I decided to use the Brooklyn Brewery for my beverage production experiential analysis because I wasn’t able to go to the vineyard. The Brooklyn Brewery is a beer production and tasting bar located in Williamsburg Brooklyn. I have to say that I was pretty excited for this visit because I’m kind of a beer fan and I have never been to or thought about going to a brewery.

When I got there I walked in to hear someone asking if anyone wants to take the tour or if they’re just drinking so I immediately walked up to him and told him that I’m on this visit for a school assignment and that I wanted to take the tour. The guy was very nice because he told me that I could ask him or whoever anything I needed too because it was for school. I got my tour ticket and then I went to go get my beer pass. There were a couple of beers on the menu but I ended up getting one that had orange in it. I liked it a lot because it had the beer bitterness that I liked but it tasted of orange so it balanced out.

The bartender was also my tour guide. His name was Travis and he told us that they’ve been around since 1980 but they were only home brewers and did not yet have this brewery. They would sell recipes until they made enough to buy what they now call the Brooklyn Brewery and they’ve been opened since 1988. They brew 24 hours a day, 5 days a week using a 50 barrel roll up system from Germany. Each beer is tailor made by how many grains are used.

Travis let us know that there are 4 ingredients in beer, water, grains, hops and yeast (which I was glad to already know). He also let us know the two categories of beer, ale and lager with ale being the sharper one. The way they make their beer is by adding their grains to a drum that heats them up and creates water when the grain start to come out of their shells. This is filtered by separating the water from the grain in order to kill any bacteria that is still in it. It is then transferred to what he called the “war pool” where the hops will be added. They let the mixture cool down and then they send it to the fermentation cellars where the yeast is added. They let it become beer and then they bottle it up and start to distribute it. They depend a lot on word of mouth as well as selling their beers to local Brooklyn establishments.

filter

The staff was really helpful. I enjoyed my visit and I thought the beer was really good. I liked that they didn’t try to make the place look fancy, it looked exactly how i would expect a beer making place to look. It was a good new experience.

Brooklyn Legar!

I went to an alternative which is a beer brewery. It is called Brooklyn Brewery and located at 79 N 11th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249. It was an interesting trip, not that I learned beer production but also the history of it and how they market them self in the hospitality industry. I went to the brewery a little bit early just to got some beer and I found that flavor and the aroma was a little different than the other brand, it has is own style I guess is a symbol of Brooklyn in a way.
I bought a 12oz of Brooklyn Legar before the tour

Beer Tank

The pipe that provide water for the brew.

The middle machine is where they use for pressing.

Bottling line machine that can bottle up to 7000 per hour.

Bottling machine.

It shows that its bottle.

like in wine class I tried and making notes in my head. I found out that it tasted a little different from the other brands it gives a refreshing feeling. The style of this beer is an American Amber lager and it uses crystal malt and cascade hops. In my opinion, this beer would go with pizza or fried chicken.
Steven Hindy is the owner and founder of this brand, he never thought that one day he would become this big. He was a news reporter stayed in the Middle East and learned homebrew over there. He came back to the USA in 1994 and decided he wants to do something different. He started the business with Thom which he never thought this can be a big success. When both of them decided to work together they found Milton Glaser to design their logo that’s how the Brooklyn brewery logo came from.
In 1996 when the brewery started to brew at Brooklyn. The personnel told us there are four basic ingredients to make beers which is Grains + Hop s + Water + yeast=Beer. First they have to crack all the grain, in Brooklyn brewery their grains are came already cracked and sealed, this process will help isolate the enzymes, then they need hot water and grain mash together, the enzymes in the grains will react to the hot water and creates sugar, after that they will add hops to balance the bitterness and creates the flavor of beers, lastly when they add yeast to ferment they will become beer. It was interesting that although the facility is small they have their own assembly line to in the other room. He mentioned that when they first purchase the machine it is only 2 in the world. They can bottle up to 7000 bottles an hour. In terms of marketing, their beer sells in 27 states and 34 countries internality.
I think the personnel was off topics a little. We had like 30 minutes of the tour, he spends about 28 minutes on the story of the founder and how the company becomes this big. I felt like it would be better if he explains more how beers works and the different style of their beer. What makes it so different than other company. Also, I didn’t get a chance to understand how a lot of their machine works because he was making a lot of jokes and wasn’t very into it. But overall, I really liked the taste of their beer.

Kings County Distillery (FRONT)

The Distillery I visited is Kings County Distillery located in 299 Sands St, Brooklyn, New York 11201. Kings County Distillery is highly known for operating whiskey distillery such as corn whiskey and bourbon whiskey. It is NYC’s first legal distillery since Prohibition. Kings County began as the smallest commercial distillery in the county and was first located on a small 325 square foot room in East Williamsburg. It had five 24-liter stainless steel stills making whiskey continuously. In 2012, the distillery moved into the Paymaster Building in the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard, just a few miles away from the Brooklyn Whiskey Wats of the 1860s and the former distillery district waterfront. It was a tremendously am informative 1 hour tour and a half. My tour guide Evan was extremely knowledgeable about distillation and super friendly. He talked a lot about the history and process of making Whiskey in Kings County Distillery. I learned plenty about both the history and craft process, and really enjoyed the tasting. They make handmade moonshine, bourbon, and other whiskeys alongside with experimenting different flavor whiskey. Sometime their experimented whiskey come as a failure but they continue to try to make a new creation. A few of their popular creations they are are honey moonshine, grapefruit jalapeno moonshine, chocolate whiskey, and etc. Below are some of their whiskeys products and price list.

Evan brought us to the main distillery floor where all the whiskeys gets made. The main ingredient in making whiskey is grain especially malted barley grain which has a smokey rubbery characteristic.  Their main product bourbon need to be 51% corn by law so they are 70% corn. They have their corn and grains straight from the farm, lakeview organic grain which is a farm in upstate New York. The first step is in their cooker that boils/cooks the corn and grains and liquefy it. Then they have a separator to separate all the grain and liquid. The liquid goes a tank which then pumps it into their fermenters. They sprinkle yeast all over the fermenters and leave it for about two to four days to ferment.

Fermentation

Evan also emphasize that fermentation process is similar to how beer gets fermented just that for distilling, it involves removing the carbon dioxide. Once it is ready, the liquid gets pumped into stills. The stills they use are true pot stills.  

It cooks it on one side of the stills and turns into steam. There is a black pipe that compressed steam. That’s the heat source that goes into a coil, a stainless steel coil inside the still. It boils the steam to vapor and travels into a condenser and then can see the whiskey coming right out of the stone. They consider it as double distilling. One advantages of their pot stills is that it gives a really rich textural flavor. After one distillation, they will reduce a thousand liters of wash or distillers beer down to about six percent alcohol down to about 600 liters at forty percent alcohol.  They will have someone taste and smell the spirit and make sure it is the right consistency and flavor.

The last and longest step in the process is storing the spirits. Evan brought us to where they stored it in barrels. They have approximately 2,400 barrels. Their shorter age barrels are in the center of the room and larger one near the windows. Their whiskey bourbon has to be aged in a charred new oak barrel so they have smaller barrels with char three on the inside. Their rye whiskey is aged in the smaller barrels. Usually the smallest size barrel tends to be more for the experimental whiskeys like oatmeal whiskey.

Tasting

At the end of the tour, Evan offered tasting of their whiskey. It started off with a sample of moonshine. Moonshine has the most high-proof distilled spirit. It has NOT ever been barreled so it had high alcohol content. It was extremely hard to consume and strong. The second sample I had was spiced whiskey. It had a fusion of 7 spices which is pepper, cinnamon, star anish, all spices, caradamom, nutmeg, and cloves. It had a spicy cinnamon kick to it. The remaining whiskey I tried was straight bourbon whiskey, peated bourbon, and chocolate flavored whiskey. My personal favorite was the chocolate flavored whiskey. They infused their moonshine with ground cacao beans from Mast Brothers Chocolate, a factory nearby. It had a hint of bitterness and tasted like dark chocolate. I really enjoyed it!

Chocolate Flavored Whiskey

Throughout my time in this semesters wine class I have gained extensive knowledge about the creation and production of wine and spirits, so I was really excited to go and experience it in person. I was able to go to Bedell Cellars on November 25th in the North Fork of Long Island. I went with my fellow classmate Malica, and thanks to the wine and beverage manager at her job we were able to indulge in a complimentary wine tasting and tour of the vineyard and cellar.

When arriving we were greeted kindly by the conductor of the tour Brad who showed us to our seats. We were given tasting menus and excited to see that we would taste four wines and a cider! I was so excited for the cider because that’s something that we have never tasted in class. The cottage cider was the first thing we tried Brad explained that they use it to help cleanse the palate, made from the apples grown in there cottage orchard built in 1710. The smell of the cider was a pleasant aroma of bright crisp apples and the taste matched exactly, it had a crisp mouth fill, which left my mouth salivating ready for the next glass. Up next was First Crush White 2016 a unique aromatic blend made from 40% Chardonnay, 30% Gewurztraminer, 20% Sauvignon Blanchard 10% Riesling and aged in steel. This wine reminded me of a wine for a beginner something that almost anyone would like; it had notes of apples, lemon and some mineral qualities this wine is very easy to like but to some might think it is one noted.

The remainder of the wines was all red grapes. The first one was called Taste Noveau 2017, made from fermenting whole grape clusters using the classic carbonic macetration technique 90% Merlot and 10% Malbec, The second one was a 2015 Caberbet Franc aged in older French barrels. Lastly we had the Taste Red 2013 a full-bodied blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Syrah, 14% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc. Out of the red wines I would say the Taste Noveau was my least favorite, because I felt the taste was lacking body and taste it almost had a watered down quality to it but then again it is the first wine of the vintage so with time maybe the flavors would develop more. Taste Red 2013 I was torn between different feelings because I loved the soft and ripe tannins it had but there wasn’t enough complexity in flavor. I was looking forward to the complexness of the grapes since it was a blend but it does have a unique taste that I enjoyed. Out of all the wines I tried the Bedell Cellars 2015 Cabernet Franc was amazing I really enjoyed this wine, the smell was remarkable it smelled just like butter and it coated my mouth like a blanket it had notes of dark cherries, blackeberries and vanilla from fermenting in old French barrels. It left my mouth savoring for more

After the tasting Brad took us on a tour of the vineyard the cellar and the bottling station. Although nothing was in season and their were no grapes on the vines the visuals were absoultely beautiful. We were informed that Bedell Cellars is home to some the oldest vines in the North Forks of Long Island. The first grapevine was planted by founder Kip Bedell in 1980, the soil there is rocky and sandy due to the galciers years ago and the climate is oceanic due to the alantic ocean just east of them.

The Vineyard

An exhibit of what the soil is like

Next we visited the cellar it was so cool to see all the oak barrels and steel tanks. They had all of the barrels labeled with the type of grape date and time and also temperature. I learned that instead of buying commercial yeast to firmament their wine they actually create their own natural yeast, which helps them save money and gives the wine a special taste. Also I found out that there most popular grapes are Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc and the best sellers are Merlot and their Rose. The bottling station was nest door, in it was the bottling machine which was very interesting not as big as I would’ve thought I would be but it did look as complicated it could bottle up to twenty bottles per minute! A fun fact about Bedell is that it was the first wine from New York to be served at an inauguration. The 2009 Merlot was in the menu at President Obamas second term inauguration ceremony.

Oak Barrels

Oak Barrel Frm The Cab Franc I Loved !!!!

Steel Tanks For Fermentation

Bottling Room/Station

In Conclusion This experience was so amazing I could not have asked for anything better then this. I was given a wine tasting and tour I feel that this has been such an amazing eye opener to the creation and production of wine, to see it first hand was a great treat I feel that I know so much more about the production of wine. I would definitely love to come back to Bedell in the spring when the grapes are growing on the vine, and I would recommend Bedell wines to a friend any day.

The distillery i visited was the Van brunt still house on 6 bay street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 which started around 6 years ago. Majority of the space was use for the distillery process and only a small room was used as a bar for people to buy whiskey and relax. I met Josh the bartender who went to inform Rachel the tour guide that I arrive from my tour and said to try any whiskey I want while waiting for her to set up. After some research, I learn that Van Brunt Stillhouse was co-founded by Daric Schlesselman and Sarah Ludington from a interesting magazine featuring a small interview about what they produced, their best products and their choice of location.

They told me they get most of their ingredients (Malt Barley, Wheat, Corn, Rye from the finger lakes region but have some small supplier elsewhere too. They clearly understand the distillery process and can clearly explain it to the guest. Josh the Bartender is a really nice guy, trying to make sure I understand everything, asking If i want to taste the whiskey, and answering every question I asked. He also explain how they make their special drinks like and old fashion style, Manhattan style, etc. The main supplier is the Oechsner Farms owned by Thor Oechsner who supplies not just Van Brunt Stillhouse but other breweries too. The farm makes sure to properly clean, dry, store and handle their grain for the best quality. The grains are cleaned and process into a two thousand pound super sack and shipped out to their partners. They grow warthog hard red winter wheat, rye, soft white winter wheat, corn, hard red spring wheat, buckwheat and clover. They also have connection with other farms but they are not certified as organic farm currently. The only whiskey I couldn’t try was the Single Malt Whiskey because it wasn’t a farmed product.

Wheats from Oechsner Farm Finger lakes

The process for their Whiskey production starts off with weighing the ingredients on the giant scale they have to determine how much whisky they can make at once.                                                                               

Then it goes to the miller to get milled into smaller size pieces around coarse size I’m told and then it goes through a small pipe that goes through the wall and straight to the Mash Tun where the crushed grains goes through the mashing process to convert the starch in the crushed grains into sugar for fermentation.

Miller

Mash Tun inside

After they are mash and ready they  are sent to the stainless steel tanks that can hold 3000L at once for a short period of time for their first fermentation.They have three tanks in total each holding 3000L at once but they only have on Pot still that can hold up to only 750 L at a time so they repeat this process around 3-4 times for every batch.

Then the Pot Still they use which boils so only the alcohol is turn into gas and goes through the copper pipe into the cooling area to reduce the heat and turn them back into liquid and then the process is repeated twice for each 750 L of mash. The first run is the rough run where the results is that the alcohol still looks a little disgusting, not clear enough yet, and that is when they repeat the process a second time known as the Spirit Run to get the end result transparent and and ready for 2nd fermentation. 

The finish products goes into the Charred barrels for 16-24 months of fermentation and when they are finish they are brought down to around 40 to 65 proof.

The leftover of the end result goes through a machine that separates the mash from the water, the mash is sent to a compost area and the water goes though the drains.

I enjoyed my visited to this Distillery, fantastic customer service skills, knowledge is top notch, and they are all very friendly. Josh and Rachel are nice people and this is a great place to visited if you like Whiskey. They are planning are expanding and finding another warehouse  to purchased around the area so they can make more whiskey at once.

I visited the New York Distilling Company located at 79 Richardson Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211, and participated in their V.I.P. tour and learned about the history, process and techniques that are practiced in the New York Distilling Company. I had the pleasure to meet with Diane Wade who is the Brand Ambassador and also the tour guide, she was very informative and specific in detail which was very helpful and clear to understand. The New York Distilling Company has been distilling since December 5, 2011. The Prohibition occurred throughout the years of 1920-1933, in which it was an act that banned the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It ended in December of 1934; all distilleries opened back up in farms, farmers preserving its crops. During the months of October to February, which is within five months of winter in New York City, there are not a lot of crops that farmers are able to use to make for alcohol, sales within the winter times decrease d in income. Distilling alcohol is a natural preservative, for an example, harvested grapes crushes juice which fermentation occurs that creates alcohol and liquid is at 12 to 14 percent A.B.V. (alcohol by volume) stable distilling is higher in percentage in alcohol and it can last for years without much care and it does not matter what condition or weather it is in. Federal law changed in 1933, state laws really didn’t necessarily change in New York State in which it was not legally able to distill again until 2002, which caused an 82 year gap of no distilling production in New York State. In 2017 all 50 state change their laws to allow distilling. Allen Katz who is the co-founder along with his partners Tom Potter who is the co-founder of the Brooklyn Brewery and Bill Potter opened the New York Distilling Company in 2011.

New York Distilling Company

New York Distilling Company

Rye which is a cereal grain and Juniper which comes from the word Jenever in Dutch as well as the word Gin, are the two main important ingredients that are distilled in the New York Distilling company creating the Dorothy Parker New York Gin, Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, Ragtime Straight Whiskey, Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey and Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey. The process in making both the Rye Whiskey and Gin at New York Distilling Company is first: Fermentation: which makes alcohol, yeast plus sugar equals alcohol plus carbon dioxide plus heat. In the mash bill, grain and water is mixed together in the mash tun, 75 percent rye, 13 percent corn and 12 percent malt is in a tank, it is then transferred into a different tank and yeast is added and fermentation begins which can take up to four day and ends up with an A.B.V. of ten percent. Second: Distillation: (concentrate alcohol) the separation of water and alcohol process in a continuous still. Fermented mash goes inside the pot to heat, the alcohol vapor occurs and travels through the columns, and then vapor is turning back into liquid, alcohol boils at 78 degrees Celsius and water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, after two runs 75 percent A.B.V. Third: Gin: is re-distill base spirit with juniper and other botanicals. Lastly: Rye Whiskey is put in rye distillate in New American Charred Oak Barrels for three or more years.

Continuous Still is the process of Distilling: the separation of alcohol and water and other materials.

Rye cereal grain

Rye which is a cereal grain. Ingredient use to make Whiskey.

Juniper which looks like black peppers but are not. Is the ingredient to make Gin. Also tasting location.

Mash Tun. Tanks used to ferment.

There were three Gin’s and three Whiskeys to taste, I was advised to first smell the product through my noise while with my mouth open to have both the effect of scent and taste, also when tasting the product, gently coat the tongue, roll it back and then breathe, also there was a technique called the “Kentucky Chew” which is a smacking motion activating essentials oils and taste, the chew pops the flavors on the palate. The first sample we tasted was the Dorothy Parker New York Gin, it was very tannin and full-bodied as well as acidic on the palate. It has juniper, lemon orange, dry berries, cinnamon and citrus and has a clear color like water. The second sample was the Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, it is a cocktail spirit with a 44 percent A.B.V. it had a spicy black pepper taste, citrus palate clear color like water. The third sample was the Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, it is a barrel aged gin which had an oak character and clear like water. The fourth sample was the Ragtime Straight Whiskey, caramel, vanilla, and spice on the palate and the color is brown. The fifth sample was the Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey apple jack barrel finish subtle tones of fruit on the noise, it has a brown color, and the sixth sample was the Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey had a orange candy and cinnamon palate, orange-red color.

In conclusion, the New York Distilling Company was a new learning experience and the tour was very informative and exciting. At the end of the tour I was given the choice to pick a small bottle of either the three gins or whiskeys and I picked the Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey because it was fruity and savory. In “Rock and Rye Returns to the Mix.” by Robert Simonson states, “Beyond using rye whiskey and sugar syrup, the makers of rock and rye have some leeway in creating a formula. Both Mr. Katz’s and Mr. Cooper’s recipes have citrus, but Mr. Katz adds cinnamon and Mr. Cooper includes bitters. Mr. Katz uses a youthful rye, no older than one year, as his base, and sets his alcohol level at a relatively low 32.5 percent in hopes that it will be considered as a cocktail mixer. Mr. Cooper uses a six-year-old rye, with a heartier 42 percent alcohol.” This quote portrays the idea of Mr. Katz analyzing and producing a new look for the Rock and Rye Whiskey which has history and transforming it into a cocktail that the public can enjoy.

Dorothy Parker New York Gin, Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, Ragtime Straight Whiskey, Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey and Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey.

New American Charred White Oak Barrels for whiskey.

Oak barrel, opened for 2 years and it has a red line which indicates how far the whiskey has been soaked through the wood.

New American Charred Oak Barrel.

Work Cited

Our Team. New York Distilling Company. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from http://www.nydistilling.com/team/

Simonson, R. (2014, October 27). Rock and Rye Returns to the Mix. New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/dining/rock-and-rye-returns-to-the-mix.html

I went to the Circa Brewery at 152 Lawrence Street in Brooklyn about 11:30am. When I arrived I began taking pictures of the place, and this must have made the people slightly nervous.

                                                        Then a nice young lady named Mia approached me with a smile on her face, then I  explained, I was from Citytech and I needed some information, then asked if she’d help me. She acquiesced as I asked her to let me take a few more pictures then we could get started. That was fine with her so we began. I asked her ” is this a Brewery, a roasting house for coffee”?   She said “no, this is a brewery for beer.” My ship had sunk. Again I thought myself as being so dense, obtuse.

I looked on in bewilderment and followed through. “Okay, well. This is a Beer Brewery, I’m here and I need a paper to write.” I said “okay then we’ll make it about the beer making procedure.” I asked a few more questions and Mia relented and thought her co-worker might be a better choice to explain the processes. Danny was elevated on some stairs when I first saw Mia talk to him. She came back to me and said her co-worker would be over to help me in a moment. Danny, a medium build dark haired man came over and introduced himself. I explained to him that I was from NYCCT on Jay Street and I had to write a paper, would he give me some information. He agreed, then I explained to him I would be as brief as possible, as not to take him away from his work for too long. I think he liked that, but was also willing to help me.

Danny has been working as a brew master expert for 8 years. The first question was what were the ingredients that were used in the beer making process. He told me that barley is the primary ingredient. The best barley comes from Germany. He mentioned that used a hybrid English, step mash with grain (barley), some Oat, Wheat, Malt etc.… The other ingredients are added for color and flavor. He explained that he took the Wort (Wheat liquid) which contained the starch and sugar, boiled it for 60-90 minutes, then cooled it rapidly. This is called the pitch. Then they add the yeast, then it goes to the yeast fermenter. The yeast eats the sugar and produces alcohol and CO₂. Next it is then cooled for clarity.

Once it is deemed fit to serve or done, it is transferred to the bright beer tank. Then the Malt (color), barley, hops and water fixes the flavor. Danny explained that the best barley come from the farmer, who sells it to the

Maltster, who sells it to the brewer. The ingredients are sometimes roasted or mixed with other grains or oats to give it a distinct flavor. There is Pilsner, Lager and Stouts. All of which requires a different method of fermentation. Danny says that the Pilsner beer he makes is exceptional. They only make about 750 gallons        2-3 times a week. It is not a lot in comparison to the larger breweries, but they hold their own in this part of Brooklyn.       Located at 152 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201

Being at the Brewery brought back a spate of memories to when my Dad tried to make his own home brew. He had bought some grains and placed them in a contraption he’d made by welding some brass fittings together and applied heat to it. Though he tried his best to imitate the Beers of his time, it was a flop. Making beer should be left up to the pros, its a craft with many well kept secrets.

Throughout this semester I have acquired a lot of knowledge about wine that I did not have before, so for the beverage production assignment I wanted to take advantage of the alternative assignments and go to a brewery. On November 11^th, I visited Brooklyn Brewery and attended a tour of the facility. During the tour, I learned a lot about the history of the business and how they make their product.

The first topic covered during the tour was the four ingredients in beer. Beer is about 90-95% water and the rest is made of grains, yeast, and hops.  It is believed that the vitamins and minerals in New York’s water are big factors in what makes their beer distinct. As for the grain, they mostly use malted barley for the beer. During the tour, we saw, touched and smelt two different kinds of malted barley, a pale ale malt and a chocolate malt. Each one smelt distinctly different which provides different qualities to the beer. There hops are grown from all over the U.S and depending on the type of flavor beer they are making, hops are acquired from different places. Currently, most of their hops come from Washington because of their seasonal beers currently on the menu.

Beer Tanks

When learning about the process and brewing practices used to make their beer, I learned there is a lot of science that goes into the process. The process starts by putting the grains in water for 48 hours. This is done to start extracting the sugars from the grain, which will eventually be eaten by the yeast to create carbon dioxide. After 48 hours, they remove the grain, dry it, and roast it to a specific color that will determine the type of beer they are making. Next, the dry grains are reintroduced to hot water in one of their automated machines to create the “mash”, which according to the tour guide, is a sticky paste. After the mash is formed, it is sent to another machine that separates the sugar liquid from the grain becoming unfermented beer, or wort. The final step before fermentation is adding their hops to the unfermented beer in a brew kettle. The hops are what gives the beer its spicy flavor and helps preserve the final product. For Brooklyn Brewery, hops only stay in the mix for a maximum of 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, the hops are separated from the beer. It is at this stage that there brew master, Jared Oliver, decides if it will be an ale or a lager. Lagers ferment longer and in colder temperatures while ales are the opposite. After fermentation, the product is finished and ready to be bottled.

One of the bottling lines in the facility

As for bottling, there were a few practices and techniques I thought were interesting. When the beer is ready to be put in a keg, they force carbonate the liquid to speed the process along. Another interesting technique used is adding a small amount of hot water to their 12 oz. bottles to push out the oxygen in the bottle. According to the tour guide, this prevents it from oxidizing and going stale, which increases the quality and shelf life of their product. This is a technique only used for their 12 oz. bottles because oxidation isn’t a concern in the bigger bottles. There bigger bottles will continue to ferment. More sugar and yeast is added, then it is corked like a bottle of wine and left to ferment. This process gives the beer a completely different flavor from the same beer put into 12 oz. bottles.

For Brooklyn Brewery, it is not just how the beer is made that makes it special, but how the company got started. Owners Steve Hindy and Tom Potter started Brooklyn Brewery in 1988. Hindy learned to make craft beer from his journalism travels in the Middle East. After leaving the Middle East and bringing his family back to Brooklyn, he continued to make craft beer in his apartment where he met his business partner Tom Potter, a bank investor who lived downstairs. From that friendship and general appreciation of beer, Brooklyn Brewery was born. Together Hindy and Potter brought craft beer back to Brooklyn and, not even 30 years later it is has become the world’s number one craft beer exporter in the United States. It is also the 11^th largest craft brewery in the U.S and has the world’s most recognizable craft beer logo, created by Milton Glasser.

After the tour, I walked around the tasting room which was a lot like the tour, loud yet relaxed. After waiting on line, I spoke to one of the attendants behind the counter. They were very knowledgeable and explained the items on the menu more. Considering my knowledge on beer is limited, I did not know what IPA was or what the beers on the menu tasted like. I was told IPA is a beer style that has a “hoppy flavor”. I only

Tasting Room Menu

understood what he meant because I smelt hops on the tour. Even though I did not buy anything the attendant still answered my questions and took the time to describe the different beers to me. I was surprised they were so willing to help considering the line was getting very long behind me.

Overall, this experience opened my mind up to different types of fermented beverages aside from wine and taught be a lot about the product. I am glad I got to learn more about beer and can now appreciate the beverage a little more.

ABSTRACT

The task at hand was a Beverage Production experiential learning experience.  In that experience as a person who study’s wine I was supposed to gain the knowledge of the viticulture and the vivification of wine. Unfortunately, I could not present that experience because of peculiar circumstances. I choose the alternative assignments and visited a brewery in Brooklyn, New York called Strong Rope Brewery.

Strong Rope Located at 574 President ST, Brooklyn ,New York
Sorry for the mean mug

The Strong Rope Brewery located at 574 President ST, Brooklyn, New York.  The brewery is a delightful location for beer tasting with Strong Rope’s own selection of crafted brewed beers.  Strong Rope does have their own ale’s, pale’s, cask and lager beers. At the 574 President ST location I was blessed to see of how they craft their beers for their petite and yet casual bar.  At Strong Rope I was greeted by the owner Jason Sahler whom has been brewing for over 15 years, 2 of which he used open the Strong Rope Brewery.  As a person who studies wine this was an opportunity to understand another action of the power of alcohol and fermentation can do.   As I was greeted by Jason I asked if can participate in the Saturdays tour of beer crafting. The brewing sessions are held every Saturday at 2 pm for $5.

As the tour is going on I looked around and spotted the instruments used to make and brew the beers. Being curious of the container tanks I wanted to reserve my questions for them, but I wanted to listen for the information from the tour. I learned about the ingredients of the beer which consist of malted barley, hops, yeast and the main ingredient of all water.  The process of making beer for Strong Rope. Starts with the ingredients, the Hops are usually dropped down cracked through a mill called a hopper.  There the hops are cracked open and exposes the starchy endosperm from the inside of the grain. .  Caramel malts usually have an aroma of fruit and caramel flavors.

Strong Ropes Brewery Barrel Tanks. These collection of tanks are part of a brewery system that contains Non- dry hops beer and beer with a steady infused temperature controlled fermentation

Carapils have more of a toasted sweetness to them. Those specialty malts are added and then mashed combined with hot water around the temperature of 152- 154 degrees Fahrenheit for the enzymes make carbohydrates to pull out the sugars.

The concentration however goes back to the Hops, which is the personality of beers.  The Hops are the bittering agents it is the equalizer it’s the usage of hops through mashing process helps with fermentation.  Hops has its own bacteria that acts like a sterilizing agent that preserves the beer. Hops comes in two forms leaf and pellets.  The leaves are usually whole and dried and release a necessary acid and the pellet for us crushed and that reduces surface, this cause the beer not to oxidize or spoil pressing the beer.  At Strong Rope brewery Jason get his hops, grains and malts from farms Upstate and from Long island New York.   Like wine instead of grapes there are varieties of hops that are grown. They work with farms to import some of their most quality hops to make their different craft beers.  From the hops and malts the use for example from upstate New York they connect and conduct business with the local farms there to craft their seasonal beers such as “Cluster, Perle, Liberty, Columbus” the reserved hops are then recycled.  They are thrown in with the compost and given back to the farmers where they can use the compost to grow and later craft their beers

” The Storage” , unit containing Strong Ropes Hops, malts and kegs, it also serves as their refrigerator.

When it comes to personnel there aren’t a lot of employees that work in Strong Rope the reason of that Jason explained that he wanted a staff that was just as gifted and as passionate about brewing as he is.  Jason wanted someone who had the knowledge to brew and craft as well as bartend.  Someone who can provide knowledge and great customer service skills. Their kettle practices continue after the milling process the ingredients are pressed over and over until the liquid becomes somewhat clear than they are sent to kennel containers for conversion where they take about 30 -45 minutes to become bright in color. There they have the draining process where the malts usage to help make simple sugars are steeped and then taken and thrown to compost. The sugars the yeast consumes are recycled and run through pipes from the kettle. There the liquids are used with hops provides the Ale acid which is the bitter agent of the beers. The hops provide the personality of the beer. The beer is then boiled and piped through a whirlpool through a heat exchange machine which converts the hot water to cold once cold its blended with little oxygen and yeast. From fermentation the yeast settles down to the bottom of the kettle fermenter.

Strong Ropes Final product of keg beer

Strong Ropes Purchased farm Specialty Malts. Some of the malts stored in these storage bags for seasonal beers to be later crafted. the remains of malts are sent back to the farmers as compost

To further to cool and preserve the beer Ethylene glycol is used all these ingredients are filtered and then carbonated. When the beer is carbonated Strong Hopes uses two methods the bottling method or the bright tank method.  The bottling method is all carbon dioxide. every brewer is a fan of foam. Carbon dioxide is pushed in to force oxygen out.  If they are not bottling they are tanking and aging.  There Strong Rope takes their beers and uses methods to age and even enhance the flavor of their beers. They collected old whisky barrels to enhance the flavor of a selected harvest craft. If they choose to use the old barrels they use the tanks for aging where can later bottles for months at a time or later to but in kegs.

” Fall Fire” A seasonal Ale from Strong Rope Brewery. the beer I could not smell the palate until i drunk the beer at least 1/4 of the way Due to the nature of the carobonization of the foam. The taste of from the palate was bitter but reminded me of Peaches, red apples, and pears.

For a small brewery they have a total of seven tanks.  The 1^st barrel tanks of 5 are used for the hops these beers are non-dry. The other two-barrel tanks are used to allow temperature to be steady for a further fermentation. Through the artistry and craft of these beers I really enjoyed the tore I was very intrigued, and Jason was nothing but hospitable the whole time.  Strong Rope brewery I would recommend for anyone who wants to try a local beer they have won numerous awards for their craft including 2016 Crooked Hop off and 2017’s New York State’s Craft Beer award with numerous other awards.  This experience was fun and welcoming I must do tours more often.

The fires burning through California are devastating to life in so many ways including the impact on tourism. Stay informed:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/12/us/california-wildfire-conditions-speed.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/business/wineries-california-wildfire.html