Microbrewery Tour at Boston Beer Works

Kevin Kittredge (photos by Ron Sisco)

Kevin opened the cover on one of the kettles.

When the tour was complete, Kevin sat us down by the bar and led us in a beer tasting.

It's been a few months since our tour of the Boston Beer Works, but the memories of a good time are still there! On March 13 Manager Ken Ferrace invited the members of the Boston Chapter for a full tour of their local microbrewery (just across the street from Fenway Park), and then hosted a tasting of their great beers.

Master Brewer Kevin Kittredge was our guide for the day. He started by showing us two of the main ingredients of beer, malted barley and hops. We got to taste pale malt, crystal malt, and black patent malted grains, as well as smell the fresh hop pellets they use.

After this introduction, we saw the mash tun, and then toured the fermenting room, which was filled with giant copper kettles. These kettles are temperature-controlled. The temperature profile of a beer over time shows both what stage of fermentation it is in, as well as the type of beer that it is (ale or lager). Kevin opened the cover on one of the kettles, and we could look right in at the bubbling foam of high Kraeusen on top. At this point Ron Sisco almost jumped into the kettle, but we pulled him back!

We then got a tour of the aging tanks, and were shown were the "tax room" is. All of the beer sold at the brewery must go through the tax room before it hits the taps of the pub! Unfortunately, we were unable to go into the clean room were the yeast is propagated, we'll have to save that for another time when we all have our "clean suits" on.

When the tour was complete, Kevin sat us down by the bar and led us in a beer tasting. As I recall, we tasted four beers, starting with a very light one, such as the Bambino ale. This was thin in body with very little aftertaste. A good refreshing beer on a hot day. Next we had an IPA (I believe, or was it an amber?). This had more body and flavor, and was fairly hoppy. After this was the Curleys Irish Stout, a darker beer with lots of flavor. We finished the tasting off with a Hercules Strong Ale (my favorite), a barley-wine style ale which is very sweet, thick, and high in alcohol content. Hmmm, no wonder I can't remember the name of each beer we tasted!

We capped the event off with a drawing for some cool Boston Chapter regalia, and an item supplied by Boston Beer Works. Three of our members walked away sporting spiffy new Boston Chapter hats, and Aimee Reveno won the grand prize, a striking Boston Beer Works T-shirt.

All in all it was a fun event, and well-attended given that it was early in the season and we didn't have time to publicize it very well. Many thanks to Ken and Kevin of Boston Beer Works! I am hoping to do it again this Fall. If anyone knows of an interresting local brewery, and/or wants to volunteer to help organize the event, please give Fred Beck a shout at fbeck@boston-bmwcca.org.

Don't miss the story of the Microbrewery Tour at Boston Beer Works Photo Gallery by Ron Sisco.

June 1999 BIMMER

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