It's All in the Process

When you think of radiance, your first thoughts may be of warm sunshine, a gleaming smile or a glowing fire. But is your first thought of beer?

If you’re drinking a bright IPA from Green Cheek Beer Co., a fresh pilsner from pFriem Family Brewers or a Blackberry Farm Brewery (BFB) beer, it just might be. Not only because of the satisfying sensation of sipping a bright, sunny saison, but also because the ethos that embodies everything about the brewing community shines throughout the BF Brewery – from the barrel-aging program and stellar taproom to the optimism of the crew that works there. All parts of it work together for exquisite quality.

“It can’t be just good enough, it has to be world class, period,” says Brewmaster Travis Hixon.

PROCESS

There is radiance in the technical process of brewing, from seed to glass. From the sun’s rays that raise the grain and hops to the control of temperature, thermal energy and heat, you can’t do anything without it.

Brewer Tim Moore explains how they start their brewing process.

“The first thing we do is heat the grist, warming the water then soaking the ground, kiln-toasted malted barley in a step called ‘mashing,’” he says.

The next step is cooking the grain. Half the recipe’s water is in that “porridge” made from soaking the malt to make the sugars. Beer is mostly water, so quality water is vital.

The enzymes convert that starch to fermentable sugars. Then comes the “sparging,” or rinsing over the grain with more hot water, to get every bit of the good stuff.

Once they get the resulting wort into the boil kettle, they need more heat, which both nourishes and sterilizes. Then, they introduce bitter and aromatic hops to counterbalance all that sugar. “Accentuating that soul,” as Tim says. Then it all goes into the whirlpool to whisk out the solids.

Before pitching (adding) the yeast, the wort (the now-strained hot liquid) needs to be cooled down. It’s sent into heat exchangers that look like large radiators so that the high-temperature wort doesn’t kill the live yeast. BFB brewers start their Saison fermentation at 68 degrees – warmer than most would use for the saison style. At this point, that magical process in the fermenters happens where the happy yeast turns it all into beer.

INGREDIENTS

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which came first, civilization or fermentation? Beer is a magnificent organism and social lubricant that has evolved step by step with civilization.

Brewers make the wort, and the yeast makes the beer. They’ve finessed it over time, but yeast is sensitive and doesn’t always want to be told what to do. You can coax it by controlling the temperatures. Brewers are the ringmasters of that fermentation rodeo.

Yeast is a single-celled fungus that has been cultivated for centuries for both brewing and baking. In brewing there are two main families of yeast that are responsible for fermenting ales and lagers. Ale yeast is top-fermenting and lager yeast is bottom-fermenting. Many steps are required, but basically the higher the temperatures, the faster all the biochemistry happens – which you don’t always want, depending on the flavors and the type of beer you are making. Hops are another element in the brewing process that have relied upon the community circle.

“It’s about relationships,” Travis says.

He has been brewing for 23 years. He knows the people he trusts. They make sure he gets the best hop lots. When Travis and his team can’t go in person, their level of trust in the relationships they have is even more important. That confidence and camaraderie flows across the internet lines when they do hop selection virtually and through the mail. It’s a modern pivot that proves how a solid relationship – and faith – will help the crew keep making world-class beer without a hiccup.

ETHOS

So, what makes Blackberry Farm Brewery unique? Back to the ethos, from research to process, nothing is spared to keep the brewing process stellar.

For example, their Country Lager is a down-home name that uses both global and locally-sourced ingredients, including barley that is custom grown for them by a regional farmer with a healthy dose of Tennessee terroir and Southern sunshine.

“The technical side is dialed in with our sensory analysis. We work with the farmer to get the grain where we like it,” says Tim. A local malt house is employed to “trick” the barley into sprouting, so the starch within the endosperm becomes accessible to create fully bio-available sugars. That grain is dried gently in a warm-to-hot kiln, depending on the color and flavor desired for each style of beer. You have to be careful when you transform and fine-tune the raw material to make a sublime product.

“I love the culture, the history, the artful side of it. It’s a beautiful mix of what brings people together,” says Tim. Their Saison is a glowing example of luminescence and community in beer.

“It’s so important to us when you pop a bottle of Classic Saison that’s been bottle-conditioned and harnessed with a cork and cage, it feels like the pleasure and sound of popping a cork off a Champagne bottle. It’s that communal gathering experience, celebrating the ritual of a shared moment… we are all longing for that now,” shares Tim.

Sam Beall and Roy Milner started Blackberry Farm Brewery with an incandescent vision. Brewery Managing Partner Roy tells us, “When I think of radiance, I think of every time we interact with someone, whether it’s at our own taproom or in Norway, Manchester or California.”

Roy shares, “Our approach has always been to gather and slow down. Do fewer events, but do them deeper and on a more quality level. You may touch fewer people, but the people you touch you make a greater impact on. We don’t chase numbers, and we don’t chase trends. We make great beer, and we love sharing it.”

At the heart of Blackberry Farm Brewery is community, which just might be their best not-so-secret ingredient.