What’s Brewing

Fall has traditionally been the time when beer consumption spikes. At football and hockey games, the World Series and especially Octoberfest celebrations, beer is king. In fact, Oktoberfest began in 1810 as an elaborate wedding reception for a Bavarian king and is now celebrated in countries around the world, including the U.S., where a resurgence of brewpubs has attracted attention to the beermaking craft. In honor of the German holiday and the revival of handcrafted American beer, here’s a closer look at microbrewing.

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1) MILLING (2 hours)

Store malted barley in grain silo

Depending on beer recipe, blend additional grains in roller mill

Transport milled malt, called grist, by auger

Store grist in elevated hopper

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2) MASHING (30 minutes to 2 hours)

Mix grist with hot water in mash tun.

Mashing converts starches in malt to sugars.

Lautering draws sweet liquid called wort off bottom of tun

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3) BREWING (30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours)

Pump hot wort to brewkettle, bring to boil

During hour-long boil, add bittering hops at beginning, hops for aroma and flavor at end

Let wort settle, cool by pumping through heat exchanger to fermentation tank

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4) FERMENTING (3 days to 2 months)

Inject yeast to initiate fermentation

Yeast ingests sugars in wort, produces alcohol and carbon dioxide

Ales ferment for 3-4 days, lagers for 1-2 weeks

Remove yeast from beer using diatomaceous earth filter

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5) SERVING (Batch typically lasts 2 weeks)

Carbonate, store beer beer in chilled serving tanks

Draw beer at bar from tank

Holds up to 24 tons of 2-row malt

More grain = more alcohol

Darker grains = darker beer

Archimedean screw draws grain from silo to hopper

Liquor tank stores 180 (degree) F water

Holds up to 3,000 lbs. grain

Rotating rake stirs mash

Grated bottom strains wort

Spent grain discarded

Cook mash at 120-170 (degrees) F

Add 5-15 lbs. hops

Drops temperature from 212 (degrees) F to below 70 (degrees) F

Refrigerant keeps tank 45-70 (degrees) F - ales warmer, lagers colder

Foamy carbon dioxide bled from tank

Fermenting wort

15-gal. of yeast - reused from previous batches

38 (degrees) F

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BEER BREAKDOWN

Blonde

Light-bodied German golden ale

Light grains, few hops

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Hefeweizen

Unfiltered Bavarian wheat beer

Wheat grains, few hops

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Pale

American-style bitter ale

Heavy grains and hops

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Red

Irish-style strong ale

Heavy grains and hops

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Porter

English dark ale

Dark grains, light hops

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Stout

Strong, rich English beer

Heavy grains, hops

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ORANGE COUNTY MICROBREWERIES

ANAHEIM

J.T. Schmid’s Restaurant & Brewery

2610 E. Katella Ave.

(714) 634-9200

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BREA

BJ’s Pizza Grill & Brewery

Brea Mall

(714) 990-2095

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COSTA MESA

Skewers Restaurant & Brewery

298 E. 17th St.

(949) 645-6459

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HUNTINGTON BEACH

Huntington Beach Beer Co.

201 Main St.

(714) 960-5343

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IRVINE

Backstreet Brewery

14450 Culver Dr.

(949) 654-5734

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McCormick & Schmick’S Seafood Restaurant

2000 Main St.

(949) 756-0505

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Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

71 Fortune Dr.

(949) 453-0777

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Steelhead Micro Brewery

4175 Campus Dr.

(949) 856-2227

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LAGUNA BEACH

Laguna Beach Brewing

422 South Coast Hwy.

(949) 494-2739

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Ocean Brewing Co.

237 Ocean Ave.

(949) 497-3381

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NEWPORT BEACH

Newport Beach Brewing Co.

2920 Newport Blvd.

(949) 675-8449

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ORANGE

Alcatraz Brewing Co.

The Block at Orange

(714) 939-8686

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Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

1623 W. Katella Ave.

(714) 288-0115

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Old Towne Brewing Co.

186 N. Atchison St.

(714) 744-4181

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TUSTIN

Tustin Brewing Co.

13011 Newport Ave.

(714) 665-2337

Source: John Oliver, BJ’s Pizza & Brewery in Brea

Graphics reporting by BRADY MacDONALD