage.
4. Fermentation – The yeast is now added
and the beer is left to ferment. After it has
fermented, the beer may be allowed to ferment again,
which will allow further settling of the yeast and
other particulate matter which may have been introduced
earlier in the process.
5. Packaging – At the final stage, the
beer will contain alcohol, but not too much carbon
dioxide. The brewer will have a few options to
increase the levels of carbon dioxide. The most
common approach is force carbonation, via the direct
addition of CO2 gas to the keg or bottle.

After it has been brewed, the beer in normally a
finished product. At this point, the beer is
kegged, casked, bottled, or canned. Beers that
are unfiltered may be stored for further fermentation
in conditioning tanks, casks, or bottles to allow
smoothing of harsh alcohol or heavy hops.

There are some beer enthusiasts that consider a
long conditioning period attractive for various
strong beers such as Barley and wines. Depending on
the beer enthusiast and what he likes to drink,
it will vary.

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Pale Ale Beer

English pale ale
The style of English pale ale was originated by
producers in Burton during the 1800’s. The high
levels of calcium found in the water compliment this
style quite well, by making a more efficient
extraction of bitter resins from the hops.

The taste and aroma of English pale ale is similar
to that of the English Bitter. The term “pale” was
intended originally to distinguish beers of this
type from the black London Porter. Classic English
ales aren’t pale, rather golden to copper colored.

American pale ale
The types of American pale ales range from golden
to light colored copper. This style of ale is best
characterized by American variety hops used to
produce high hop bitterness, aroma, and flavor.
These types of beers are less malty than their British
counterparts.

These beers have medium body and low to medium
maltiness. Chill haze is acceptable only at cold
temperatures.

Belgian pale ale
The Belgian ales are very similar to British ales,
although they are more spicy and aromatic – both
in malt and yeast character. These types of ales
are known by low, yet noticeable hop bitterness,
flavor, and aroma.

Low malt aroma and light to medium body are typical
for Belgian pal ale. In color, they are golden to
deep amber. Noble hop types are normally used,
while low to medium fruity esters are evident in
both flavor and aroma. Chill haze with Belgian pale
ale is acceptable at cold temperatures.

Pale ale beers are very popular throughout the world,
being served in hundreds of thousands of bars. They
are also great for social occasions as well, as
millions of people enjoy their dark yet satisfying
tastes. If you’ve never experienced pale ale beer –
you shouldn’t deprive yourself any longer.

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Oregon Microbrews

To get the most out of a visit to Oregon, you’ll need
to try a local craft beer. Even if you don’t like
to drink craft beer, it’s something you should at
least experience.

If you are knew to microbrews, you should know that
just because the beer is a microbrew, it doesn’t mean
that you’ll need a knife and fork to drink it. All
over the state, you’ll find several different
microbreweries that offer everything you could ever
want.

All mass produced American style lagers have set a
rather disappointing standard for the beer drinkers
of the country. These beers can only be as good as
their ingredients. Instead of the fine grains such
as barley and wheat, corn and rice are often used
as cheaper replacements. In place of the whole kiln
hops, the bigger breweries rely on small pellets of
compressed hop dust.

Throughout the state of Oregon, there are more than
50 breweries that provide both locals and visitors
with many alternatives to drinking. The microbrewed
craft will rely on tradition, using the more
expensive ingredients in place of money saving
shortcuts. The implication here, is that these
types of beer are normally bitter or overly sweet.

Anytime you visit an unfamiliar brewpub, there is a
great way to sample a variety of brews without
having to buy a whole pint. Several pubs offer a
sampler tray with five to seven two ounce beers,
often labeled to avoid any type of confusion.

Throughout Oregon, microbrews are very popular, in
the pubs and on the street. You can find many
different varieties, more than you can find in
other states. If you don’t live in Oregon, and you
get the chance to visit, you shouldn’t hesitate
to check out some of the excellent microbrews.

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History of Microbrews

Many historians believe that the ancient Sumerians
and Mesopotamians were brewing as early back as
10,000 B.C. Even though this product would have
been different from the bottles varieties of today,
it would have still been recognizable.

The ancient Egyptians and the Chinese brewed their
beer, as did civilizations in America, where they
used corn instead of barley. Back then, thousands
of years ago, microbrews were very popular and
on their way to what we now know and love today.

In the middle ages, European monks were the
guardians of literature and science, as well as
the art of making beer. They refined the process
to perfection, and even institutionalized the use
of hops as both flavoring and a preservative.

It wasn’t however, until Louis Pasteur came along
that a final, important development was determined.
Until this time, brewers had to depend on the wild
yet airborne yeast for fermentation. By establishing
that yeast is actually a living organism, he opened
the gates for controlling the conversion of sugar
into alcohol.

Grapes grow well in warmer climates, while barley
grows better in cool climates. This is how the
northern areas of Germany and England first became
famous for their beers.

Beer in America
Everything in America went dim until the dark day
of 1920, when prohibition took effect. A lot of
breweries went out of business or switched their
production to soda pop. Not everyone stopped
drinking, but gangster related products weren’t
known for high quality.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, he
quickly appealed the very unpopular law. The
new breeds of now famous beer came after World War
2 were generally mass produced and very bland.

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Microbrews Of The Northwest

The ideal place to sample the best of Northwest
handcrafted ale is a well run brewpub, which will
stimulate the human spirit with warmth, the scent
of malt, pleasant conversation, and hearty food.

Helping to combat the chilly, damp climate of
the region, brewpubs have become great places of
refuge where you can shake off the tears of a
hostile world, order a pint of cask beer, then
savor a complex beer that will caress every one
of your senses.

Microbreweries (companies that produce less than
20,000 kegs a year) can be found everywhere from
Minneapolis to Maui, although it all began in the
Pacific Northwest. On any evening, many dozen
locally brewed beers and ales are available for
your enjoyment in Portland and Seattle.

Most East Coast microbreweries produce German
style lagers, which is the most famous style of
brewing for American palates. The microbreweries
of the Northwest go all out for wildly adventerous
bitters, stouts, and porters.

With all of these amazing beers to choose from,
you may be wondering where to begin. When you
look for a microbrew, you should always be
thinking about variety. At any time in both
Seattle and Portland, you can find several dozen
fresh, locally made brew on tap. They all range
in strength from the standard 3 1/2% to a very
potent 8 1/2%.

As for the flavor, you’ll have to taste it for
yourself. There’s the rich sweetness of malt,
balanced well with good bitter hops. Then, there’s
also the mocha java overtones of roasted barley,
used with stouts and porters, and the spicy kick
of malted wheat.

There are also the sweet ales and tart ales,
mild ales, and ales that are so charged with flavor
that they linger on the tongue. No matter which
type of microbrew you choose, your sure to get
a flavor that will make you come back for more.

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Beer Ingredients

The main ingredients found in beer are water, malted
barley, hops, and yeast. There are other ingredients
such as flavoring, sugar, and other ingredients that
are commonly used. Starches are used as well, as
they convert in the mashing process to easily
fermentable sugars that will help to increase the
alcohol content of beer while adding body and flavor.

Water
Seeing as how beer is mainly composed of water, the
source of water and its characteristics have a very
important effect on the character of the beer. A
lot of beer styles were influenced by the
characteristics of water in the region. Although
the effect of minerals in brewing water is complex,
hard water is more suited to dark styles, while
soft ware is more suited to light styles.

Malt
Among malts, barley is the most widely used due to
its high amylase content, and a digestive enzyme
that facilitates the breakdown of starch into
sugars. Depending on what can be cultivated locally,
other malts and unmalted grains can be used, such
as wheat, rice, oats, and rye.

Malt is obtained by soaking grain in water, allowing
it to germinate, then drying the germinated grain
in a kiln. By malting the grain, enzymes will
eventually convert the starches in the grain into
fermentable sugars.

Hops
Since the seventeenth century, hops have been
commonly used as a bittering agent in beer. Hops
help to contribute a bitterness that will balance
the sweetness of the malts. They also contribute
aromas which range from citrus to herbal.

Hops also provide an antibiotic effect that favors
the activity of brewer’s yeast over the less
desirable microorganisms. The bitterness in beer
is normally measured on the International
Bitterness Units scale.

Yeast
Yeast is a microorganism that’s responsible for
fermentation. Specific strains of yeast are chosen
depending on the type of beer produced, as the
two main strains are ale yeast and lager yeast,
with other variations available as well.

Yeast helps to metabolise the sugars that are
extracted from the grains, and produces alcohol
and carbon dioxide as a result. Before the functions
of yeast were understood, all fermentations were
done using wild or airborne yeasts.

Clarifying agent
A lot of brewers prefer to add one or more
clarifying agents to beer that aren’t required
to be published as ingredients. Examples include
Isinglas finings, which are obtained from swim
bladders of fish and Irish moss, which is a type
of red alga.

Since these ingredients can be obtained from animals,
those who are concerned with either the use or
consumption of animal products should obtain detailed
information from the brewer.

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Anheuser Busch And Microbrews

Beer brewing has always been the core business of
the Anheuser-Busch company. An industry leader
since 1957, Anheuser-Busch currently owns over half
of the domestic beer market.

The market share has grown so much that Anheuser-
Busch now has a bigger portion of the market than
the next four competitors, with the international
sales being no different. Anheuser-Busch remains
the leading exporter of beer from the United States,
with sales in more than 60 countries.

Microbreweries, or microbrews for short, have been
gaining a lot of attention in the past several
years. Microbrews are best classified as breweries
that produce less than 15,000 barrels in a given
year.

The strength of microbrews is found in their
philosophy that beer should be of the highest
quality. Therefore, microbrews are only brewed
with malted barley, hops, water, and yeast, which
are the only four ingredients found in the purist
German beers. Mass bottled beers normally add
rice and corn to help lower costs.

The only drawback to microbrews is what they cost.
The more expensive ingredients found in microbrews
cost on average 60% higher than the mass bottled
beers.

Beer isn’t like wine, which tends to get better
with age. Beer is instead a food that should be
consumed as soon as possible after production.
With this in mind, pubs or microbrews that
produce beer on the premises are the hottest new
trends, with four new pubs on average popping
up each and every week.

Each year, sales of microbrews goes up an average
of 40% each year. This figure is very impressive
when you consider that the market is shrinking
as a whole. Even with this amazing success, the
microbrew sales represent around two percent of
the entire beer market.

In their pursuit to continue dominating the
entire beer market, Anheuser-Busch has tapped
into the trend of microbrews. They recently
purchased a stake in the Seattle based Red Hook
Ale microbrewery. The new products they released
into the beer market include Red Wolf, Elk
Mountain Red, and Elk Mountain Amber Ale.

Microbrews are normally produced regionally,
therefore Anheuser-Busch is developing regional
manufacturers and distributors. By doing this,
they must decide on the best possible way to
handle their short term cash needs for purchasing
inventory in these tiny plants.

With their recent transition into the world of
microbrews, you can count on Anheuser-Busch to
make quite the impact. They will be offering
more microbrews in the future, which is great
news for beer drinkers. If you like the wild
taste of microbrews, Anheuser-Busch is more than
worth your time and money.

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Lagers

Lagering, as a process, was discovered around 200
years ago in Bavaria. Here, it was found that
beers experiencing secondary fermentation in casks
stored in the caves of the Alps would produce beers
with differnet characteristics than ales.

The process of lagering became very popular in
areas where fermentating with cool temperatures
could be maintained, although it wasn’t until the
invention of the refrigerator that lagers really
spread around the world.

Over the last several years, flat sales have been
seen for breweries as a growth in sales for
American microbrews. Even though a lot of the
beer volume from lager is composed of cheap quality
product from the large breweries, there’s plenty
of great products available, although most are
from Europe.

European all malt Pilsener
World wild, Pilseners are the most popular style.
The style originated in Bohemia in a town that
was named Pilsen by the brewery. Even though
there are some superb Pilseners made outside this
region, the style is frequently cheapened and
is also the basis for many beers lacking quality
or being just plain ol’ cheap beer.

German Pilsener
Classic German Pilseners are very light in color
and well hopped, with the hop bitterness being
high. It’s a well attenuated, medium bodied beer
although a malty accent can be perceived. There
shouldn’t be any chill haze, as the head of the
beer should be dense and rich.

Bohemian lager
Lagers in this category are very similar to German
Pilseners, although they are more full bodied
and can be as dark as light amber. This style of
beer will balance the moderate bitterness and
noble hop aroma with a malty, yet slightly sweet
body.

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Guide To Microbrews

Below, you will find a guide to some of the best brews
out there.

Long Trail Brewery – Bridgewater, Vermont
This brewery offers several brews that will easily
quench your thirst. The long trail ale is a very
good choice, as it’s very tasty and not too heavy,
just right. The hibernator is also good, although
it’s winter seasonal and high in alcohol. With a
pinch of honey, the pollenator provides a thirst
quenching solution to a hot summer haze.

Catamount Brewery – White River Junction – Vermont
The best seller here is the Catamount amber, as it
is very tasty. The Catamount gold is also good,
as it is lighter than the amber and offers plenty
of refreshment on a hot day. For winter months,
the Catamount Christmas ale offers a crisp taste
for the cold.

7 Barrel Brewery – New Hampshire
The 7 Barrel Brewery is a restaurant as well as a
brewery. The best brews here are the Dublin brown
ale and the red 7 ale, although you really can’t
go wrong with any of their offerings. They also
offer live music every Friday night with many
great bands.

Vermont Pub – Burlington, Vermont
This pub is the sister brewery of the 7 Barrel
Brewery. They offer a great bar that serves two
rooms, with plenty of fresh and tasty beer. The
brown ale and dog bite bitter are the best, as they
are both very tasty.

Magic Hat Brewery – Burlington, Vermont
This brewery offers some of the best in the state
of Vermont – as well as the entire United States!
Their well known popular number 9 can be found on
taps around the state. When you visit, don’t
forget to look under the cap, as they call it
“Magic Hat” for a reason!

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