Browsing articles tagged with " Breweries"
The pilot plant for new the fermentation process (Picture: K. Auffermann-Müller/TUM)
The beer is going green, and it has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day—a group of scientists from the Technical University of Munich (Germany) have developed a new non-stop fermentation process that takes place in stages over a number of interconnected tanks. The tank system can be operated continuously over a period of several months, which leads to an energy reduction. The new method also promises significant resource efficiency gains.
Fermentation and lagering are the most time-consuming stages in the brewing process. In these production steps the beer develops its characteristic flavors and aromas. “The taste and quality of the beer depend to a large extent on the type of yeast used, and the applied fermentation process,” explains Konrad Müller-Auffermann of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality.
Breweries normally use large, cylindroconical, stainless steel tanks (CCTs) for fermentation. These tanks have only one inlet and outlet at their base for filling and discharging the beer and yeast. Once fermentation and lagering have been completed, the breweries release the carbon dioxide that has built up in the tanks and clean them thoroughly—a process that usually takes several hours. Subsequently the tanks can be refilled with the next batch.
Therefore the tanks cannot be used for production during filling, emptying and cleaning. In order to eliminate these downtime, a TUM scientist has developed a new process that allows continuous fermentations in a number of interconnected tanks. “We simply equip the existing tanks with a central pipe, with open bottom,” says Müller-Auffermann. “This enables the combination of tanks in order to create a reaction cascade.”
The advantages of continuous operation
With this new process, yeast and other sedimented substances can be separated into fractions and re-used if required. Müller-Auffermann explains: “By installing a downward-facing pipe, we created two reaction zones in each tank. Now, unlike the conventional system, the brewers can fill and empty the tanks continuously from the top part of the tanks. The bottom connection of the tank can hence be used to discharge yeast cells and other particles.”
Continuous operation makes the fermentation plant more efficient. “This new method reduces the incidence of energy peaks, so that breweries will be able to save on electricity. In addition, less beer will be lost—and breweries can save water and cleaning detergents,” says Müller-Auffermann.
The process and system, for which TUM has submitted a patent application, is running successfully on a small scale at the Research Center Weihenstephan. Hence, the brewing industry is already considering the application of this efficient and environmentally friendly concept for industrial-scale operations in the near future.
Old dream—New solution
Brewers have been juggling with the dream of turning the classical batch fermentation into a continuous process for over 100 years. In all this time, however, no one has managed to develop a widely applied industrial concept. Dr. Friedrich Jacob, Director of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality, explains why: “Beer is a highly complex product with hundreds of different components. Even very minor changes in technology can result in too much or too little of a particular substance forming—which may potentially impair the flavor of the beer.”
“When developing this new process and technology, the simplicity was always in the main focus,” adds Müller-Auffermann. “Since the yeast plays a decisive role in the quality of the beer, we handle this sensitive organism nearly identically, compared to the traditional process. That is the key to a consistently good product.”
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — Learning how to play the guitar solo to Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo
Child (Slight Return),” cook flawless Beef Wellington and speak fluent Mandarin
are all honorable endeavors.
So is brewing your own delectable, thirst-quenching beer at home.
Each of these four skills are attainable, but unless you’re
some kind of savant, they’ll probably take a few stabs to get right.
Now that home brewing is finally licit in Alabama, I talked
to three Huntsville breweries to get their advice for first-time home brewers
as well as their memories of first attempts at home brewing. You’ll have to
find your own short-cuts for the Hendrix, Wellington and Mandarin.
Keith Yager, head brewer Yellowhammer Brewing
“To quote the Godfather of brewing, Charlie Papazian, ‘Relax,
don’t worry, have a home brew!’ or if it’s your first batch I would recommend a
22-ounce bomber of Yellowhammer Tobacco Road. Don’t stress and have fun. It’s just
beer, after all.
“My first home brewed beer was a can
of John Bull extract, the yeast under the lid and five pounds of sugar that my mom
got me for Christmas in the ’90s. The beer was truly awful even though I tried
to convince myself and others that it was outstanding. Like any craft it takes
time to develop as a brewer. That said, there is so much great information on
brewing in books and a fantastic community of brewers on online forums that it
really is hard not to learn to make outstanding beer if that is your goal.”
Michael Spratley, brew master Blue
Pants Brewery
“Keep it simple. You don’t have to
brew with 18 kinds of hops just to do it and you’ll learn more about
ingredients if they can stand on their own. Move to kegging as fast as possible
- bottling is horrible. And don’t be afraid to move to all grain; it’s where it
becomes a lot more fun in terms of playing with ingredients and controlling the
other qualities of the beer.
“Don’t mess with different extract
colors, light dry extract is the way to go.
Sometimes extract isn’t as fermentable as advertised so you can use a
little bit of sugar to dry the beer out. Know which grains need to be mashed
and which can be steeped. If you aren’t familiar with an ingredient less is
more.
“(My first attempt at home brewing was as an) IPA, decent, but there were a lot of hop floaties in it and it was very flat.
“Weedy, our assistant brewer will
be teaching classes on home brewing. The
first one is May 18 and there is an advanced class on the 25th. You can sign up on our website on the store
page. We are also having a SMaSH (Single
Malt Single Hop) night coming up which is great for learning about brewing
ingredients.”
Rick Tarvin, co-founder Straight
to Ale Brewing
“Learn sanitation. Well! Find
someone to help. It will greatly reduce the learning curve. Perfect a recipe
before moving on to others. The first time I brewed I made two styles. They
were an 80 Shilling and a brown porter. Both were nasty and were fed to the
drain. It wasn’t until my fifth attempt that I made a drinkable beer, a brown
porter. It was actually very good.
“Both Dan (Perry, STA co-founder) and
I were long time home brewers before starting the brewery. Although many of our beers are now commercial
in that we produce large quantities, our mentality is still that of a home
brewer. We have produced 40 different styles in our short existence. We still
experiment and sometimes fail.”
Ballard’s beer brewing district grows with Stoup Brewing
Posted by Meghan Walker on June 3rd, 2013
In case you had any doubt, Ballard’s brewing district is still growing; Stoup Brewing is set to open in the very near future. The brewery, headed up by self-described “hopeless drink and chow hounds” Brad Benson, Lara Zahaba and Robyn Schumacher, will open at 1108 NW 52nd St. sometime this summer.
According to Stoup’s website, head brewer Benson is, “a scientist to the very last DNA strand,” has a long resume of brewing both for established breweries and start-up operations. Benson’s wife, Zahaba, is a veteran of the wine industry and, “loves all things gastr0 – from a savory plate to a smart pour,” as stated on her bio. They’ll be teaming up with brewer Schumacher, who became the state’s first woman to pass the Cicerone certification exam to become the state’s first Cicerone, or beer expert.
The definition of stoup is three-fold; it is a drinking vessel, a bucket, or a basin for holy water. “As a vehicle for the educated pour, a tool for proper measurement, or a medium for otherworldly bliss, we’re convinced ~ it’s Stoupidly perfect,” they write on their website.
We’ll keep you updated on the opening date. Or, to follow Stoup’s progress, check out their Facebook page.
Tags: Ballard
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News from the Seattle Times
Is it possible to increase the energy efficiency of brewing? Researchers from the Technische Universität München, located in the Bavarian capital world famous for its beer and Biergarten culture, believe they have found a way to add some German industrial efficiency to the old tradition of beer brewing. They have developed a fermentation process that takes place in stages over a number of interconnected tanks. The tank system can be operated continuously over a period of several months, which results in less energy consumption. The new method thus also promises significant resource efficiency gains.
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Fermentation and lagering are the most time-consuming stages in the brewing process. In these production steps the beer develops its characteristic flavors and aromas. “The taste and quality of the beer depend to a large extent on the type of yeast used, and the applied fermentation process,” explains Konrad Müller-Auffermann of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality.
Breweries normally use large, cylindroconical, stainless steel tanks (CCTs) for fermentation. These tanks have only one inlet and outlet at their base for filling and discharging the beer and yeast. Once fermentation and lagering have been completed, the breweries release the carbon dioxide that has built up in the tanks and clean them thoroughly – a process that usually takes several hours. Subsequently the tanks can be refilled with the next batch.
Therefore the tanks cannot be used for production during filling, emptying and cleaning. In order to eliminate these downtimes, a TUM scientist has developed a new process that allows continuous fermentations in a number of interconnected tanks. “We simply equip the existing tanks with a central pipe, with open bottom,” says Müller-Auffermann. “This enables the combination of tanks in order to create a reaction cascade.”
The advantages of continuous operation
With this new process, yeast and other sedimented substances can be fractionized and re-used if required. Müller-Auffermann explains: “By installing a downward-facing pipe, we created two reaction zones in each tank. Now, unlike the conventional system, the brewers can fill and empty the tanks continuously from the top part of the tanks. The bottom connection of the tank can hence be used to discharge yeast cells and other particles.”
Continuous operation makes the fermentation plant more efficient. “This new method reduces the incidence of energy peaks, so that breweries will be able to save on electricity. In addition, less beer will be lost – and breweries can save water and cleaning detergents,” says Müller-Auffermann.
The process and system, for which TUM has submitted a patent application, is running successfully on a small scale at the Research Center Weihenstephan. Hence, the brewing industry is already considering the application of this efficient and environmentally friendly concept for industrial-scale operations in the near future.
Old dream – New solution
Brewers have been juggling with the dream of turning the classical batch fermentation into a continuous process for over 100 years. In all this time, however, no one has managed to develop a widely applied industrial concept. Dr. Friedrich Jacob, Director of the Research Center Weihenstephan for Brewing and Food Quality, explains why: “Beer is a highly complex product with hundreds of different components. Even very minor changes in technology can result in too much or too little of a particular substance forming – which may potentially impair the flavor of the beer.”
“When developing this new process and technology, the simplicity was always in the main focus,” adds Müller-Auffermann. “Since the yeast plays a decisive role in the quality of the beer, we handle this sensitive organism nearly identically, compared to the traditional process. That is the key to a consistently good product.” — Technische Universität München, www.tum.de
Brewing it for Ourselves
A short guide to the long history of American homebrew
America has a long history with home brewing beer. The pilgrims did it in Plymouth because it was considered safer than the questionable water of their adopted home. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson made beer at Mount Vernon and Monticello respectively.
Home brewing fits with the American sensibility: It’s an improvised, self-sufficient, penny-wise activity that was carried westward with the pioneers. Brewing remained an important part of American society right up until 1920, when the 18th Amendment, more commonly known as Prohibition, outlawed “the manufacture, sale, or transportation” of alcohol for “beverage purposes.”
Now, true, Prohibition couldn’t stop home brewing, but it certainly forced it underground. And even the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 couldn’t bring it back. When the hangovers lifted, it must have come as a surprise to find that while the new statutes allowed for home winemaking, they neglected to include beer brewing, an activity that continued to be illegal for the next 46 years.
Finally, in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed H.R. 1337, which allowed for up to 200 gallons of beer for personal use per calendar year to be produced per household. Even before the law went into effect in February 1979, some former underground brewers in Colorado formed the American Homebrewers Association (AHA).
Home brewing fits with the American sensibility: It’s an improvised, self-sufficient, penny-wise activity that was carried westward with the pioneers.
America’s restrictive laws on home brewing prior to H.R. 1337 seemed to enforce some narrow tastes when it came to beer. In 1978, the year President Carter brought home brewers out of the closet, there were only 89 breweries in the U.S. Plenty of people across the country had continued making beer clandestinely since Prohibition, but few were able to pass along their experience to other would-be brewers. With the door opened and national organizations like the AHA in place, hobbyists were able to communicate with each other, repeating successes and avoiding mistakes. Odd and interesting experiments yielded both good and bad results, and the narrow range of tastes offered by Budweiser, Miller and Coors began to seem increasingly less satisfying.
In 1982 the annual Great American Beer Festival began in Colorado. In the ’80s and ’90s, driven in large part by the increasing ambitions of hobbyists, microbreweries began budding up across the country making innovative, traditional, and forgotten styles of beer that further stretched the American palate. Today there are well north of 2,000 small, medium and large-scale breweries in the U.S. According to the Brewers Association, the trade organization representing the majority of American breweries; you’d have to go back to 1887 to find a time when there were more. Though craft sales remain a small percentage of total beer sales (something like 5 percent), they command enough attention that large national brands have generated lines to appeal to the craft beer consumer—I’m looking at you, Rolling Rock and Black Rock.
As testament to how far home brewing has come, even the current President has gotten in the game, recently making a honey ale with honey from the White House beehives. Considering the number of founding fathers that have brewed, it’s amazing that the Obamas are apparently the only First Family to enjoy home brewed beer in the Oval Office.
Banks DIH Limited has installed a new Stromboli system as its multimillion brewery modernisation programme intensifies at Thirst Park, a release from the company said.
Matthew Kendall, Brew-master at Banks said the Stromboli system within the new Wort Kettle will provide many advantages over the present one such as higher wort quality, energy conservation, loss reduction and overall consistency of wort. Wort is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer and it also contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.
“This state-of-the-art system is presently installed in over 50 countries worldwide and having it set up here will propel Banks DIH Limited to a group of elite breweries that consider these and …..To continue reading, login or subscribe now.
The “People’s Republic of Boulder” has acquired a reputation based on its proliferation of liberals.
So it’s likely few would guess Boulder’s conservative faction kept the town dry for practically 50 years surrounding the age of prohibition.
And while home brewing seems little more than a hobby for the eccentric relative or coworker most of us seem to know — those home breweries in the 1970s were thought to be crazy at the time —it led to innovations that are among the foundations of today’s microbrew industry.
Deep in the archives, Boulder still has some surprises up its sleeve, a fact Julie Schumaker knows all too well.
As curator of exhibits and facilities at the Boulder History Museum, Schumaker has followed the thread of many historic tales, and this year she explored Boulder County’s history of brewing beer.
A “hot topic right now,” Schumaker said the history of brewing has been on the museum’s radar for years. So, with a gap in the museum’s schedule and an obvious statewide and national interest in the practice, an exhibit was born — “Beer! Boulder’s History on Tap.”
Far from just following a trend, though, Schumaker said the exhibit offers new perspectives on this enigmatic city — and, as historians argue, perhaps insight into what Boulder’s future holds.
“History repeats itself,” Rick Sinner said, referencing a cliché made all too real.
A local collector of all things Boulder County, especially those advertising businesses, Sinner has done his research. And what he’s found from weeks of sifting through old newspapers and artifacts is that a community can’t help but repeat its own history.
“You really have to study it, to take note of it, and it’ll just hit you over the head,” Sinner said. “We’re right there today, and that was 100 years ago.”
Adds Mona Lambrecht of CU’s Heritage Center: “People learning about their history is important — period.”
And while she admits she might be biased as a Boulder historian and genealogist, she said that understanding a city’s history forms a bond between resident and town.
“It grounds people and creates a connection to where they live,” she said. “You really connect to the community in a different way if you understand its history.”
Even a beer history.
Because as Schumaker argues, “Boulder hasn’t always been the Boulder they moved to. It’s one of the things people will find out.”
It all started with Boulder City Brewery in 1876 (not to be confused with today’s Boulder Beer).
A German tradition, as Lambrecht said, brewing was historically well-received. “Wherever they (the German communities) brought brewing, the locals enjoyed it. It was a welcomed custom.”
And so it began.
Though the city’s beer source eventually folded in 1897, it lived on through others, including the original Crystal Springs Brewing shortly after.
But as prohibition swept across the United States, beer’s ubiquity was ended. Boulder was already a few steps ahead of prohibition, having slipped into a “dry” status years before the rest of the nation. In 1907, the Better Boulder Party and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union wiped clean the city’s drinking presence, far outlasting the county or even state and nation’s prohibition laws.
“Boulder’s always had a higher standard for themselves,” Schumaker said, and for that time in history, “getting rid of the bars would elevate the town.”
Decades later — and after 15 elections — the city became “wet” again in 1967, and while it had been happening illegally for years, home brewing’s first surge powered through.
By the late 1970s, home brewing had become a creative culture, driven by a “grassroots awareness and a desire to learn about beer,” said Charlie Papazian, a brewing pioneer who notes that, while beer is a part of Boulder’s history, “it’s also a big part of my history.”
As home brewing developed, Papazian taught hundreds of others what he knew. By 1978, he had formed the American Homebrewers Association with Charlie Matzen. Many asked why such an organization was necessary, but Papazian said he found it offered “an opportunity for the community that was fun and meaningful.
“People could establish their own personal vision of what it could be.”
And it’s that creative process, and especially the dream behind it, that fueled the craft-brew fire.
“Beer and brewing in Boulder has been about so many people and the communities it has helped come together,” Papazian said. “It all started with home brewing, but obviously it has transcended to a lot of craft brewers and craft awareness in Boulder County that rivals any other part of the country.”
“Ground zero,” as Papazian calls it, “Boulder was kind of a vibrant starting point of community building that has really defined what craft brewers are today.”
Schumaker agreed.
Filling Boulder’s many “dry” years was Coors Brewing Co. in Golden, she said, and while it did well in producing a consistent light lager, it also set the stage for a desire for variety.
“It really does give you a reason for why craft brewing is so huge,” Schumaker said. “For 50 years, there was just light lager.”
Enter Boulder Beer in 1979, the state’s first microbrewery and the nation’s second, following a California operation that has since closed. Boulder Beer now holds the title of longest running craft brewery to open since prohibition nationally, Schumaker said.
Since then, the microbrewery world lives and breathes across Boulder County, with new breweries and brew pubs popping up every month.
Within her “six-pack,” as she calls the barrels stacked tall in the exhibit, are Boulder Beer, Avery Brewing, Twisted Pine Brewery, Upslope Brewing Co. — a new but rapidly expanding brewery on the scene — and Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing and Oskar Blues Brewery.
Schumaker said the museum’s exhibit is sort of an education for both the out-of-state residents she expects to come through but also the locals who are diving into their city’s history for the first time.
A “tap wall” along the back shows the real variety offered. And as visitors end their tour with the great tap lineup, they get to become part of the exhibit with an informal survey created by Schumaker and exhibit designer Seth Frankel.
Take a sticker — blue for men, pink for women — and plop it where your “preferred palette” lies. From hops to malts, light to dark, Schumaker said she hopes the wall will showcase tastes and get folks engaged in what they’ve created.
“BEER! BOULDER’S HISTORY ON TAP.” The sudsy exhibit runs through Oct. 27 at the Boulder History Museum, 1206 Euclid Ave., Boulder. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for students. 303-449-3463 or boulderhistory.org.
REIDSVILLE — April is the inaugural North Carolina Beer Month and Eric Smith couldn’t be happier.
Smith, 38, is a home brewer — an excellent one at that — and a fan of beer. He’s doing his part to get the word out about craft beers and brewers in the state.
He has a blog — ncbeers.blogspot.com — that details his visits to craft breweries in the state. He participates in brewing demonstrations, attends beer festivals and anything else that will get others as excited about home brewing as he is.
He’s also celebrating beer month in an appropriate fashion.
“My goal for the month of April is to only drink North Carolina beer,” Smith said.Continue Reading
It all began for Smith with a simple beer kit, a birthday gift from his wife, Kelly, in 1996.
An untapped talent emerged.
Smith, after years of brewing, can break down the ingredients of any beer he drinks.
“I can taste a beer and tell you what hops were used and typically what malt was used and typically what yeast was used,” Smith said.
An impressive feat, but Smith said it’s something he picked up from years of tasting the ingredients while brewing beer. He tastes them before and during the process. Not many brewers do this, according to Smith.
He is also a talented brewer. Smith keeps several recipes on file and brews according to his mood. Sometimes he goes to a home-brew supply store and creates his recipe while he’s there. Other times, he drinks a beer he likes and he wants to recreate that taste.
He’s often asked why he doesn’t create his own brewery.
“I already turned one hobby into a job,” Smith said. “I don’t need two.”
His job as a welder is something he’s been doing since he was 10 while watching and learning from his father. Smith turned this hobby into a job after he was laid off from his airline job in 2002.
He is happy with welding as a job. Smith likes brewing, but he said he doesn’t feel like brewing every day. It will stay a hobby.
A hobby that still keeps him busy, even if he doesn’t brew every day.
Smith is in the opening stages of a project that will take him to every brewery in the state. It took a year to plan, and he hopes to finish his statewide tour by the end of the year or at least by March 2014.
His reputation as a brewer often precedes him, and he gets a more extensive tour than advertised. His wife often acts as his driver on these tours. It’s only fair since she’s the one who got him started in the first place.
When he’s not touring breweries and making beer, Smith said he will continue to encourage others to take up home brewing. Beer kits are inexpensive, and hobbyists can invest in as little a $100-150 for a top-of-the-line brewery system.
And it’s not hard to make the beer.
“If you can boil water, then you can brew beer,” Smith said.
Brewing is not the only thing on Smith’s mind. He is interested in several topics and enjoys sitting at a bar getting to know the person beside him.
“I don’t care what your religion is,” Smith said, “I don’t care how you voted. If you like to drink a good beer, then I’m going to sit down and drink a good beer with you.”
Just remember not to bet him in guessing what kind of beer you are drinking.
Contact Brad Kesler at 373-7060, and follow @Brad_Kesler on Twitter.
The Readington Museums has announced that historic brewer, Rich Wagner, will be on hand to demonstrate Colonial beer brewing, on Sunday, May 5, at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, from 1-4 p.m. The farmstead is at 114 Dreahook Road in the Stanton section of Readington Township.
During this program, Wagner will show the step-by-step process of taking water and grain and turning it into beer. Sorry, samples will not be given. For hundreds of years folks in Europe knew better than to drink the water, as everyone knew water could make you deathly ill. Instead, they brewed and drank beer, including children. So, it was a natural jump for immigrants arriving in the New World to bring their tradition of brewing and drinking beer here. Much of the beer was brewed at home, until such time as breweries could be established in larger towns and cities.
Wagner has been researching Pennsylvania brewing history since 1980, and has done extensive research into Colonial breweries. In 1990 he started to interpret seventeenth century brewing techniques at William Penn’s Bake and Brew House at Pennsbury Manor and soon afterward worked with a cooper to construct his own reproduction of a seventeenth century brewing system.
The program is free, but donations are accepted. Groups of six or more are asked to call for a reservation. For more information, contact program director Kimberly Costa at 908-236-2327.
For directions, visit readingtonmuseums.org.
By LAURA TILLMAN
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a bill into law allowing home brewing of beer.
Senate Bill 2183, which takes effect July 1, will allow people over 21 to make their own beer, as long as they don’t sell it.
A household with one resident over 21 will be able make up to 100 gallons of beer in one year. If there are two or more people over 21 in the household, they can make 200 gallons per year.
Home-brewing had been ruled legal, but the state Department or Revenue had refused to issue permits to any but commercial brewers
It’s the latest of several beer-related bills to become law over the past two years. Mississippians can now purchase beer with higher alcohol by volume and sample beer at state breweries.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
