Brew house roasting gold
17.05.2008 22:01
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- Source: JS Online
Chilton - One of Wisconsin's largest breweries is tucked into a modern industrial building in this small town, and its beers never make it to the corner tavern or local liquor store. But the smoked porter, crafted with the help of alder wood chips, will knock your socks off. The brew house is operated by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. Briess sells dozens of different malts, a key ingredient in beer, to brewers throughout the country. The company uses its pilot brewery to help its customers, mainly small craft brewers, create and tweak new recipes. "We work out the kinks," said Gordon Lane, president and chief operating officer. Briess produces around 58,000 tons of malted barley annually. That's a pittance compared with such global giants as Cargill Inc. (1.48 million tons) and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (699,000 tons), which both have malting operations in Wisconsin. Because it's much smaller, Briess cannot compete on price, Lane said. Less than 10% of the company's business comes from producing malts for mainstream beers. "We've told 'em, if you're looking for the lowest price, go to the big guys," Lane said. "But can they do what we do with service? No." The company's niche is specialty malts prized by craft brewers. Those brewers, such as Milwaukee's Lakefront Brewing Co. and Middleton-based Capital Brewery Co., concoct unusual beer styles to stand out from the Miller Lites and Budweisers that dominate shelf space and tap handles. Briess' fans among the nation's craft brewers include Mark Duchow, brew master at the Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery in Mount Horeb. The brew pub in April won a gold award at the World Beer Cup in the Baltic-style porter category, with Briess chocolate and roasted malts playing a big role in creating the beer's taste. "Briess is doing a wonderful job," Duchow said. Award-winning employeesRowland's Calumet Brewing Co., a Chilton brew pub, buys only Briess malts. Briess employees helped Bob Rowland when he started the brew pub in 1990, and they have since worked with his son, Pat, after Rowland died in 2006. "Their technical support people are wonderful," said Bonita Rowland, Bob Rowland's widow and Calumet Brewing's owner. The Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo.-based trade group, has twice presented its annual recognition award to Briess employees. That's the only time that has happened during the award's 20-year history, and it reflects the important role Briess plays in developing specialty malts for craft brewers, said Paul Gatza, association director. Reopening plantBriess sells about half of its malted barley to brewers, with the other half sold as ingredients to food makers. The growing popularity of craft beers - that segment saw a 12% sales volume increase in 2007 - has led to a greater demand for specialty malts, Lane said. That growth is leading Briess to reopen its malting plant in Waterloo this month. That plant has 15 employees, while Briess has 105 employees at its two facilities in Chilton, including the 107-year-old malt house and the company's newer facilities, which include the brew house. At the malt house, a brick building that Duchow describes as "medieval," barley from Canada and the western United States is soaked in water. It then germinates, before it's dried and roasted. Differences in roasting times and temperatures create different malt flavors and colors. Some roasted malts have a taste similar to Grape Nuts cereal. Others can taste like coffee, chocolate or caramel. "You can even get a licorice flavor," Duchow said. Or, in the case of the smoked porter, fresh from the Briess brew house, there's a taste and scent that reminds the drinker of smoked salmon.
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