Lager brewing is technical and unforgiving, but today’s independent brewers are taking up the challenge and employing horizontal lagering tanks, vessels more common in the breweries of the world’s biggest brands, to keep their yeast happy.
The aim of the HopGun is to get more hop character into a beer in less time and with adding fewer hops. It provides better efficiency and quality, reduced dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the finished beer, and a safer working environment for the brewers.
When it comes to making barrel-aged beers, a growing number of breweries are looking to wine producers and their tools to help with the process.
Smog City Brewing Co. has seen steady growth during its seven years in business. It has largely focused on draft, but as the cofounders look to move the brewery to the next level, they have turned to glass bottles to reach new accounts and customers.
It’s one thing to have a cask program. It’s another thing to make sure you have the equipment to do it right. Yorkshire Square Brewery peddles ale thanks to it’s impressive cellaring and serving system.
Thanks to tremendous growth, Firestone Walker is now accustomed to making large-scale batches. For its new Venice Beach, California, location, the brewery went small to foster creativity and collaboration.
As beer has evolved, so has its method of service. This is the story of one California publican and brewer who put technical knowhow into practice to make sure that every pint served is perfectly cooled and carbonated.
Borrowed, or more accurately salvaged, from the wine industry, foeders are nothing more than big barrels where fermented beverages develop the deliciousness sought by the craftsmen.
Gabe Gordon, founder of Beachwood BBQ and Brewing built the Blendery with the single-minded focus to re-create a true lambic-style beer in Southern California, and at the center of the effort is one critical piece of the lambic puzzle: the coolship.