Piped fermentation tanks on the left, waiting to be piped on the right!
This Saturday, June 11th, is Carl Von Linde day, our June beer holiday (unless of course, you count Father’s Day). Carl Von Linde is the “father” of the modern lagering process, allowing lagers to be produced year round, rather than having seasonal dependency. It was in 1871 that Carl created the first large scale refrigerated lagering tanks. These tanks allowed the beer to be fermented at the relatively cool temperatures necessary to create a good lager, and ushered in a new era of temperature controlled fermentation.
Ask the Brewer
Are all those pipes connected to the tanks used for moving the beer around?
Actually, all of those pipes help to control the temperature of the tanks. When we move beer around, we use big hoses. The pipes that you see, wrapped in the black insulation foam, actually carry glycol from tank to tank, maintaining each tank at a specific temperature. There is a thermostat on each tank, that allows the brewers to set that particular tank’s temperature, depending on where the beer is at in the brewing process.
When beer first moves from the kettle to the fermenter, it needs to be maintained at a specific temperature for the yeast to get busy, which is what allows fermentation to happy. Ales are usually around 65 degrees, while lagers are kept in the 50’s, a relatively cold temperature compared to other beers.
Once the beer has finished fermentation, it is “cold crashed”. This involves dropping the temperature on the tank to between 33 and 40 degrees, with 38 being the most common. Cold crashing encourages the yeast and any other solids to drop to the bottom of the fermentation vessel, where it can be dumped out as waste (“trub”). Dumping the trub helps to prevent it from imparting any off flavors to the beer and also makes the filtering process much faster and more efficient.
Taproom Tidings
Tap selection for this weekend includes the usual suspects along with the remainder of our Raspberry Infused Pyro. This Friday, June 10th, we have Signature on Wheels joining us, with their delicious take on classic American cuisine. On Saturday, June 11th, Soup Coupe will be here, with soups for hot weather! Ever tried gazpacho before? Now’s your chance!
- Tap selection includes Pyro APA, Roasted Coffee Ale, Fused Orange Blossom Honey Ale, Parched Lime Shandy, Raj-Agni IPA, and Raspberry Pyro
- Thirsty Thursdays $1 off pints and $2 off growler fills (no growler or grumbler fills after 8pm on Thursdays)
- Chocolate-Strawberry and Orange Cupcake from Groundswell includes a moist chocolate strawberry cake with an orange curd center, and a chocolate whipped cream with orange zest and chocolate chunks
Final Thoughts
On Saturday, June 11th, we will be in Milwaukee serving up refreshment at Beer Camp Across America. Join us as we celebrate the craft beer movement with 99 other breweries, and hundreds of beers to try. Running from 3 to 7PM, with music by Maritime and local food trucks, it is sure to be a good time!
As always, if you have questions, drop us a note via Email, Facebook or Twitter.
Cheers!