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The Brewing of Beer According to Sharpe
Photographs and text by Andy Montgomery
Chattanooga Pulse - March 17, 2004

David Sharpe, head brewer at Big River Grill and Brewery, thought he wanted to be a chef. A South Pittsburgh native, he got a job in the kitchen at Big River upon graduating from high school with hopes to attend culinary school after a year of working. However, not long before his departure for school the head brewer at Big River approached David about working in the brewery. David, a self-proclaimed beer-lover, agreed to try it out for a few months. That was 8 years and thousands of gallons of beer ago. I spent the day with David on Thursday and learned about the 8 step process of brewing beer the Big River way.

1. Milling
In the first step of the brewing process, malt grains are run through a milling process to crack the malt husks and expose the starches. The cracked grain, grist, is dropped from the mill into a hopper below in the brewing room for the second step.

2. Mashing
After being milled, water is incorporated into the grist with a device called the "Steele's Masher," an augur that keeps clumps from forming in the solution. The water must be kept at a precise temperature for each brew in order to effectively activate the enzymes that will produce fermentable sugars.

3. Lautering
After being recirculated for an hour and a half in the mash tun, the wort (pre-fermented beer) must be separated from the malt grain. The last of the valuable grain particles are rinsed into the lauter-tun via a process called sparging. This is followed by a straining process called lautering which removes any remaining undesirable elements.

4. Boiling
The wort is next moved to the brew kettle where it is boiled for 1 to 2 hours depending on the particular brew. Hops are incorporated into the wort during this step. Hops, applied at specific times throughout the boil, give the beer its bitterness, but also provide a variety of different flavors and aromas.

5. Cooling
Prior to fermentation, the wort must be cooled quickly to a level that will not damage the yeast that is added to initiate fermentation. Big River uses a radiator-like device to accomplish this, circulating the wort through tubes encased in chilled water and a substance called propylene glycol.

6. Fermenting
According to David Sharpe, fermentation is the most crucial part of the entire brewing procedure. Yeast is added to the wort through a process called "pitching." The amount of yeast and where it ferments indicate what sort of beer will be made, a top-fermenting ale or a bottom-fermenting lager. The wort is kept in fermentation vessels for 4 to 8 days depending on the brew.

7. Conditioning
When the wort has fermented for the ideal time period, the beer is pumped from the fermenting vessels down to the "cellar" into conditioning vessels. At this point the temperature is dropped to a near-freezing point, causing the yeast to go dormant, and the beer is allowed to condition for a period of 10-30 days.

8. Serving
After conditioning, the now finished brew is transferred to serving vessels in preparation for every beer-lover's favorite step of the process, drinking! Big River places great importance on the freshness and presentation of the beer they serve. The proper amount of foam is incorporated into every glass through a two-step pouring process that makes for a brew as enjoyable to look at as it is to drink.

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