Bull Rock Irish Red

Bull Rock Kolsch 

Bull Rock Oatmeal Stout 

Bull Rock Pilsner 

Bull Rock Raspberry Ale

 

$3 Bloody Beer

Your choice of Bull Rock Beer

with Bloody Mary Mix

What is Beer? 

Beer means barley, both literally and figuratively.  The word beer is derived from the Middle English word, bere, meaning barley.  It is the grain or seed of barley that is used in making most beers.   

All Beers start with four basic ingredients, water, yeast, hops and malted barley (and or wheat).  The amount of each item, the quality, the way it’s handled and the addition of other products will determine the taste, aroma and color of the finished product. 

90% of beer is water, so whatever minerals the water contains will affect the way the beer finishes in the mouth.  Gypsum in water is ideal because it encourages enzymes to change starches into sugars.  Water with high chlorine content will accentuate the sweetness of the malt.  Soft water is ideal for making pilsners, porters and stouts.  Hard water is ideal for making pale-ales. 

Yeast is used to turn the sugars in the barley to alcohol.  There are two basics styles of yeast, Ale and Lager.  Ale yeast works at warm temperatures and at the top of the liquid.  Examples are British ales, Wheat beers, Porter, Kolsch, and Oatmeal Stout.  Ale yeast does not turn as many sugars into alcohol, leaving residual sugar in the finish and a hearty fruity aroma and palate.  Lager yeast works at colder temperatures and at the bottom of the liquid.  This yeast will turn more sugars into alcohol, producing a drier beer with little or no fruitiness.  Examples are Lager, Pilsner, Dark/Dunkel, Bock/Double Bock, Eisbocks, and Vienna.  Lagers are generally smoother and more subtle than ales, lacking ales fruitiness and robust characteristics. 

History of Beer 

The tradition of brewing stretches back over ninety centuries.  Stone tablets engraved with recipes for the “wine of grain” date as far back as the early Mesopotamian culture, 7000 years before Christ.  At that time brewing, like baking bread, was a common domestic chore. 

In more recent Biblical times, the Babylonians and Egyptians brewed up a storm.  It is recorded that the Pharaoh Rameses made a yearly donation of around 220,000 gallons to the temple priests to keep the gods happy.  (Likely, more than the gods were intoxicated with this offering!) 

By the Middle Ages brewing had become an exclusive activity of the household.  Interestingly, it was the female, “Brewster”, of the family that took on the beer making duties while history shows the male of the house was busy baking the bread! 

Just as beer had a tendency to loosen inhibitions, authorities tended to tighten them.  Soon regulations concerning the production of beer became the rule of the land and breweries were established in monasteries to accommodate visitors and travelers. 

Eventually, however, not even the Church could stem the tide of commerce.  As cities grew, ale houses also grew in number throughout Europe.  Licensed and closely regulated, ale houses of the time were little different from corner pubs, taverns and modern day microbreweries. 

Across America, microbreweries are flourishing, giving us a welcomed option to the undisputed king of light-bodied beers… the pilsner… and freeing us from the grocery store six-pack. 

Bull Rock Brewery was started in 2001 when the winemaker went to purchase wine making equipment and instead brought home a complete microbrewery.

Fortunately, the gentleman that sold the winemaker the brewery equipment was kind enough to teach the winemaker’s brother-in-law how to brew beer with it.  So the winemaker’s brother-in-law (Curt Barrows) became the brewer and Bull Rock Beer was born. 

Our grains are ground fresh before each brew.  All Bull Rock beers are produced in two barrel batches (about 60 gallons)… allowing for the highest level of quality control and resulting in the freshest beer you can get anywhere!  We guarantee it!

How is Beer Made? 

Grains are ground in the Grain Mill while water is being heated.  Water that is ready for brewing is called Hot Liquor.  The Hot Liquor is added to the crushed Barley Malt to create the Mash.  Mashing is a controlled cooking process that uses enzymes present in the malt to convert starches into fermentable sugars.  The liquid from the mash is recovered and boiled with hops.  This is called Wort.

After the boil, the wort is cooled and pumped into fermentation vessels, where yeast is added.  This is how the beer ferments… as the yeast converts the sugars to alcohol and CO2.  After fermentation, the beer is allowed to mature, which is called conditioning.  After conditioning, the beer is filtered, carbonated and transferred to kegs.

*Beer information sources include “In search of the Perfect Beer” and “Briess Home Brewing Companion”.