SHERIDAN — How does beer taste? Local brewers draw inspiration from the vast catalog of ales made around the world. From there, brewers can stick to the traditional style or put their own spin on it, adjusting the malt, yeast and hops to reach their desired flavor.
“Tasting is subjective,” said Ruth Martin, Quality Assurance Manager at Black Tooth Brewing Company. increase.”
The process begins with a variety of malts and oatmeal-like mixtures. These malts include base chocolate, caramel, black and pilsner malts. Black malt is usually used in small amounts due to its bitterness and gives the ale its rich color. Most of the sugar in ale comes directly from Pilsner malts.
The malt mixture is then brought to a boil and hops are added for additional flavor. The ale is boiled again before entering the head exchanger where the yeast is introduced.
The liquid is placed in a container called a whirlpool before fermentation. Finally, before serving the beer to customers, the ale is aerated and left to stand for several weeks to clarify.
Black Tooth Brewing Operations Director Jared Long explains the art and science of beer making.
“We have both quantitative and qualitative metrics,” says Long. “A quantitative metric would be the amount of sugar left in the beer, or the amount of alcohol left in the beer. They would affect the taste of the beer.”
Black Tooth aims to recreate the original style of traditional recipes, as opposed to Luminous Brewhouse experimenting with creative ales.
Down Broadway Street, Luminous brewers create unique flavor combinations from traditional recipes. The Brewers made a Key Lime Pie Ale. General Manager Johnny Law and Head Brewer Kyle Muller explain that the process works in reverse. To get the true key lime pie flavor, the team tweaks the recipe.
“It’s art and science, but sometimes it feels like art,” Müller said.
One of Muller’s most important factors when it comes to taste is texture. His goal is to create a balance between watery and grainy beers. Brewers also need to be aware of the level of carbonation, which adds bitterness to the beer.
Brewers at Smith Alley Brewing Company follow the same general guidelines to send their ales through a series of tanks where new ingredients are introduced. Lead server Emma Miller describes the process as an exact science.
Another important variable in the brewing process is time. The amount of time an ale sits in a designated tank is based on the type of beer being made. For example, an American Amber Ale is fermented for one week in primary tanks and two to three weeks in secondary tanks. Darker ales, such as Irish stouts, age for 1 week in primary tank and 3-4 weeks in secondary tank.
Miller said Smith Alley’s head brewers are very particular about the beer they serve to their customers, making sure it’s of the highest quality.
Local brewers have agreed to make these beers. Making the perfect beer takes a little science and a little creativity.
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