Raw Materials
Water
The water used at Ninkasi Brewing Company comes directly from the local water source, which is the McKenzie River. The McKenzie River is considered one of the purest water sources in the world, which is why Ninkasi decided to place the brewery in Eugene. The McKenzie River comes from the runoff of the Cascade Mountains, and in the process experiences a natural volcanic filtration before arriving to Eugene. Because the McKenzie River is naturally filtered, the water that arrives in Eugene is low in certain minerals such as gypsum, limestone, magnesium, and salt. Most of the compounds that are filtered out make water less attractive for brewing, but since the water is low in these concentrations it is ideal for the brewing …show more content…
Ninkasi has two silos which holds 2-row pale malt and Munich malt. Most of the beers Ninkasi brews hold 2-row pale malt, but some require the Munich malt. The malt is delivered to the silos which sit just outside of the brewery. The larger silo of the two hold around 60,000 pounds of malt, while the smaller silo only holds around 20,000 pounds of Munich malt. They currently receive around three malt deliveries by truckload a week.
Mill
In addition to the two large malt silos, they add specialty malt in their beers in order to add flavor and color characteristics. Malts that are kilned for longer or at higher temperatures usually develop different characteristics and also tend to create a darker color. Medium malts usually tend to add a red or amber color to the beer and also add different characteristics and flavor. Black malts tend to be used for porters and stouts, which create a very dark color and give the beer either a chocolate or roasted coffee taste to the beer. Specially malts are shipped in much smaller quantities and infused into the malt process. The malts in the brewery are driven by a device called an auger which push the malt through the pipes. To the mill room. In the mill room. Malts are then added individually to the grist. The mill cracks the grain coarsely into what is called grist. The process ideally breaks the kernel …show more content…
This is the time in the process in which brewer finishes the mill process. Hot water, around 162 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, is added to the grist. When these are mixed together, the mash is around 144 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the beer. This is the point in the process where the alpha and beta amylase convert the remaining starch to sugar. When the temperatures are lower, the beta enzymes are more active in giving more fermentable sugars. When the temperatures are higher, the alpha enzymes are more active creating a more un-fermentable sugars. With this is mind both of the processes are used in order to create different beers with different flavors. If a lower bodied, drier beer is desired, the brewer will mash at the lower temperature. If a fuller bodied beer is desired, then the brewer will mash at a higher temperature. The mash will sit at this this temperature for approximately 40 minutes, and then the mash will be heated to around 168 degrees Fahrenheit in order to be transferred to the lauter tun. The liquid that is extracted from the malt is known as