Becky Rochester, Brewer. At least for a day.

On Monday, November 12, 2012 I dusted off my old work boots and headed to Deschutes Brewery where I was going to be a Brewer for the day. My interdepartmental started in the Huppmann Brewhouse with Brewer Brent. Seven batches of Mirror Pond Pale Ale was on the whiteboard. “No sweat,” he said. We brewed batch after batch adding things like hops and gypsum and moss as prompted on the computer. He gave me a tour of the Huppmann Brewhouse including downstairs. We transferred some wort from one of the batches into the yeast propagation tanks to feed the yeast and keep them happy. We also changed out a water filter.

Where the magic happens

Brewer Brent showed me the ropes on the computers and as the morning progressed I was able to dump some hops in the boil kettle. Brewing in the Huppmann seemed like a piece of cake compared to some of the wineries I have worked in. I was dry and clean and happy.

Huppmann Brewhouse Computer System

Getting setup in the Huppmann Brewhouse

Later in the day I got to spend some time in the cellar with Ryan. This is where the action is! We transferred some Jubelale through the centrifuge and monitored the carbon dioxide levels with a Gehaltemeter, and we re-carbonated the Jubelale up to spec. We also signed off on some nitro stouts in two tanks by timing the pouring and settling in the glass. I volunteered to be the taste tester. We used the clean in place system and got some caustic for cleaning. By the end of the day, I was finally dirty. Now I felt like a true Brewer. There is nothing like a hard day of work.

I learned a lot during my time as a Brewer for the day experience. For one, there are many similarities between winemaking and brewing. I realized that I still enjoy manual labor. Brewing has a lot more leeway when it comes to creativity and styles. While Deschutes Brewery is the most computerized place I have worked in, it still takes a lot of hard work to make damn tasty beer.

Cheers,

Becky Rochester, Brewer. At least for a day.