Expansion Update 1: Hello New Kosme Bottling Line!

As some of you may have noticed, we announced (somewhat secretly) that The Bruery is expanding during 2014! Quality is a huge priority for us, and we are thrilled to be introducing some new (and pretty big) measures to make sure we are producing beer that excites us and and is exemplary of the highest quality.

An illustration of our brand new Kosme bottling line, which is on its way to us this year.

There are a couple phases of growth and equipment additions we're working on this year. One of the first items we're adding to our company is a brand new bottling line. Expected to arrive in July this year is a 16-head Kosme line from Krones, arguably the highest quality manufacturer of beer bottling lines in the world. The addition of this line to our production means we can look forward to several improvements once everything is up and running.

The Bruery's First Day in Brussels

Our day began with the usual wi-fi check in at the nearby hotel, followed by a brisk walk through Bruges to the train station. All of us were equally excited at the idea of purchasing Belgian beer from a vending machine to drink on the train, but alas, it required ID and none of us trusted that our California ID would work. So we ended up having fun buying several bottles of cola which had our coworkers’ names on them.

Once in Brussels, it was another short walk to Cantillon. Like nearly every other beer geek, Cantillon has been on my list of bucket list breweries to visit since my first introduction to the Cantillon Gueuze in my craft beer drinking infancy. I had heard stories of others’ visits, so I knew to expect the brewery to be oddly located in an unassuming industrial building, in a not-so-glamorous area of town (sound familiar?).

The instant we walked in, a change in atmosphere could be felt. We went from the warm sweaty streets of Brussels to a cool, pleasantly humid, and deliciously smelly interior. The stern-faced lady behind the counter greeted us with a friendly smile and gave us her spiel of the brewery basics, the lambic brewing process, and how to proceed on the self-guided tour. Soon enough, we were on our merry way.

The first stop was the ‘Mashing tun’. The rustic white walls and floor of the room complimented the rustic wood and antique looking metal equipment as if it were staged for a museum… except, unlike a museum, this is completely functional and makes some of the best lambic beer around.

Great American Beer Festival

We just got back from an incredible few days in Denver, CO where the Brewer's Association was holding their 30th annual Great American Beer Festival.

For those who have never been, GABF is truly a remarkable time and we highly recommend you get there at some point in the future.  Held annually in the convention center in downtown Denver, the hall is filled with thousands of people trying beers from hundreds and hundreds of breweries from all around the United States.  It's an incredible time for us to showcase our beer to people from all over the country who don't typically get to see our beers and even if they do, they never get to see any of the more rare beers...like Oude Tart and Black Tuesday.  

Nothing gives us a better feeling than having a line of people at our booth, super excited to try some of our beers and letting us know how much they enjoy them.  This year we had people at our booth for another reason as well, however.  People came by to take photos because we decided to decorate our booth with loads of images of cats as well as stuffed animal cats and cat toys.  There was no true reasoning behind our cat theme, we just thought it was hilarious.

GABF is not only a festival for tasting interesting beers, but it is the largest commercial beer competition in the world, this year having close to 600 breweries enter a total of 3,930 beers to the various categories.  And of all of those entries, we are very very proud to say we took home two silver medals and one gold medal!  Both Hottenroth and The Wanderer won silver and Papier, our very first anniversary beer and one of the very first batches of beer brewed at The Bruery took a gold medal. 

The fact that two of our sour ales and one of our biggest and most complex bourbon barrel aged strong ales took home awards just gives us that much more faith in our Quercus Maximus project.  As we continue to brew more of these intricate beers, hopefully we can win some more awards in the future!

Bugs

Pediococcus plated on The Bruery's lab media

Meet some of the microorganisms that are responsible for the beer made at The Bruery.

Yes, it’s true, you are sharing your beer with other living things. Since all of our beers here at The Bruery are unfiltered, they are indeed alive when you sit down to enjoy your drink. The delicate and bold flavors produced through fermentation help give beer the unique properties you experience along with the quality of the ingredients used. While there are a variety of cultures used at The Bruery, some are more important than others. They are Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. Their importance is because of their roles as both fermentative species and contaminants.

Brettanomyces is considered a wild yeast and is noted for the “farmhouse” flavor profile that it produces in beer. Lactobacillus and Pediococcus are lactic acid producing bacteria. They are used in the fermentations of food products such as sauerkraut, yogurt, cheese, chocolate, and kimchi. Lactic acid bacteria are used in the production of lambic-style ales, Flemish-style red ales and other similar beers; they produce the lactic acid that gives these beers their characteristically sour taste.

While these organisms can be used to make wonderful and complex beers, they can also prove to be persistent contaminants. The flavors created through their fermentative action can frequently produce unfavorable sensory characteristics in beer in which their presence is not intended. Simply put, we want to control microbial fermentation in our beer so that the flavors we target are found only in the final product of specific beers, not all of our beers.

To this end, the quality control process is our greatest tool. Since brewing uses living organisms, we are at the mercy of these yeast and bacteria. Exhibiting control over the process gives brewers the power to create the final product that they have in mind. There have even been historical European brewers quoted as saying that god is truly the maker of beer, we simply help guide it along it's path.

Long before the bottle reaches your lips, steps are taken to make sure the quality is maintained. We utilize a number of preventative measures to ensure that a 'bad beer' is never something that you, the consumer, have to experience in connection with our brand.

These measures include regular and thorough tank cleaning, and lab testing at many intervals in the brewing and aging process. In short, all our beer is sampled and tested at various stages during their fermentation and development - including bottling and kegging. All samples are plated on selective and differential media that allow us to see what, exactly, is in our beers. Rest assured that when you are enjoying a hand-crafted Bruery beer, much effort has been invested into ensuring that you receive the finest fermented beverage on the market.

--Kristen Bennett
Laboratory Intern and Technician 

Brettanomyces plated on The Bruery's lab media

Close up of Lactobaccilus bacteria.  Hello little friends!

Lactobaccilus bacteria plated on The Bruery's lab media

Fruit Delivery

We just got in an awesome delivery of various fruit to add to a few of our sour beers that are slowly aging away. Raisins, cranberries, tart cherries, grapes, kiwis, raspberries, dates and a whole slew of goodness. We just need to stop snacking on it all before we can get it into the beers.