Author Archives: V.Reid

Brooklyn Brewery

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I just so happened to go on a Saturday the company was throwing a Holiday party for the employees so it did affect the times of the tours. Nonetheless I was the first person online because the website did say they gave out tickets an hour before the tour, I thought the tour started at 11:30 but instead it started at 12pm. Upon entering they gave us the opportunity to buy beer before the tour started. The Brooklyn Brewery beer is made of four main ingreidents which are 95% water, malt, and barley which is essentially the same thing  malt is the back bone to their beer and barley is very sugar rich and enzyme rich. The sugar in barley helps to make alcohol, lastly, hops are added in to make the beer bitter, add flavor and aroma, also preserve the shelf life of the beer. The process of beer making is they grind up all the grains and sugar rich in their mill room then it gets sent on the conveyor belt to the mash tub, the mash tub gets filled with very hot water with the sugar rich grain a mash is made in comparison to porridge. The mash is then sent to a louder ton which separates the sugary liquid  from the grain, the sugary liquid is unfermented beer that is then transferred to the brew kettle. The liquid boils in the brew kettle and hops is added in because when hops is exposed to the heat it breaks down, releases acids that are needed to bitter up the beer. Everything then gets sent to the whirlpool that separates the proteins and the hop particles that isn’t wanted in the beer. After the proteins and hop particles are out it gets sent to the fermentation unit. Brooklyn Brewery has 14 fermentation tanks filled with two types of beers an Ale or a Lager, Ale ferments faster and at a warmer temperature, lager will ferment and sit in the tank for 2 and a half weeks at a colder temperatures. The beer is either bottled or kegged the machine they have will do 120 kegs in one hour and the bottle system is Italian made it can bottle 7,000-12 ounce bottles in one hour.

The tanks that are in front of the entrance upon entering

Fermentation tanks that hold up to 50 barrels of beer.

The system that can keg 120 kegs in one hour

Italian made bottle machine that can bottle 7,000 12 ounce bottles in one hour

 

A visit to Height Chateau

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I thought for a Tuesday mid-day there would not be a lot of traffic in the wine store. I originally wanted to go to Michael Town Wines and Spirits which is walking distance from Heights Chateau to compare, but I decided to go with Heights Chateau. Upon arriving at Heights Chateau it did not what so ever look like a wine store until you look through the window because the displays in the window are so plain. I walked inside at first I started to look around, but then I had went up to the counter where one of the employees were and I told him it was a school project I was doing would it be okay to take photos and ask him a few questions he agreed to do so. I did not get his name, but my three questions where ” what criteria do you choose when selecting wine?” His response was ” oh we just follow a sheet”, my next question was “What is your oldest bottle of wine and what is the craziest request you have gotten from a customer” He says ” Our oldest bottle is 20 years old and we get a lot of crazy request during the holidays”. I tried to reword my questions to see if i can get a more in depth answer, but it was not working so I thanked him and continued to walk around the store, I then finally met Chris who had been there for only two years give me a tour and a lot of information. I proceed to ask Chris the same questions I asked the other employee, Chris told me the criteria they follow when it comes to selecting wines is staff will be sent for tastings and also have in store tastings, request from staff and also customers, then they will see who is the sales distributor. Chris did agree on the oldest bottle of wine was 20 years old and could go for thousands of dollars, that they have a cellular downstairs which most of there expensive wines stay, he even asked Alex if I could go downstairs to see it. My last question to Chris was “How do you sell and get your customer to try something new?” He said to me “It is pretty easy especially if they are loyal customer and I notice they get the same wine every single time then I know what they like and offer then something very similar”. When I realized I needed a photo of “shelf talker” Chris told me there is no shelf talkers in the store that the wine consultants are the shelf talkers. 

Since Chris was beyond helpful I decided to base my pictures off of him. I asked him what was his favorite wine from France

The label next to this wine said “CAVA” Chris explained to me that cava is a name for sparkling wine in Spain. He gave me the tasting notes and he actually sold me on this one.

Lastly, this is a wine which we have not studied from, this wine comes from Portugal

Wines of Chile