Friday, August 11, 2006

Iron Hill Brewery in Phoenixville, PA - Construction Update 8/11/06

Any of you who subscribe to Iron Hill's newsletter should have received this today regarding the opening of their new location in Phoenixville, PA. We'll have some new pictures posted soon. Until then, here's the text lifted from the e-mail. ------------------------------------------------------------ Iron Hill's Brewery Tanks Arrive in Phoenixville! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On Wednesday, August 9, we received our brewhouse and fermenter tanks at our newest location in Phoenixville. Tim Stumpf, the Head Brewer, can't wait to get everything hooked up to start the brewing process. Tim has been anticipating this event for a while. “The giant tanks and enormous fermenters have to be moved and installed very carefully. It takes a steady hand, to say the least,” he said. In what can be described only as a sight to behold, the tanks and fermenters, which range in sizes from 120 gallons to 320 gallons and weighing in at 350 to 1,600 pounds, were unloaded from trucks by forklift and set into place inside the restaurant’s brewing facility. “This is always an exciting day for Iron Hill's brewery staff, and especially for Tim,” says Mark Edelson, an Iron Hill founder and Head of Brewing Operations. "I'm sure he can't wait to start brewing." Construction Continues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Construction continues at the site. The projected opening date for the restaurant is September 25th. That date is just a target at this time, and may change slightly due to changes in the construction schedule. The Brewing Process ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The brewing process starts at the brewhouse, which is made of three copper tanks. Grain is added to the first tank, the mash tun, along with hot water from the hot liquor tank and allowed to sit for a few hours. The grain is rinsed or lautered. The result is a sugary liquid called wort, or unfermented beer. It is than transferred to the third copper tank, the kettle, where it is boiled and hops are added. The wort is transferred to one of the stainless steel fermenters, where yeast is added. The yeast eats the sugars in the wort and the byproduct is alcohol and carbon dioxide. After a few weeks, the beer may be filtered and transferred into our serving tanks. From the serving tanks the beer travels only about 50 feet to the taps. Talk about fresh beer! We should have it available in Phoenixville in less than seven weeks. Cheers!

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