The Brewing Process

Making beer is an ancient craft. The brewers at Six Row Brewing Company are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue this craft and enjoy it with you. We love to talk about it so feel free ask questions next time you see us. As in other crafts, there are many materials and techniques available. However, from homebrewers to mega-brewers, the basic steps are similar and based on a foundation of knowledge developed over many generations.

Steps 1-3 convert the starch in malted barley to sugar. Steps 3-5, develop the body, flavor and bitterness of the beer. Steps 5-6 further develop the body and flavor and contribute alcohol. The remaining steps ensure the beer is carbonated, enjoyably presented and well preserved until it is consumed. Each step is presented in more detail below.

Step 1: Water preparation in the Hot Liquor Tank

Brew day begins with preparation of the brewing water. Depending on the style and volume of beer being produced, a quantity of water with the appropriate content of key minerals is prepared and heated to a specific temperature in the Hot Liquor Tank (HLT).

Step 2: Mashing and Lautering

This step starts with barley malt. At Six Row Brewing Company we use North American and European malts to produce our wonderful beer styles. If you're a beer geek we know you're wondering if we use six row barley malt exclusively. As you probably guessed, the answer is no; we don't use six row barley malt exclusively, despite what our name suggests. See our About Us page to learn why we chose the name Six Row for our brewery.

Each of our beer styles vary in the types of malt used. Some styles use two types of malt while others use five or more. Each 7 barrel (210 gallon) batch of Six Row beer uses well over 300 pounds of malt. Unlike the big breweries who buy and handle malt in bulk by the truckload, we buy malt in 50 to 55 pound bags and manually handle them, creating plenty of opportunities for us to burn off some calories from our last test tasting. Maybe someday we'll grow out of this exercise program!

In the mash tun, water from the HLT is mixed with the malt. Temperature and “thickness” of the mash are carefully controlled and monitored to encourage the enzymatic activity that converts the malt’s starches into sugars. Mashing also largely determines the body and color of the final beer.

After roughly an hour of mashing, starch conversion is complete and lautering begins. Lautering is the process of draining the sweet liquid from the spent malt by slowly rinsing it with water from the HLT. Our brewing system uses the same vessel for mashing and lautering. A screen at the bottom of the lauter tun, and the spent malt itself, act as a filter that passes the sweet liquid through while keeping the spent malt trapped in the lauter tun.

Step 3: Transfer to the Brewkettle

The sweet liquid from lautering, now called wort, is transferred to the brewkettle. This transfer, and all others between the brewing vessels, are accomplished using a series of stainless steel pipes and valves known as the diverter manifold and in some cases a centrifugal pump.

Step 4: Boiling and Whirlpooling in the Brewkettle

As the wort fills the brewkettle it is heated to boiling. Boiling further develops the body and color of the beer. The key ingredient added in this step is hops. Hops are the spice of beer, adding aroma and/or bitter taste depending on the variety of hops and how long and in what quantity they are added.

Boiling continues for 60 to 90 minutes. Upon completion, the diverter manifold and pump are used to initiate a whirlpool in the brewkettle. The whirlpool action causes solids such as hops and malt proteins to collect in the center of the brewkettle. Mostly clear, finished wort is then drawn from the outside edge of the brewkettle.

Step 5: Cooling the Hot Wort with the Heat Exchanger

The clear, hot, finished wort must be cooled to the effective temperature range of the chosen yeast before being transferred to the fermentation vessel. To accomplish this, the hot wort and cold city water are pumped through alternating stainless steel plates in a heat exchanger; wort enters at 200+ degrees Fahrenheit and exits near 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The now heated city water is captured in the HLT for use in cleaning or the next batch.

Step 6: Fermentation

The cooled wort is transferred to a fermentation vessel using the diverter manifold and centrifugal pump. Yeast is pitched into the vessel as it fills and then the fermenter is closed. Oxygen is also injected during the transfer to encourage the yeast activity.

Within a day or two fermentation starts and continues for a week or more depending on the style. Key characteristics of the beer are monitored daily throughout fermentation to ensure the quality of our beer.

Step 7: Filtering

When fermentation is complete some of our beers are filtered for optimal clarity and brightness using a plate filter.

Step 8: Carbonation and Storage

The final step before serving is carbonation and storage. CO2 is injected into the beer as it is transferred to our Bright Beer Tanks (BBTs). The BBTs maintain the correct carbonation level for a given style and the correct temperature as they are in our walk-in cooler.

Step 9: The Draft Tower

Each faucet on the draft tower is connected to one of the BBTs. Finally, it's time to enjoy the labor of our craft brewers!