Learn about the magic of beer making. Get to know the 8 steps in de brewing and production process of our beers. On the right you will find supporting images of this process.
1. THE INGREDIENTS
- WATER-The Lynes farm on which the brewery is built is one of the best water aquifers in the Leatherstocking region. We use two wells (200-300 feet deep) to supply the water.
- HOPS- Although upstate New York was the leading producer of hops in the 1800’s (producing 80% of the country’s hops), today we use Styrian Goldings and Czech Saaz varieties imported from Europe. These are traditional varieties used in Belgian-style ales.
- BARLEY MALT- domestic base malt and specialty malts imported from Belgium
- SPICES- are very important ingredients in Belgian brewing. We use combinations of grains of paradise, ginger, star anise, cumin, coriander and orange peel.
2. THE BREWHOUSE
The brewhouse is the ‘kitchen of the brewery’. Beer is not made in the brewhouse; “wort” is made in the brewhouse. Wort is the sugar water derived from barley malt. We brew up to 3 batches of wort a day and each batch takes 9 hours to make. Our brewhouse is capable of making 50 barrels (1500 gallons or 650 cases per batch). We are currently producing about 10,000 barrels (130,000 cases) per year.
- FOUR ROLL MILL-the barley is cracked open exposing starches and the grist is then sent to the mash tun.
- MASH TUN-the water and the grist are simmered for several hours between 115 to 165 degrees; this process converts the starches into sugars.
- LAUTER TUN-the wort is filtered through the grain bed. The spent grains are given to local farmers to use as a feed supplement and the wort (meaning root of the beer) is pumped to the brewkettle.
- BREW KETTLE-here the hops and spices are added and the boiling wort will extract the flavors before the sediments are whirlpooled to the bottom and the clear wort is sent to the fermentors.
3. FERMENTATION
The wort is pumped into a fermentation tank (open or closed) and yeast is added. Our yeast is a strain from Belgium that we have been propagating here since 1997.
The fermentation temperature is allowed to rise to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. During fermentation the yeast feeds on the sugars creating CO2 and alcohol as byproducts. This is where the wort is turned into beer.
In the open fermentor, the yeast is harvested off the top before the green beer is sent to the lagering hall. This harvested yeast is used for subsequent fermentations and/or bottle-conditioning.
4. LAGERING
Not to be confused with the lager style of beer (we produce only ales), means ‘cold storage’ in German. After fermentation, the beer is pumped to a closed tank where the temperature is dropped to 28 degrees. The small indoor CCT’s (cylindroconical tanks) hold up to 120 barrels (4000 gallons or 1500 cases). The large outdoor CCT’s hold 300 barrels (9,500 gallons or 4,000 cases). The beer is aged in these tanks for 2 weeks. This process clarifies and ripens the beer while the yeast settles to the bottom of the tanks and is purged.
5. FILTRATION
After lagering, the beer is filtered to give the beer its crystal clear appearance. A diatomaceous earth filter is used. This is simple filtration technology that is used in many different industries (juice, water, swimming pools, deep fryers, etc.). The filtered beer is pump into the bright beer tank.
6. BRIGHT BEER TANK
“Bright beer” refers to filtered beer. Instead of force carbonating our beer, we naturally carbonate it using la méthode champenoise A fresh dose of yeast and sugar is added and the beer will be naturally carbonated in the bottle.
7. THE BOTTLING HALL
All of our 750 mL bottles are imported from France, as their heavy strength is needed for our highly carbonated bottle-conditioned beers. Our 12oz bottles are made domestically and are also of greater strength than a normal 12oz bottle.
The bottles are loaded onto and taken off the conveyor belt by hand. We bottle both 12 oz and 750 ml bottles. The 12oz bottles are filled at a rate of 3000 bottles per hour and the 750 ml at a rate of 1800 bottles per hour.
8. THE WARM CELLAR
- This is where the newly bottled beer will slowly and naturally form its effervescent carbonation. We carbonate to a level of 8.0 grams/liter (normal beer is 5.5 g/L)
- The temperature inside is 75 degrees Fahrenheit (similar to the open fermenter) so that the yeast can metabolize the sugars.
- The beer must remain in the cellar for 9 days before being checked for proper carbonation level, microbiological purity and consistent taste profile.
- Our stronger beers (eg., Ommegang Abbey and Three Philosophers) are suitable for further cellaring to allow the flavors to evolve. The beer does not become stronger in alcohol, but rather matures in flavor. Interesting notes of dried fruit, cedar, leather, and toffee can occur with cellaring the beer for a few years. Either way (fresh or cellared) the beer tastes fantastic!
- From brewhouse to final release of packaged beer, the process takes about 5 weeks. Nothing good ever happens fast!
