The Brewing Process

Fresh Draught, Naturally

So what makes a premium, draught ale? The skilled hand of a professional brewer and the finest of all-natural ingredients. At Garrison, we brew exclusively in small batches using traditional methods. We use only the finest ingredients — Canadian and imported roast barley malts, aromatic hops from Washington's Yakima Valley, double-filtered water and a robust and hearty ale yeast. Whether in bottles or kegs, our beers are unpasteurized and contain no enhancers or preservatives, making them true “draught ales”!

The Mash

Malted barley is transported from a huge silo via auger to our malt mill where it is crushed and blended with other specialty malts such as wheat, chocolate and caramel. The distinctive malts contribute to the signature aromas, flavours and colours of our premium hand-crafted beers. After the blended grains are crushed, they are steeped in double filtered and treated hot water for one hour while the starches are converted to sugars by natural enzymes present in the malt.

The Boil

The now-sweet liquid is rinsed from the grains with more hot water as it is pumped to our brew kettle where it is boiled for 90 minutes. During the boil, we add the finest imported hops (cannabinacae), which add to the distinctive flavour profiles and act as a natural preservative. The bittersweet liquid (now called wort) is ready to be cooled.

Wort Chilling

The wort is then pumped through the heat exchanger, which rapidly cools it to fermentation temperature (18° - 21° C). Our brewmaster works frantically here to avoid less-than-perfect beer as speed is of the essence to eliminate the threat of airborne bacterial contamination.

Fermentation

Fermentation is defined as the anaerobic conversion of sugar to carbon dioxide gas and (mainly ethyl) alcohol by yeast.

The wort is now pumped to one of the large fermentors where a pure liquid yeast culture is added. Full algorithmic fermentation commences in a few hours and is usually complete in less than a week, nothing short of a miracle!

Cellaring/Conditioning

The beer is now chilled down to a cool 0° C where it sits for several days maturing, allowing flavours to meld in preparation for the final processes: filtration and packaging.

Cold Filtration

Now ready for sterile filtration, the pure liquid yeast culture is harvested with great care by our brewmaster for pitching into our next batch. (Yes, we recycle!) Our beers are naturally carbonated and double cold-filtered to ensure a long stable shelf-life and a smooth, clean-finished product.

Packaging

Our new semi-automated kegging station and state-of-the-art bottling line complete with aseptic bottle rinse and oxygen pre-evacuation ensure a lasting freshness we know you will enjoy. We take great care from start to finish, and we’re committed to producing high-quality products for our consumers. Cheers and enjoy!