Click + Sip

My First Brewery Tour

Introducing the Daredevils of Craft Brewing…

Driftwood Beer is a grassroots brewing company relying upon the industry reputation and the quality of their beer. Their motto: fresh beer is best – 2 weeks from grain to glass.

“Catch the Drift”

Things to know about the Driftwood’s unique brewing process:

• Been open for 16 months.
• Saw the demand for another local craft brewery that could produce unique beer.
• They focus on creating new varieties and consistent styles of beer that take influence from    traditional methods and practices (heavy on Belgian influences)
• Have achieved 8 styles in a year with White Bark and Driftwood Ale being their biggest success so far.
• 4 main varieties along with seasonal and specialty beers.
• Driftwood’s newest creation, Naughty Hildegard’s ESB (Extra Special Bitter), is out now!
• Another Belgian style beer should be hatched close to Easter….
• Their bottles were designed with their logo and custom shape for a distinct shelf appeal.
• Focus on investing in the consistency of the beer itself rather than spending out on fancy advertising campaigns.  Makes them a more authentic brewery.
• They source their seasonal “wet” hops from the Sartori Cedar Ranch in Chilliwack, BC.
• Beer is all about yeast and “god is good”, the name for yeast in medieval times.
• The heavier the hops, and the higher the alcohol the longer the shelf life.
• Some beers are enhanced by aging but these guys believe in ‘the fresher the better’ approach.
• No filters: The guys are opposed to using filter devices during the brewing process as it strips the beer of flavour, and that having a tiny bit of yeast in the beer actually extends its shelf life.  They told us that they decided to sell the filter at the start of the business.
• They are proud to be using sour mash, a process where a portion of the mash is soured overnight with Lactobacillus, an organism which lives on the surface of malt and is similar to the bacteria used to make yogurt and cheese.

Ideas on tasting Pairing:

• Jason’s thoughts on beer and food pairing…If you are familiar with food and cooking and like to experiment with combinations of flavours …the same goes for beer and food combining…you can do it yourself…
• Beer is more upfront and direct than wine.
• Don’t spit the beer (why waste a good thing!), keep it in the mouth for a little while and swallow to understand full flavour

Driftwood Ale “The Beer of the People”

• Good session beer.
• Easy drinking and full of distinctive and fresh hop flavours. It’s so distinctive that you would instantly know its Driftwood by the texture and taste as it hits your tongue.

Farmhand Ale

• A traditional style Belgian Saison beer that was historically made in the harvest season for farm workers as a replacement for water.
• Refreshing and crisp with a darker, amber colour. Lots of interesting spice notes most notable the surprising black pepper.

White Bark Ale

• Driftwood’s version of a Belgian wheat beer. Light and citrus with a tang. Would be great for a summer afternoon picnic with soft creamy cheeses and dried fruit. Accents Thai curries and other Asian flavours really well.

From Grain to Glass at the Driftwood Brewery

Phase 1: The Malt Mill

• Day 1. Barley grain is rolled in and the kernel is crushed to mill the grain.  This is called “grist”.
• The grist is moved up a conveyer – has a coiled device inside that pushes it up to…

Phase 2: The Mash Tun… This is the phase where the recipe starts.

• The Mash Tun is filled with around 1/3 temperate controlled hot water the grist rests for 1 hr.
• During this time the enzymes in the mixture are activated, extracting the colour and flavours from the grist.
• The mixture separates and the unwanted elements are extracted from the removable bottom of the mash tun.  This is sent to local farms as animal fodder.
• The mixture that drains out of the mash, which is now called “the wort”, is pumped into the…

Phase 3: Brew Kettle

• The brew kettle boils and cooks the wort so it becomes sterilized.
• Bittering hops are added, as well as the aroma hops.

Phase 4: Heat exchanger

• The wort is cooled down when it passes through the heat exchanger; the hot mixture is pumped through a pipe next to cold water that is pumped in the opposite direction to cool it before it pumped to the …

Phase 5: Fermenting vessel (takes 1 week)

• Day 2, In the fermenting vessel the wort  is introduced to oxygen and yeast.  This causes the natural sugars to ferment to form alcohol, carbon dioxide, and to bring out the flavours inherent in beer.
• Day 3, A hydrometer measures the sugar content so that the temperature can be controlled and show’s when the sugars levels are low enough for the beer to be ready.
• Fining is introduced (usually gelatine – although egg whites were often used as conditioners in “old days”) to enhance the natural flavours by removing unwanted compounds.
• Day 4,As the beer cools the yeast that was introduced earlier naturally falls to the bottom and is removed. It will be used again for the next brew.

Phase 6: Cold storage

• After cooling in the fermenter, the beer is transferred into the Conditioning Tank, where it rests for a few days until it becomes clear.
• After resting in the Conditioning Tank, the beer is transferred into kegs or bottles. These are stored in a cooler until they are sent to market.

Phase 8: Drink it!  Cheers…