RASCAL CREEK BREWING PROCESS AT BIG BUBBA’S
MERCED 560 W 18th Street 



SUMMARY THE BARLEY GOES INTO THE MILL, IS PROCESSED 
and IS CARRIED BY THE FLEX AUGER TO THE NEXT STEP OF THE BREWING PROCESS.



The Barley arrives at our brewery in bags from a MALT HOUSE, having already been through the MALTING PROCESS. The Barley we buy comes from Canada, Wisconsin and England through a California supplier.



The brewing process, in fact, begins with the MALTING of the BARLEY. At the MALT HOUSE, the BARLEY is steeped in water until it germinates, at which time it is kiln dried. Most of the MALT is simply dried to produce pale malt, and the rest is roasted to various degrees to produce crystal malts, chocolate, black and specialty malts. Malt absolutely affects the flavor of beer. *At the brewery, pale malt is blended with various crystal, roasted and specialty malts according to the recipe for the desired brew. A light ale might be brewed with only pale malt, and darker beers, while brewed primarily with pale malt would require different blends of the other malts according to style.

The quality and taste of barley is affected by where it is grown and how it is cared for. Our brewer favors a blend of malts from various sources. Growing & malting the barley both ultimately affect the flavor of our beer, so our brewer chooses his malted barley carefully.




The MALT is put in the MILL. It is ground into a coarse substance called GRIST.




The purpose is to expose the starch inside but be coarse enough so water can flow through. It is then carried by the FLEX AUGER (the pipe) to the next part of the brewing process. The MILLING usually takes about 45 minutes.




The FLEX AUGER (the white PVC pipe) brings the MILLED grain to the GRIST HYDRATOR, where it mixes with hot water as it falls into the MASH TUN, where the hot water awakens the enzymes, converting the starch into sugar.




After 20 min. or so of the barley steeping in the hot water, the conversion process (turning starch into sugar) is complete and the liquid is now called WORT. The liquid WORT is separated from the grain by a SCREEN (shown above) at the bottom of the MASH TUN, and run off into the KETTLE through the pipe that connects the two. This is called LAUTERING



In a process called SPARGING more hot water is sprinkled onto the MASH to further rinse out the sugars created during the MASH. *At the beginning of the RUNOFF the WORT is very sweet and malty, and at the end of the RUNOFF, as coffee is at the end of brewing, it is very weak. Our brewer uses the same amount of water for each batch of beer brewed, but changes the amount of grain that is calculated to produce the desired amount of sugar in the kettle (again, like you would add more or less coffee grinds to make your cup "stronger" or "weaker"). The amount of sugar desired changes depending on which type of beer is being brewed. The more malt used, the more alcohol, the more malt flavor and the more sugar which sometimes means a longer fermentation. Also, The entire RUNOFF process takes about 2 1/2 hours.


ONCE IN THE KETTLE, THE WORT IS BROUGHT TO A BOIL AND HOPS ARE ADDED. THEN THE LIQUID IS COOLED.




HOPS grow on vines and the flowers are cones about the size of your thumb. After harvest, the cones are baled and stored cold to preserve their aromatic and bittering qualities. Many breweries use hops in their whole form, but many others use HOPS that are pelletized by grinding them to powder, then compressing the powder and extruding it under pressure forming pellets 1/8 to 1/4 inch in diameter. *HOPS can be added throughout the time the WORT is in the kettle, depending on the type of beer being made. For example, a hefeweizen might have HOPS added only at the beginning of this process, and only a small amount of HOPS may be used. This is because hefeweizens are not bitter beers. In contrast (and even though it is not very bitter), our Amber Ale has HOPS added at the beginning, middle and end. The HOPS added at the beginning combine with the WORT for the entire boil, which allows the pellets to thoroughly affect the WORT'S bitterness level. The hops added at the very end do not mix with the WORT for very long so they affect mostly the aroma rather than impacting the taste and bitterness. Each beer has a different recipe for amount and number of times HOPS are added. Pelletized hops retain their aroma and bitterness longer because of the compaction, and they are easier and cheaper to store. We use pellets here. *In the KETTLE the WORT is brought to a BOIL and HOPS are added. MALT provides malt flavor, sweetness, body and color to the beer. HOPS provide the bitterness to balance the MALT flavors, and aroma and flavor. The BOIL is about an hour long and accomplishes several things. First and foremost it sterilizes the WORT. And it isomerizes the HOPS. That is, it breaks down the HOP oils, so they will be water-soluble. And it coagulates solids composed of proteins, hops and particles of grain. And it drives off volatiles that would adversely affect the beer’s flavor. After BOILING, there are solids in the WORT. These are removed by a whirlpool in the kettle which when allowed to settle clumps the solids in the center of the vessel. After this, the WORT is cooled by running the wort through a PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER.




This process is called KNOCKING OUT and brings the wort to a temperature level suitable for adding live yeast.




YEAST is then added and FERMENTATION begins, converting the sugar created during the MASH to alcohol and CO2. Fermentation is complete when the yeast has "eaten" all of the sugar in the WORT. The fermentation process takes about 5 days, depending on the type of beer. At the end of FERMENTATION we have BEER, but it is not yet ready to drink.


FERMENTING TANK        YEAST         SERVING TANK 



The BEER is cooled and allowed to rest for a few days. At this point we may add finings which to the beers we plan to filter. The jello finings help to settle out the yeast and other proteins making the beer easier to filter. It is then transferred or filtered into a SERVING TANK where it is carbonated and pumped on demand to the bar. That’s right the beer coming out of the taps is coming directly out of the big tanks behind the bar.