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People gathered for a rare, first-hand glimpse of the Fat Rock operation. Much excitement surrounds the event. Paul Voigt, Director of Public Relations, greets the crowd with his rendition of Hanson's "Mmmm bop." |
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The first step in the Fat Rock brewing process is finding quality grains to use as the base of the brew. Typically, US 2-Row Barley is used as our base malt (however, this depends on the style of the beverage being brewed). |
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The quality malted grains must be milled in order to crack the husks. This exposes the sweet, malted internal portion of the grain and allows for extraction of the sugars. (Pictured: Brewmeister Keith Wright adds the grains to the milling machine). |
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Once the grain has been milled, fresh spring water is added and the mixture undergoes a temperature controlled step-mash process. This process is what allows the fermentable sugars to be extracted from the malted grain. The temperature and time at each stage greatly determines the character of the brew.(Pictured: Brewmeister Cliff Hultquist checks the temperature of the mash). |
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Once the sugars have been successfully extracted via the mash process, the sugary liquid (wort) is infused with choice hops (which imparts a bittering & flavoring action upon the brew, to help balance the sweetness of the maltose). |
| The wort, with infused hops, is then boiled in the patented Fat Rock brew kettles (Pictured: The tour group heads down to view the boiling kettles). |
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