Beer at Last!! Beer at Last!!
- Dec 15, 2017
- 2 min read
Much to our excitement, this was the week we finally fired up our production brewhouse and made our first beer. If you've been hanging with us for awhile, you've heard us say we're sooooo close to being up and running. Maybe just another two weeks - cue the echo effects - two weeks, two weeks, two weeks....
Finally, this was the week!! The first thing we needed to do was to decide WHAT SHOULD BE OUR VERY FIRST BEER? I know what you're thinking... "you guys keep saying you want to build a foundation on New England-style IPAs and fruited sour beers. It's gotta be one of those!!". Yeah, that's what we were thinking too, but then we thought otherwise.
Given this is our first run through a system completely new to us, we thought the most important thing we could do is measure EVERYTHING, so we can quickly dial in our understanding of the system and tailor our recipes to it. So, instead of brewing what we really wanted to serve y'all, we decided to brew our Explorer Series Pale Ale, this time with Citra hops. We'd recently brewed this beer on our pilot system, so we have a good, recent benchmark. Also, the recipe is really pretty simple, because the malt is a straightforward platform to allow the selected hop to shine.
Basically it came down to math, math, math, blah, blah, blah, math, math, math.
All in all, it was a very successful brew day. We learned a lot about how to wield our system so we can start to build process muscle memory. Awhile after mashing in the grain, we started to recirculate the sweet liquid through the system. Here's the golden amber color as it ran through our site glass:
Here, you can see how clear the liquid was. This recirculating step has a fancy name in German named 'vorlauf'.
Once the starch conversion was complete, we moved the wort into our kettle for a 60 minute boil.
While the boil is in process, we get to start the clean up of the sticky spent grains.
The next beer we're brewing today is our Following Seas Golden Ale. Again you might ask, WHY?!?! And again, I'd have to admit math, math, math, blah, blah, blah, math, math, math. We've just finished and feel like we have a really great understanding of how to run the brew day on this system. We're brewing again on Monday and it'll be the first fruited sour in our PlioSour line.
Before we let you go, you might be asking yourself "who's the handsome devil doing all the work?" That's a story for next time... Until then, we're celebrating a second successful brew day with a pint of Jolie Rouge, our red ale on tap now in our taproom
It's wonderful to read the article 'Beer at last, beer at last' really captures the simple joy of finally getting a well-earned beer after anticipation, especially the moment when the first sip is poured and the wait ends at the bar. On a side note, while reading, I was thinking about how students often search for Assignment Writing Services Australia when managing workload, and New Assignment Help Australia is sometimes mentioned in study discussions, though it depends on personal experience and balancing both study and everyday reading habits feels relevant overall insight. Nice post
Huge congratulations on finally firing up the production brewhouse! The "two weeks" echo effect is too real in any project launch, but that golden amber color running through the vorlauf sight glass looks absolutely perfect. Totally smart to lead with the Explorer Series Citra Pale Ale to dial in the math before unleashing the fruited sours.
It feels like the stars finally aligned for this brew day! Speaking of perfect cosmic timing, I actually find myself checking in with the best astrologer online over at Astroma whenever I'm trying to map out high-energy days for launching massive new projects.
Cheers to process muscle memory, and enjoy that well-earned pint of Jolie Rouge! Can't wait to see what comes off the line…
That beer selection sounds worth the wait, especially for people who enjoy discovering unique flavors and breweries. During my free time I’ve also been preparing with CRFSC Practice Test 2026 materials, which has been surprisingly helpful and engaging.
By focusing on precise measurements and keeping the malt bill simple, they created a clean platform that allows the Citra hops to shine. The brew day was a success, offering valuable insights and helping the team build confidence and process consistency. Sometimes it’s all about the “math, math, math” before the magic happens—kind of like mastering strategy step by step in veck io.
Absolutely epic milestone
From two weeks to finally firing up the brewhouse—what a journey! Starting with the Explorer Series Pale Ale using Citra is such a smart, data-driven move. Simple malt bill, hop-forward, and perfect for dialing in the system. All that math, measuring, and process-building really shows the passion behind the craft. That golden amber recirculation shot must’ve felt so rewarding!
Honestly, between brewing math and system calibration, this feels harder than my coursework almost makes me want to hire someone to take my online class so I can focus on celebrating this brew day. Can not wait to see and taste what’s next!