Brewing At BierWerks

 I have been a home brewer for two years now. I have learned and read everything that I can about brewing beer. Through wild brewing I have even had the opportunity to make larger batches of beer for aging in barrels. However, yesterday I had a totally new experience. I spent the morning with James, the Head Brewer at BierWerks making a batch of their famous Helles.

Here is a little about my experience. I have heard many a time that 70% of the time in a brewery is spent cleaning. Between all the hoses and fermentors that I saw I can believe it. There is just so much going on and with sanitation being so important I got to see first hand how much work it is to keep everything clean. I also gained respect for the juggling act that brewers do as they move beer around the brewery and try to get it on tap while it is all still fresh. Altough I did little more than turn on some pipes and stir the mash it was a great learning experience and an exciting first time in a real brewery. I hope to join James on a few more batches of beer and get a better understanding of what it is like to be a brewer.