Kettlehouse
Kolledge
Class of 2016
Our mission is to strive for better, cooler times in the quality of our beer and our lives. By handcrafting the
highest quality premium beers that convey our passion for an active Montana outdoor lifestyle, and
producing and packaging them in environmentally sensitive ways, we expect to grow a community of beer
drinkers and thinkers that can help cool our warming world
KettleHouse Kolledge
Welcome to KettleHouse Kolledge, the funnest, cheapest, and most rewarding educational
experience you will ever have. The goal here at KettleHouse Kolledge is to enhance your beer
drinking experience by providing you with the tools and knowledge to get the most out of those
16 wonderful ounces of sweet elixir.
Beer a brief history.
Since the dawn of civilization people have been brewing beer. There are even some
archaeologists who theorize that beer was the motivation for humanity giving up the huntergatherer lifestyle to start raising crops and living in villages. The earliest evidence we have of
brewing is an ancient Summerian brewhouse (they use the same layout as we do today) dating
from 4000 B.C.E . The brews of the ancients bore little resemblance to what you get served
here at KettleHouse, other than in was fizzy, alcoholic, and made primarily from grain.
The next major step toward modern beers occurred in Northern Europe in the 8 th Century A.D.
with the introduction of hops. It was there that the locals started domesticating and cultivating
a climbing vine which had aromatic cone-like flowers. They discovered that when the flowers
were boiled with the beer they not only produced great flavors and aromas, they also helped
keep the beer fresher for longer. Even though the domestication must have occurred earlier,
the first evidence we have is hop fields from the 700’s in Germany.
A.D. 843 the kingdom of Scotland is formed, setting the stage for the beer style Scotch Ale and
its greatest incarnation, Cold Smoke.
Jumping forward to 1516 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria the famous ‘German beer purity law’ was
enacted, requiring that beer be made only from hops, water, and barley (later amended to
include yeast after Pasteur discovered them in the 1800’s). Although it sounds like such a
benevolent act, it was actually created to ensure that the lords collected the proper taxes on
grains and hops.
In 1620 a small boatload of religious refugees ran out of beer during their transatlantic voyage.
Fearing the worst, they immediately stopped their search for an ideal settlement location and
landed as soon as they could, so they could brew some more beer. This ship was called the
Mayflower. The history of beer and our country has been intertwined ever since. Many of the
founding fathers were homebrewers and the details of the constitution were probably
hammered out over a hearty brew.
With many different cultures and brewing traditions to call upon, the American brew scene was
as diverse as the countries form where the brewers originated. With a thirsty and innovative
populace the number of breweries in America reached its heyday in 1873 with 4131 breweries.
Following the dark-ages of prohibition the American beer business underwent a series of
mergers and acquisitions. New advances in refrigeration and packaging allowed breweries to
ship beer hundreds to thousands of miles from where they were brewed. Because of all these
factors by the 1950’s there were less than 100 breweries in the U.S. Then an insignificant little
bill, H.R. 1337, was passed which legalized homebrewing in the United States. Given an
alternative to industrial lagers some entrepreneurial home brewers decided to start up small
breweries which focused on high quality, traditional ingredients and complex flavor profiles.
Thus was started the modern craft brewery movement in America. This movement didn’t
achieve it full potential until a humble home brewer named Tim O’Leary opened up a brew-onpremises in Missoula, Montana which would eventually become KettleHouse Brewing
Company.
The Brewing Process
What is beer, and why do we have to brew it?
Simply put, beer is a fermented alcoholic beverage where the primary source of sugar for the
yeast to ferment comes from a starchy grain. We brew it because we need to turn the starch
from the grains into sugar for the brewers yeast to eat.
Malting
The brewing process actually begins in the malt house where the unsung heroes of the brewing
world work to make the malt for brewers to use. Malt is any grain, but usually barley, which has
been wetted and allowed to germinate. The grain does not know that its ultimate destiny is to
become a pint of beer, so when it gets wet it tries to make a new plant using all the resources
stored in the kernel. The kernel has lots of sugar stored as starch, which is basically a long string
of sugar molecules, but in order to use the sugar it must first break down the starch. It does this
by means of specialized proteins called enzymes which help chemical reactions go faster.
When the barley kernel gets wet it starts to make lots of enzymes so it can turn its starch into
sugar. Once the barley kernel has made its enzymes we then dry it out, killing the baby barley
plant (don’t be sad, remember it’s going to make some delicious beer). Now we have a barley
kernel with all the starch and enzymes needed to make a batch of beer.
Milling & Mashing
The first step that takes place in the brewery is to mill the grain. When brewers mill grain, they
lightly crush the grains producing a course meal rather than flour. We then mix the crushed
grains with some hot water to produce what is called the mash. The temperature at which the
mash occurs is very critical and closely monitored. This is the point where we are using the
barleys own enzymes to convert the starch from the barley into sugar. There are many different
types of enzymes in malt and we can use the temperature of the mash to activate and
deactivates certain enzymes. By carefully controlling the temperature, and thereby which
enzymes are active, the brewer can control many aspects of the finished beer.
After the mash has rested long enough to let the enzymes turn all the starch into sugar, about
half-an-hour, we then heat up the mash to deactivate enzymes and make it more fluid. It is
now ready to separate the solids (grist) from the liquid (wort) in a process called lautering.
Lautering
This step is very similar to a morning ritual which occurs in kitchens all around the world. In this
ritual we do the same thing that occurs in the first half of brewing. We take a coarsely ground
roasted seed, mix it with hot water to extract goodness and flavor, then separate the solid
from the liquid, and drink the liquid. It is not surprising that the verb we use to describe making
beer and coffee are the same: brew.
We can basically think of the vessel in which this process occurs as a giant coffee filter. At the
bottom of this vessel, called a lauter tun, is a false slotted bottom. This retains the grist in the
lauter tun while allowing the sweet liquid wort to be slowly drawn of from the bottom to be
pumped into the brew kettle. In order to extract as much of the sugars from the grain as
possible we sprinkle hot water over the top of the grain bed.
This process is aided by another aspect of the barley kernel that makes it the perfect brewing
grain. Barley kernels are covered by a papery husk, unlike wheat or rye which have naked
seeds. The barley husk aids the lautering by adding fluffiness to the grain bed and providing
more avenues for the liquid to drain out. Even when brewing a wheat beer, brewers still add a
significant portion of barley because the husks aid the lautering.
Brewing & Hops
After lautering is finished we have a kettle full of wort (about 1000 Gal. here at the North Side).
We then bring this to a boil, and boil it for two hours. It is during this step that hops come into
the picture. There are many flavorful and aromatic compounds found in hops. These can impart
bitterness or aroma to the beer depending on how long the hops are boiled. To get bitterness
out of hops, we need to boil the hops for a long time in order to get the bitter Alpha Acids to
dissolve. We also want to get some of the wonderful aromas from the hops in the beer, but
they evaporate quickly and easily. So when we want to extract aromas from hops we add them
right before the end of the boil or after the heat has been turned off. In some cases we add
hops after the beer is done fermenting in a process called dry-hopping.
Whirlpool
After the wort has been boiled for two hours we then pump it into the last vessel called a
whirlpool. When the wort is transferred to this last vessel, we pump it in such a way as to make
the wort spin like a giant whirlpool. This causes all the hops added during the boil to collect in a
pile in the center. We can then draw off clear wort from the side of the whirlpool.
Fermentation
This is where all the magic happens. After the wort is done in the whirlpool it is ready to be
moved into a fermenting vessel and mixed with some fresh yeast. The yeast likes to be at 70°F
so before we mix the wort with the yeast we must cool it down. We do this very rapidly by
pumping the hot wort through a heat exchanger. This cools our wort and also produces hot
water which we can then use to start the next brew.
Once the yeast and wort are mixed, the yeast quickly starts eating all the nice sugar we made in
the brewhouse. The yeast turns simple sugars into carbon dioxide gas, alcohol, flavor and
energy. The fermentation is very active for the first few days and then mellows out. By the end
of the first week all the sugars have been consumed by the yeast and we let the beer mature
for a week to get all the flavors to smooth out. After maturation we then cool the beer down
and use a filter to remove any excess yeast. The beer is now ready to be put into cans or kegs.
Brewing Glossary
ABV (Alcohol by volume) - ABV is the standard
measurement used to describe the alcoholic
strength of a beer. In Montana the strongest
beer we are allowed to brew is 14%.
Adjunct- Any non-malt sugar source added to
increase gravity and add flavor. Some examples
used by the KH include honey in the Hellgate
Hefe, and brown sugar in Cold Smoke.
Depending on how fermentable the adjunct is it
can either increase or decrease the mouth-feel
of a beer.
Ale (Top Fermenting) - Saccharomyces cerivisiae
is a species of brewers yeast which prefers
warmer temperatures (70’s) during
fermentation. Due to higher temperatures ales
ferment quicker than lagers and tend to have a
more fruity and complex flavor profiles than
lagers.
Alpha Acids- Alpha acids are the group of
compounds found in hops which impart
bitterness to the beer. Alpha acids need to be
boiled to dissolve in wort. The longer hops are
boiled the more A.A. gets dissolved in the beer.
It is for this reason that bittering hops are
added at the start of the boil.
Amylase- Amylases are enzymes that break
starches down into small, simple sugars. Alpha
and Beta amylase are the two main enzymes
found in barley malt. They operate differently
and the brewer can control which enzyme is
most active by varying the temperature of the
mash.
Brite Beer- Beer that has been filtered or
allowed to settle, so the beer is clear and has no
suspended yeast or haze, is referred to as brite
beer.
B.B.T. (Brite Beer Tank)-A dish-bottomed vessel
which is used to hold brite beer. The level of
carbonation can be adjusted in this vessel.
Barley- Hordeum vulgaris, or barley is the most
common grain used in modern brewing. The
barley kernel has three main parts; the husk,
the embryo, and the starchy endosperm.
Base Malt- Base malt, sometimes called kilned
malt, is malt that has been dried in a kiln at
relatively low temperatures so as not to
inactivate the enzymes. All beer must contain
some base malt so the enzymes can convert the
starches to sugars.
Beer- A fermented alcoholic beverage which the
primary source of sugar comes from a starchy
grain. Unlike vintners, brewers must take an
extra step to convert the starch to sugars using
enzymes.
Caramel Malt (Crystal malt)-Caramel or crystal
malt is produced by heating wet malt to higher
temperatures than base malts. The heat and
moisture cause the starches to caramelize.
These malts add color, flavor and body to a
beer. They also add sweetness to a beer, since
yeast cannot ferment the complex sugars in the
malt.
Endosperm- Making up the majority of a barley
kernel the endosperm is mostly starch but it
contains all the raw material needed to make a
new barley plant.
Enzyme- Enzymes are biological catalysts. They
help chemical reactions go faster or make them
happen when they normally would not. Brewers
use the enzymes present in malt to turn starch
into sugars that the yeast can eat. The word
‘Enzyme’ literally means ‘inside yeast’ and they
were first discovered by studying beer
fermentation.
Fermentation- In brewing fermentation is the
process by which, in the absence of oxygen,
yeast convert glucose (sugar) into ethanol
(alcohol), carbon dioxide, and flavor
compounds.
Fermenting Vessel- Fermenting vessels or FV’s
have a cone shaped bottom and, as the name
implies, is where wort is turned into beer by the
fermentation action of yeast. The cone shaped
bottom helps brewers collect yeast to be used
in later batches.
Gravity- In brewing terminology gravity refers
to the density of the wort. The more sugars
dissolved in the wort the higher the gravity. As
beer ferments the gravity will drop as dense
sugars are turned into carbon dioxide and
ethanol. Brewers can estimate the ABV of a
beer by comparing the difference in the
measured gravities taken at the beginning and
the end of fermentation.
Grist- The grist is all the grains that are added to
the mash to make beer. Just about any grain
malted or not can and has been used at some
time to make beer.
Hops- Mmmm hops. Hops (Humulus lupulus)
are members of the canibaceae family and one
of the prime ingredients of modern beer styles.
Hops can add bitterness or aroma to a beer
depending on how long they are boiled.
Another beneficial property of hops is that they
act as a preservative, inhibiting the growth of
bacteria and wild yeast. Brewers yeast has
evolved to tolerate high hop levels.
Husk- Barley, unlike wheat, has a papery husk
that surrounds the kernel. The presence of a
husk acts as a natural filter which greatly aids
the lautering process allowing the brewers to
separate the solids (grist) from the liquid (wort)
in the brewing process.
I.B.U. (International Bitterness Unit) - The
standard measurement of bitterness in a beer.
One IBU is one milligram of alpha acids
dissolved in one liter of beer. The standard
human palate cannot perceive more than 80100 IBU’s.
Lager (Bottom Fermenting)-Saccromyces
pastorianus is the other main species of yeast
used by brewers. Lager yeasts can tolerate
lower temperatures than ale yeasts and are
usually fermented at temperatures in the 50’s.
The colder temps make for a slower ferment
and the beers are usually conditioned (lagered)
for a few months after fermentation is
complete. This produces a beer flavor that is
crisp and not as complex as ale’s.
Lauter- Lautering is the separation of the solids,
called grist, from the liquid wort. It is the
second step in the brewing process.
Lauter Tun- The lauter tun is a vessel with a
false slotted bottom used to separate the grist
from the wort, just like filtering coffee.
Malt- Malt is made by taking grain and wetting
it. This starts the germination process and the
embryo starts making enzymes to break down
the starchy endosperm. The process is halted
by heating and drying out the grains. The end
product, malt, now has all the enzymes it needs
to make wort.
Mash- Mash is a mixture of grist and water and
is the first step of the brewing process. The
main goal of the mash step is to convert starch
into sugars. By carefully controlling the
temperature of the mash brewers can activate
and deactivate specific enzymes thereby
influencing many properties of the finished
beer.
Mash Tun- The mash tun is the vessel where the
grist and the water are mixed.
Roasted Malt- Roasted malts are base malts
that have been roasted after the malting
process. The roasting process destroys all the
enzymes and sugars in the malt, so they are
added to contribute flavor and color to the
beer. Depending on the level of roasting they
can contribute chocolaty, coffee-like, or burnt
flavors.
Starch- Starch is molecule that many plants use
to store energy. It is made up of many
molecules of the sugar glucose linked together
like beads on a string. In the mash tun brewers
use barley malt’s natural enzymes to convert
starch into sugar.
Sugar- There are many different types of sugars,
but yeast can only use a few simple sugars as an
energy source. Luckily the main sugar
components of wort, glucose, maltose, and
maltotriose, are easily fermented by yeast.
There are many more complex sugars present
but since the yeast cannot ferment them they
remain, contributing body and sweetness to the
finished beer.
Whirlpool-This is the final step in the brewing
process. After boiling, the beer is transferred to
the whirlpool in such a way that the beer is
spinning around in the vessel. This causes all the
solids (hops and coagulated proteins) to form a
pile in the center of the vessel. We can then
draw off nice clear wort from the side of the
vessel.
Wort – Wort is the sweet liquid produced by
the brewing process. Brewers do not make
beer, they make wort. The yeast then turns the
wort into beer.
Yeast- Yeast is a group of single celled fungi
which are found just about everywhere, but
brewers, vintners and bakers use only a few
species of yeast to produce their products.
Yeast is capable of surviving without oxygen by
fermenting simple sugars into alcohol and
carbon dioxide. Although yeasts occur naturally
on all grains, brewers yeast in most closely
related to yeast which live on the human skin.
Tasting Hints
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Observe your beer, note its color, clarity, and head.
Using short sharp sniffs, explore the aroma of your beer.
Take a sip and let the flavors and beer wash around in your mouth.
Swallow your beer and note any after flavors.
Repeat.