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Brewmaster - Andy Ingram
Our brewery has a yearly production capacity of 20,000 barrels of beer (that's 40,000 kegs). We have a 20 bbl., 3-vessel brewhouse with 19 40-barrel fermenters, one 60-barrel fermenter, and three 80-barrel fermenters for producing all of our distribution and in-house beers.
It all starts at the (1) silo,
where we store up to 45,000 lbs. of two-row malted
barley. Malted barley, or "malt," is in all beers,
so storing it in bulk is a necessity. We mill the
malt (2) to expose its starchy
centers, and at this time add specialty malts -
malts with different colors and flavors ranging
from black and coffee-like to red and candy-like
- to the mill. These specialty malts give unique
color and flavor profiles to the beers. We then
collect the milled grains, or "grist," in a (2)
hopper, where a computer weighs it for each specific
batch.
Once weighed, the grist drops through a hydrating
device and into the (3) mash tun
where it combines with hot water. Over the course
of an hour the starches in the grist convert to
some simple and complex sugars. When conversion
is complete we separate the liquid, or "wort" (pronounced
wert), from the grist through a screen in the mash
tun and slowly drain, or "lauter," it. We collect
all remaining sugars by thoroughly rinsing or "sparging"
the grist as the wort makes its way to the (4)
brew kettle.
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 Next,
we fill the (4) brew kettle and
bring the wort to a boil. We add bittering hops
at the beginning of the boil and hops used for flavor
and aroma later, or at the end of the boil, which
lasts around 90 minutes. The boil sterilizes and
reduces the wort through evaporation to a target
density. When complete, the boiled wort transfers
to a (5) whirlpool tank, where
any remaining solids settle out of solution. Sometimes
we mix in additional hops at this stage to impart
even more hop aroma and flavor. We then pump the
wort through a (6) heat exchanger
to cool it as quickly as possible before it reaches
the uni-tank (7) and (8)
fermentation and conditioning vessels. We add yeast
at this time to initiate fermentation, during which
the yeast ingest all sugars and excrete alcohol
and CO2 as waste… it's true, one yeast's waste is
another man's treasure.
 
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Our
ales ferment for 10 to 14 days at 68°F. We then
cool and condition the beer at 38°F, which allows
the yeast to drop out of suspension and to smooth
out some of the beer's rough edges. When conditioning
is complete, we filter the beer through a (9)
diatomaceous earth filter. This filters
out the yeast and any other particles to produce
a crystal clear beer en route to the (10)
brite tanks. The clear beer is carbonated in the
brite tanks, and only then do we deem it ready for
consumption at the (11) tap, or
keg or bottle it for distribution.
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 Quality Control is of utmost importance to us at Four Peaks Brewing Company. Our expertise is vital in correctly managing our yeast due to the complexity of the special English strain that Four Peaks uses. For that reason Four Peaks does extensive lab tests on all aspects of the brewing process.
No matter what kind of malt, hops or yeast you choose, the most important ingredient in all beer is water. We at Four Peaks use reverse osmosis to strip the brewing water free of contaminants. We add naturally occurring salts and chemicals back into the purified water to emulate the great brewing waters of Europe. For example, we use a Burton water for our 8th Street Ale and our Hop Knot IPA. This is a very hard water from central England where Bass and many other pale ales and IPAs originated.
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At Four Peaks, our award- winning beers adhere to the strictest quality control standards to ensure the best-tasting, freshest beer around. It isn't easy, but the good things rarely are.
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| We hope you enjoy our beers as much as we do. Cheers... |
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