The very beginning of making a great beer is using high quality malt (barley that is soaked in water, as soon as it starts to germinate it is taken out of the water and dried in an oven. The malt is dried to different degrees, and that is how the 3 different types, pale, crystal and black malt are created).

We use about 400kg of Malt per brew (we use different mixes of the 3 malts to create the different beers, but the actual mix is a secret…) 

The malt passes through a dry roller to roughly crush it, so we can get to the starch a little bit quicker. The crushed up malt is now called grist. The grist is then mixed with water at a precise temperature, and then falls into a mash tun (a big stainless steel tank). We then leave the grist and water mixture together for about an hour and a half. During this time the starch is turned into fermentable sugars. After this time we have about 700 litres of a strong sugary solution called Wort. 

The wort is then pumped into a Wort kettle where we add more water to get the 3250 litres we want to brew. We then boil this mixture for an hour and a half. During this time 200 litres are evaporated, and the sugar content is increased (The boiling of the Wort also sterilises and clarifies). 

The other important thing that happens at this stage is that we add the hops. Hops contribute to the bitter flavour in beer and acts as a natural preservative, which is handy as, as our beers contain no preservatives at all! 

The wort is then pumped into the whirlpool, where it creates its own spinning motion. This forces the trub (sediment) to the bottom of the tank. 

Now for the fun bit….we have to make some alcohol. This is done by adding yeast to the wort. At this point the wort is at about 96 degrees centigrade (far too hot for yeast), so we have to cool it down. We use a simple heat exchanger to do this. It works in a similar way to a car radiator. The wort is pumped through a pipe, surrounded by other pipes which contain cold water. A heat transfer takes place and the wort cools down, and the water heats up. We then save this water in a big hot water tank to use in the next brew. It’s a great by-product as it means we save water as well as electricity!

When the wort is between 12 and 15 degrees C it is pumped into the cellar, (a controlled temperature environment), into a fermenting tank. At this point we add the yeast, and it starts turning the sugars into alcohol. We then leave it for about 6 days to ferment. The yeast settles to the bottom of the tank and is removed. After this period it is called green beer, and is pumped across into a storage area (about 5 degrees C). The beer then starts a secondary fermentation at this stage. During this period carbon dioxide is given off, and absorbed into the beer. This is what gives our Draughts their natural bubble. We leave the beer for about 10 days, and after this it is almost ready to drink. There is still a bit of yeast floating in the beer so we need to clear it out. 

The only clarification that we do is a fining process. We use isinglass finings (these are made from the air bladders of fishes). These are mixed with water and make a jelly like substance which is blown into the bottom of the tanks. The yeast is negative and the finings are positive, so they attach to each other, and settle to the bottom of the tank. After this three day settling process we pull +/- 50litres off the bottom of the tank to clear the sediment and the finings. 

The beer is now ready to be filled into a keg, and shipped off to your favourite bar or restaurant for you to drink and enjoy!

 

Lager is the term used in English to describe bottom-fermented beers is a generic term for highly hopped ales. Light to medium brown

Ale: Top fermented or warm fermented beer. Colours vary from pale to dark

Stout: Top fermented, classic ale, usually very dark, well hopped, bitter and strong

Pilsner: Clear, bottom fermented beer . Today a term used often to describe a lager. pale to light gold.