The Process Our Preparation The brewing process of your beer begins several hours before your scheduled appointment. English "two row" barley (two rows of kernels on the stalk) is weighed and crushed in a roller mill. This "grist" is then shoveled into the mash tun where it is mixed with hot water to create the "mash". The temperature and duration of the mashing process will determine the alcohol, body and flavour characteristics of the beer. When conversion has taken place, the sweet liquid (wort) is recirculated over the grain which acts as a filter bed to clarify the wort as it passes through. The wort is then drawn off to fill the wort collection vessel as hot water is "sparged” over the grain bed to thoroughly rinse the grains of remaining fermentable sugars. After this 2 ½ hour process, when the mash is completely drained, the fresh, high quality wort is transferred to the individual kettles. The "spent grain" remaining in the mash tun is emptied and transported to Crofton to be used as feed for a herd of Scottish Highland cattle. During Your Visit Upon your scheduled arrival, you’ll select one of our 20 or so recipes. Specialty grains are used to impart colour and flavour to create different styles of beer. Your selection of recipe will determine which specialty grains you weigh, grind and place in the kettle to steep. When the grain is removed, the wort is vigorously boiled at which time hops (a spice) are added. At the beginning of the boil, hops are added for flavour and bitterness and again near the end to provide aroma in the finished beer. Hops also act as a natural preservative - the only one we use! After the boil is shut down, a brewing technician pumps the wort from the kettle through a heat exchanger (to chill it down to proper fermenting temperatures) into your fermenter. Your final step is to "pitch" (add) our liquid yeast culture and then your beer is moved into the temperature controlled fermenting room. After You Leave During fermentation, the yeast converts malt sugars to alcohol, carbon dioxide and a multitude of other compounds that contribute to flavour. One week later, fermentation is complete and your beer is transferred into the cooler, causing the yeast and protein to settle out. The beer is then cold filtered through our multi-stage filtration resulting in beer that is visibly clear while still retaining all of its full flavour. Your beer is then carbonated (lower carbonation may be requested) awaiting your scheduled arrival. When You Return On bottling day, your bottles are placed in our 72 head automatic bottle washers for the 4 ½ minute sanitizing cycle. After washing your bottles, they are then filled by yourself using the automatic bottle fillers. These "counter-pressure" filling units flood the empty bottle with Co2 before filling to ensure the beer has no contact with damaging oxygen and to prevent foaming, guaranteeing a perfect fill every time. When You Get Home Because your beer is unpasturized and contains no preservatives, it is considered "live" beer. This means it contains "invisible" microscopic yeast cells and is still able to ferment at room temperatures. For this reason, it should be treated as your dairy products are. Refrigeration is highly recommended and will greatly extend the enjoyable shelf life of your beer. Appointment Considerations Most of our brewing appointments are between 12 and 8 p.m.. Beer making takes approx. 90 min. while ciders take only 20 min. Bottling is exactly 2 weeks later. A popular appointment option for a group of friends is to book a "standing appointment". This guarantees you a convenient and consistent brewing time every 2 weeks. It's also a great economical use of time as when you brew, you bottle the batch you made 2 weeks previous. This means not only do you always have a fresh and varied supply but only one visit is required per completed brew. Additional Savings Even though our beer is already ½ the price of store bought beer, there are even more opportunities to save. Each time you brew, you are rewarded with "brew points" for production items. One point is earned for every dollar spent, therefore when 1150 points are earned, you will receive a $115 brew, free of charge! Book all six kettles with your friends or co-workers and receive 15% off all 6 brews. This is a great way to receive an assortment of beer and create a fun, relaxing social event. (Please note there are no points awarded with "6'er" discounts.)