Brewing beer is an ancient and sophisticated craft. Some might even call it an art-form.
Our highly-trained brewmasters have spent years learning how to make some of the freshest and most delicious beers in the world.
Good beer starts with great ingredients. Read on to see what we use, why we use it and how it’s used to make our beer.
Germinated and kilned barley, or malt barley, is to beer what grapes are to wine. During the brewing process, the starch in barley is transformed into sugars, which are needed for fermentation.
Barley is responsible for the colour, taste, aroma and head on beer. And it’s the dominant ingredient in all of our beers.
There are many varieties of barley, but not all are considered to be malting quality. And for our beers, we have precise specifications and procedures for selecting the highest-quality malt barley for brewing.
Water is the unsung hero of beer ingredients. It doesn’t get the recognition that the barley, malt and hops get, but on average, beer consists of approximately 90% water. And just like any other ingredient, it affects the taste of the beer. That’s why it’s always filtered, tested and tasted before entering the brewing process.
Hops are the cone-shaped blossoms that give beer bitterness and contribute to its aroma and foam stability. The unique aroma and bitter flavour of hops counterbalance the sweetness of barley malt.
In brewing, hops are classified as either bitter hops or aroma hops. We often use a mix of different types of hops in our beers to create different scales of bitterness and aromas that range from fruity to piney or flowery.
Yeast is a living organism that is very important for beer’s taste by turning sugar into alcohol.
Brewers often keep their own yeast cultures safely protected to guarantee a consistent taste. We have more than 1200 yeast strains in our portfolio that are protected. Not all of them are currently used, which gives our brewers lots of room to innovate and create new beers.
Yeast gives beer different aromas, for example banana, rose, apple, aniseed, almonds, cloves and pepper, just to name a few.
There are two basic types of brewer’s yeast – Ale and Lager – with different general taste qualities. Ale yeast delivers a more intense flavour while lager yeast results in cleaner and crisper qualities.
For a more refreshing and sour taste, and to create a cloudy beer with a rich, thick head
For a milder taste and a silky, oily mouth feel
For a roasted, spicy, peppery character
For a softer and lighter taste
For a sweeter taste and higher alcohol content, without provoking the mouth feel
For a sweeter taste and higher alcohol content
For a sweeter and spicier taste, and a more fruity aroma
For a lighter, paler colour and crisper taste
For spicier taste profiles
