The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, November 9, 2000
Beer
Section B • Page 8
Behind the Brew
Local brewers provide insight about their favorite pints
By BriAnne Hess
Jayplay editor
The head brewers at the three Lawrence breweries are the masterminds behind what comes out of the tap.
Steve Bradt, brewer at Free State Brewing Co., 636 Massachusetts St., has spent his entire 12-year brewing career at Free State.
"I kind of lucked into it," he said. "I started as a bartender when we opened here, and soon, I was working as an assistant brewer."
Since then, Bradt has taken courses in browing science at the Siebel
bre science at the Siebe Institute in Chicago, and he said he generally came up with Free State's recipes and beer ideas. He said his favorite Free State beer on tap was the Copperhead Pale Ale.
"I'm kind of a hophead," Bradt said. "I like hoppy beers, and I like the balance of hops in the beer."
His favorite specialty brew is the Barleywine — a strong beer that is aged a
long time.
"We have some still in storage that
from malted grains — typically malted barley. The sweet liquid, called wort, is boiled with hops to balance its sweetness and add different flavors and aromas to the beer. After the wt sugars are boiled, they are fermented by the yeast. The byproduct of fermentation produces carbon dioxide, creating carbonation and alcohol. For ales, it takes two weeks before the beer is ready to pour at the bar.
"We have some still in storage that dates back to 1997," he said. "We brew some every year, and it changes a lot over time. It's a very complex beer — a contemplative drink."
The brewing process entails extracting a sweet liquid
Bradt's Ironman Imperial Stout, an ale, takes longer because it's a stronger beer. Lagers take about a month from start to finish, he said.
"We have an Owd Mac's imperial that is double-aged because it goes through an additional aging process in an old whisky barrel," he said.
in addition to Free State, other options for micro-brewed beer have popped up in Lawrence.
Bradt said the brewing equipment at Free State was worth between a quarter- and a half-million dollars.
Ian Adams has been the brewer at Brown Bear Brewing Co., 729 Massachusetts St., for two-and-a-half years. He said he started as a waiter at another brewery and fell in love with beer there.
"I annoyed the brewers enough that they started teaching me how to do it," he said.
Adams writes the Brown Bear beer
sessions and researches them
"I start working with the formulas — weight and the hops and the water chemistry," Adams said. "It's a fun little process." Adams said it took him about
dams said it took him about three months to write a recipe because he tried to find detailed information about the type of beer he's going to brew. He there was a series of books he used in which each volume focused on a specific beer.
Brewing normally takes eight to nine hours. Then, the beer ferments for two to three days and conditions for two weeks in an icehouse before it's put on tap. Specialty brews can condition for longer — Adams said the Russian Imperial Stout was in Brown Bear's icehouse for nine months.
Adams said his favorite standard brew was Josiah Miller's IPA.
"I love hops," he said. "I like the flavor, and it goes well with Mexican food."
His favorite seasonal beer also is a hop-filled brew, the American Pale Ale, he said.
mud weed, the American Pale Ale, he said. "I have a feeling it might be popping around quite a bit," he said. "We're having a lot of沸腾 on it."
The original brewer at Sports Page Brewery, 3512 Clinton Parkway, has returned and is in the process of brewing more beer.
Four home-brewed beers are available at Sports Page, including the recently added Honey Wheat, said Bill Salem, day manager. Crimson, an amber brew, will be ready next week.
Chad Bundy, bartender at Free State Brewery, checks on one of the brewery's many homemade beers. Free State is the oldest brewery in Lawrence. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Edited by Kathryn Moore
The workings of Brown Bear Brewing Co.'s brewery are housed in the bar's basement. Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
Kansan staffers talk about the nuances of local brews. The women tasted beers at the three pubs Monday.
Photo by Brad Dreier/KANSAN
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