Part of Rotary's attraction is appreciation of Vocational service with visits to inspect the workings of various industries.
To this end The Beer Factory at 18 Translink Drive, Keilor Park 3042 was visited on the rainy night of 1st October and were instructed on the process of beer making by Chris and his brother Matt.
The recipe is simply crushed grain, dextrose, hops and yeast - nothing could be simpler.
But oh not so!
Complexity is everywhere.
Firstly the grain can be barley, wheat or rice and these need to be crushed to release their
carbohydrates and aromatic oils for the yeast to feed on to produce alcohol.
The crushed grain and hops are stewed in a boiler at 80 deg to form a malt but the water must be pure and clean. Melbourne is lucky but places like Adelaide need to clean theirs by reverse osmosis and the addition of missing minerals - further complexity.
The must is then extracted and passed through a reverse cycle cooler to 18 deg into vats to which the yeast is added and fermentation takes place. It is then stored in kegs to complete fermentation.
This last picture of the kegs is reminiscent of the urns containing hybernating creatures in the crashed space ship in the sci-fi series with Sigourney Weavers as Ripley in ALIENS!!!!!
There is complexity with the yeast as there are hundreds to choose from. Otheur hosts source their supply from Coopers in Adelaide. Of interest Coopers and all major distillers have multiple repositories of the mother yeast around the world in case of destruction of their supplies.
Once fermentation is complete the beer is poured into cans and the tops sealed in a press.
The label is added and ready and now to store. However as there is still some residual yeast in the can refrigeration is advised before consuming.
We were introduced to the world of excise duty which is paid by the amount of alcohol produced rounded up to a 100%proof. There is a differential rate for smaller producers whose are below the $400,000 and only pay a fraction of this, as their business would be totally uneconomical.
Having sampled their fare with light refreshments of spring rolls and party pies and fully cognisant of beer making we placed our orders and thanked our hosts.
A very enlightening evening concluded with a meal at the historic Keilor Hotel.
