Seattle Brew Boom ~ The Mystery and Poetry of Brewing

“If you’ve only tasted mass-market beer, you haven’t actually tasted beer at all.  Once you discover traditional beer, your food life will be transformed.”  Brewmaster Garrett Oliver

The Mystery and Poetry of Brewing

Carolyn Webster-Stratton 

Did you know that Washington is the center of a brew boom boasting more than 225 breweries? That is just about as many as in the entire nation of Belgium ~ long considered to be the Mecca for beer lovers. So what is the “brewhaha” about beer brewing and drinking in Seattle? I have always been a wine lover and when I think of wine drinkers I think romantic thoughts of beautiful grape fields and people dancing in woven baskets in the sunshine mashing grapes beneath their feet and looking at each other lovingly. However, I have never been a beer drinker and my images of beer drinkers from my Alaska days are of loud, longhaired, bearded, flannel-wearing men watching sports games in bars while getting drunk.

 To start with I was surprised to learn that the beer making process is much harder and more complex than wine making. It involves a brew master who may not be in love with his grapes but must be persistent, patient, and have taken a course in mindfulness.  The vintner makes wine simply from crushed grapes because grapes have their own sugar and grape skins have natural yeast that starts the fermentation. However, while the brew-master could dance on barley all he wants, it will yield no juice because it is hard as rock and packed with starch. First, in a procedure called mashing, the brew master starts by converting the starch in malted barley to fermentable sugar in a process that results in something called the mash ~ not a very romantic term. Then the mash is converted to a sweet but slimy liquid called wort ~ again not very enticing. This mashing process is just the beginning, as next the brew-master must select from an array of malts, unmalted and roasted grains, dozens of varieties of hops, and strains of yeasts. There are many steps in the brewing process involving malting, milling, mashing, lautering, boiling, fermenting, filtering and packing.  In many ways the brew-master is more like a chef than like a winemaker. A poor beer cannot be blamed on the poor grapes or the lack of sunshine that year.  Rather the success of a fine beer depends entirely on the creativity, imagination, dedication and artistry of the brew-master.

The Brew Master

I interviewed an Elysian brew master, Zach Kornfeld who just happens to be the boyfriend of my daughter, Anna. I have known him for several years but never really understood what his work entailed.  He is an English and poetry major and I have often wondered about the connection between his university degree and his work but never dared to ask.  However I have noticed how much my children and their friends enjoy sampling a huge variety of different beers and talking about the complexity of their flavors. Reminds me of my early days of discussing wine flavors. 

Beer Choices

Zach, Anna and I go to the Elysian pub on Capital Hill. I look at the menu and can choose between beers called The Wise ESB, Spruce Almighty, Spiced Pear Ale, Loser Pale Ale, Avatar Jasmine, Split Shot, Immortal IPA, Savant IPA, Stranger Manger, Night Owl Pumpkin Ale, Men’s Room and Cyclops. 

Hmm . . . I wonder what IPA is and whether I want to be immortal, or wise, or a savant that evening? Certainly not a Loser or Cyclops. 

Zach orders several beers for me to try and asks me to describe what they taste like.  Truly this is different beer from what I remember from my Alaska days and I hesitate to say it tastes rather fruity or pear-like.  He tells me it includes 100% pear concentrate, cardamom and cumin.  Another beer I taste has a jasmine taste and is bitter and Zach adds it is floral tasting.  I clearly have a lot to learn including a new lingo for describing beer flavor and aroma as well as the brewing process.

Deck South Seattle 

Deck Capital Hill 

We go into the back room of the beer pub and Zach immediately goes up to the “deck”.  I can see he is at home here and clearly excited about explaining to me the process of malting the barley. My daughter warns him that this should be a basic and simple explanation and tells me this can be my beginner’s introduction before I am ready to proceed to a more advanced understanding of beer making.

Malt ~ the first ingredient and step ~ Malting 

Malting I am told is the process where barley grain is made ready for brewing.  Nearly all beer includes barley malt and it is apparently more suited for brewing than baking because of its hard husk, low protein content and high starch content. Barley comes in a variety of strains grown in different countries for their depth of flavor which are identified by beer connoisseurs such as the toffeeish flavor of German barley varieties or unique malting flavors. Malted barley known as malt is barley seed that has been steeped in water for hours until it sprouts and then is dried out in a kiln.  Malting turns the hard starch inside the barely seed into a soft paste that is packed with enzymes and begins to sprout little roots that look like bean or alfalfa sprouts. However, before the shoot can grow leaves the maltster drains all the water out of the grain bed and puts the grain into a roasting drum to dry. This final part of malting is called kilning and when kilning is completed the grains are termed malt. 

Sampling pale Pilsner, Crystal and Roasted Malts

Roasted Barley ~ Stout 

Silo holds 60,000 pounds of malted barley

But it is not that simple. Other malted and unmalted grains such as wheat, rice, and oats may also be used.  A few brewers have produced gluten-free beer made with no barley malt.  Every malt has a different flavor, color, aroma and purpose. The barley variety, moisture content, and kilning temperatures and timing are crucial and will bring about different results. For example, pilsner malt is needed for a golden beer. A low kilning temperature gives a pale golden color with a slightly bready flavor. Pale ale malt, kilned at slightly higher temperatures, will give a deeper color and slightly toasty biscuit flavor, valued in English ales.  Just as with coffee beans, higher kilning temperatures result in higher gradations of roast, resulting in chocolate, coffee and espresso flavors. Each malster can make a different malt that will result in different flavors leading to different beers.  Some beers can even be made from a variety of blended malts that also affects the beer’s character and determine which foods it can be paired with.  I am beginning to get overwhelmed with the choices and realize we are only on step one! More and more this is sounding like chemistry baking.  I wonder what malt tastes like? Ever had Grape Nuts breakfast cereal? While there are no grapes in Grape Nuts (a marketing ploy) it is made from barley malt and yeast and is practically beer in a box! Try it. 

Water ~ Second Ingredient 

Most beers are at least 90% water and so water quality is a critical element in the flavor of beer. Regions have water with different mineral components, thus giving them a regional character.  For example, Dublin has hard water suited to making stout, such as Guinness; while Pilsen has soft water suited to making a pale lager, such as Pilsner Urquell.  However, today in the age of filters most brewers can adjust the mineral content of their brewing water. Brewers can soften their hard water or add salts to bring out the dry edge in a beer.  While beer may be marketed as brewed from melting glaciers or rocky mountains this is likely marketing hype as most municipalities have good water supplies that won’t affect the taste.

The Mash ~ Mashing Step

                                                                                                      

Dusty Hopper

I see the bags of grain, which are labeled as malted or roasted, and next to these grains is the dusty hopper where the barley grain is milled or rolled into a white floury starch. I learn there is a fine tradeoff in the rolling process, the more the kernel is broken up, the more sugars can be extracted from the grains; but if it is broken up too much, the husk that surrounds the kernel maybe get broken down, which can cause a “stuck mash”.  Once the grain is milled the desired amount, it is sent to a large vessel known as the mash tun where it is mixed with hot water to form called a kind of porridge or the mash.  Mashing is actually a form of steeping and defines the act of brewing. Zach tells me 150 degrees is the optimal temperature for enzymes to work at unlocking the starch in the malted barley and making it into maltose, which he explains is comprised of two glucose molecules and this creates a malty liquid called wort. Anna translates “sugar” and reminds Zach to keep it simple. 

                                  

  Mash Tun

The mash will stay in this vat for 30 minutes or longer before the brew master will pump it into another vessel called a lauter tun which is basically a sieve with screens at the bottom that hold barley husks in place while it separates the grain solids from the liquids or wort. 

Zach explains, “You have to be careful, constant and even when doing this separation process because if it is done too fast it will clog the openings.  Or, if the husks are broken down too much, they clog up and don’t let the liquid through ~ a stuck mash.”  The aim is to get the undiluted wort (sugar water) strained into the kettle (sometimes called first runnings). The process of getting more wort is achieved by spraying hot water on the grain bed.  This process called “sparging” makes sure all the sugars are removed.  Once you get the sugar concentration you want (specific gravity) the left over porridge or spent grain is picked up by some farmers for their lucky cows.  With my new vocabulary I wonder how I will ever explain this to my friends.

Hops ~ the Third Ingredient

Did you know that each year Washington State produces approximately 75% of the United States hops crop and 25% of the world’s crop, most of it in from the Yakima Valley?  But what exactly is this important ingredient?  A hop plant is actually a flower (not a grain), a perennial climbing vine. In late summer the hop vine flowers, resulting in a green hop cone, shaped like a pinecone. Inside the hop cone, at the base of the petals, are glands that produce a bright yellow resin called lupulin ~ this is the delicate powder, which is precisely what the brewer is after.  Hops have been used for medicinal and food flavoring since the Roman times though it wasn’t until the 13^th century that widespread cultivation of hops for use in beer is recorded.  The hop won out over other spices in beer because it provides a clean sharp bitterness and a range of flavors that is felt to be the backbone of beers real flavor. It balances out the natural sweet flavor of the malt.  Beer without hops would be too sweet and unsatisfying. In addition, hops lend natural preservative qualities to the finished beer ~ they also have an antibiotic effect that favors the activity of brewer’s yeast over other less desirable microorganisms.

Did you know that the nearest relative to the hop plant is marijuana?  This is why jazz musicians in the 50’s who used marijuana were called hopheads. I taste a little of the hops, but unfortunately the hop does not produce the same effects although it is still a major ingredient of some natural sleep aids and said to be relaxing.  Like barley, there are dozens of varieties of hops for the brewer to choose from and again the choices are critical to the eventual flavor of the beer. Some are more bitter than others and have different flavors and floral aromas. Hop aromatics run from earthy hay and fennel to piney and grapefruity.  While the Pacific Northwest has the top production, American hops are often disdained by European brewers, who find them too exuberantly piney and critique their flavors and aromas. American craft brewers counter that exuberance has its place.  Does this difference in taste preferences perhaps represent the difference in cultures?

The Wort Boiling ~ a Magical Process

The next step in the beer brewing process is called the boil.  Zach tells me the wort is moved into a huge tank known as a “copper” or brew kettle for 1- ½ hours (depending on the recipe) so that the wort can be boiled at 212 degrees while the hops are added. This boiling process is where the chemical reactions take place, including sterilization of the wort to remove unwanted bacteria, releasing hop flavors, stopping of enzymatic mashing processes and other magical processes.   Some hops are added at the beginning of the boiling and these are called boiling hops and add bitterness to the beer. Some hops are added 15 minutes before the end of the boil and they are called finishing hops. Their job is to add flavor. Then just a few minutes before the end, hops are put in to contribute to the aroma of the beer. This is a bit like putting tea leaves in hot water for a few minutes before drinking.  But Zach adds that lots of things contribute to the taste of beer . . . the boiling itself as well as the percentage of malt, how fine the barely is ground, the temperature boiled at and the amount cooled  ~ all of these variables make a difference to taste.  There is constant quality assurance tasting as all these decisions are made.

Whirlpooling

            After the boiling is completed the wort is pumped into a whirlpool where it sits for 10-15 minutes.  The denser solids are forced into a cone in the center of the whirlpool tank and are separated again to get a clean and clear liquid.  Finally it is cooled to 68 degrees and sent through a heat exchanger at one gallon every 2 seconds.  Still this is all called wort as it is not yet beer. The wort must be brought down to fermentation temperatures before yeast can be added.

Yeast the Fourth Ingredient to Induce Fermentation

                        Fermenting Vessels

Yeast is the microorganism that is responsible for the fermentation to a product that can finally be called beer. Yeast metabolizes the sugars extracted from the grains, which produces alcohol and carbon dioxide and turns wort into beer.  The brewer’s job is to anticipate the conditions under which the yeast will produce the desired beer. Apparently, yeast is ornery, and all brew masters are “yeast wranglers” trying to keep the yeast happy. Again I learn there are many different species of yeast and hundreds of strains, each with its own characteristics. Especially for ales, the yeast strain can make a major contribution to the flavor of finished beer. Some strains can produce aromas of bananas and cloves, while others of orange marmalade.  While the right yeast will produce the right flavors, the brewer also evaluates the whether the yeast rises to the top of the fermenting vessel at the end of fermentation or drops to the bottom? How long does it take to complete fermentation? How much sugar does it consume? Does it ferment a strong beer or fall asleep on the job? Some would say the yeast is the single most important ingredient the brewer selects.

            Brewers are concerned with two dominant species of yeast ~ the first is the ale yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and the second is the lager yeast (Saccharomyeces uvarum).  Ale yeast is the older type of brewing yeast and ferments at warm temperatures between 62 and 75 degrees. It ferments rapidly and can take as little as a few days. The ale aromas tend toward fruitier, sweeter beers but may also be spicy and complex. During fermentation, the foam from the ale yeasts tend to rise to the top of the vessel and float there.  Thus they are called “top cropping” yeasts.  These yeasts can be skimmed off the surface and used to ferment the next batch. Ale beer is ready to drink within 3 weeks of the beginning of fermentation. 

Freezer room

            Lager beers that use “bottom cropping” yeasts are relative newcomers to the beer world as the lager yeast was not discovered until the mid-1800s. Lager yeasts ferment best at lower temperatures 45-56 degrees and the fermentation is slower. When finished, the lager beers are stored cold and allowed to age for weeks or even months at temperatures as low as 32 degrees. 

Lager yeasts tend to produce a low magnitude of the fruity and spicy flavors that are produced by ale yeasts.  Lagers have a clean, straightforward flavor of hops and malt. The difference in lagers and ales is not in color or strength, rather in the yeast used, fermentation temperature and aging time. 

   Zach shows me how the wort is pumped into the cylindrical vats called fermenters where it will meet the yeast and become beer.  They will also add oxygen, which is important to yeast growth and division of cells.  The bubbling is carbon dioxide and Zach says it will be 7-10 days for it is ready to drink.  Some of it is bubbling into a bucket. 

He takes a glass of beer from one of the fermenters and tastes it.  He tells me it is bit “yeasty” and will make you farty but also tells me that beer is an excellent source of vitamin B and antioxidants and good source of calcium.  One pint has 150 calories. Perhaps farting is worth it and since there are so many aromas anyway who will notice? 

                

            I have seen the process of making of one batch of beer in this small brewery on Capital Hill and Zach tells me he does four batches of beer at one time at his much larger brewery in south Seattle. I ask him how he does this since I can see that to make this one batch the brew master has to be checking temperature, time schedules, changing and sterilizing vats, and calibrating ingredients all the time. He tells me that the first shift starts work with the mashing process at 5:30 am and the second shift ends work at 9 pm and often doesn’t have time to go to the bathroom let alone take lunch. He explains you have to keep everything sanitized and always have to be 4-5 steps ahead of yourself. 

 Recipes   

                                                                

Chemical Reference Sheet

Zach shows me the recipe notes where 3 brewers are still using hand written notes to record the ph, gravity readings, temperature at each stage of the brewery process.  Indeed it does seem to me that being a brew master is like being a chef… a labor of love, with constant dedication and experimentation .

Bottling and Kegging

Next we go into a large room where 70% of the beer is bottled (vs kegged), labeled and packaged. 

Machine for Filling Kegs 

Bottle Conveyer

We see the conveyer belt where 300 bottles are filled in one minute! It is Sunday afternoon and the room is quiet but I can imagine the noise and excitement when there are 15 people here doing this work filling bottles and kegs. 

Lagering

At the end of the tour we go into the cold room to see the tanks that are being carbonated and kept cold for aging. The process of storing, or conditioning or aging beer at a low temperature for a long period is called “lagering” and while it is associated with lagers, the process may also be done with ales.  The dates that each tank was brewed are listed on them and Zach points out the kegs that he has brewed.  

Over the past year the Elysian Brewery has made 99 distinct styles of beer.  We go out into the pub to sample a beer and I taste it with an entirely different outlook  ~ I describe the beer ~  

the acidity balances

 the fruity notes 

sweet and bitter dances 

as the drinker gloats

  I wonder if Zach is teaching me to be a poet or if my food life will be transformed? I ask if I am ready for the next level of training?

Anna and Zach 

Okay what will we try ~ Men's Room (crystal barley), Immortal or Dragon's Tooth's Stout?