It was really great of you to post all of these questions on Facebook. We had no idea what to put in the Brewer’s Blog. We are brewing Pug today, and filtering Blonde. Got started about 4:30 this morning, and so far everything is going pretty smoothly. We are rocking out to some classic rock (Doors, Steppenwolf, etc.). That’s what’s going on with us today so here are some of your great questions.

What are the odds of summertime wheat being renamed each season so we can have it all year?

That’s a question that would be best answered by Fritz. Summertime Wheat is a great beer, but it’s one of those beers that just goes great with summer.

Why can't your beers be distributed to a Larger Area and who handles the distribution?

We are steadily branching out throughout Texas. Keep an eye out for us in several new places in Austin and the rest of south/central Texas.

What kinds of hops go into Rahr beers? What difference does it make and why?

All the hops are listed on the beer lineup page. We use Magnum hops for bittering in most of our beers. It has quite a bit of the bittering acids, so we don’t have to use as much. It’s also a derivative of the German Noble hops so the flavor that we get out of it will go well with the hops that we add for flavor and aroma. We use warrior hops in Stormcloud for bittering. It seems to go better with the flavor that we get from the Goldings hops that we use for flavor and aroma in the IPA. We like the sweet, floral aroma and flavor of the Goldings in the IPA.

Who cleans the tall tanks between brews?

Austin cleans the fermenters between each batch. We use a process called Clean-in-Place (CIP). We go through two cleaning cycles, and a sanitization cycle for each tank prior to brew day. We spray the cleaner into the tanks with a spray ball mounted in each tank. Each cycle is recirculated in the tank for 20 to 30 minutes. Once a cycle is finished we rinse the tank and move on to the next step. This will leave the tank clean, sanitary and ready for the next brew.

How much pressure builds up when your mash and yeast are at their peak? Those tanks must bubble out quite a bit of CO2.

No pressure is built up during the mash. The mash tun is open and all the steam is blown out through the top. When fermentation kicks off and the yeast is cranking away, there is quite a bit of CO2 that is released. The maximum pressure that the tanks can hold is 15 pounds per square inch. We have pressure relief valves that will blow off excess gas if the pressure gets too high. During fermentation the CO2 is blown out of the tank.

How does the brewing process differ in your variety of beers? From your ugly pug to your iron thistle to your red and so on and so forth

The process remains the same for most of our beers. The only thing that really changes is the recipe. However we do boil Iron thistle for a little bit longer to get some caramelization in the kettle to get more body in the Iron Thistle.

Ha... I have the ultimate question, which no one has the true answer!! Which Rahr beer is your favorite?? Hahaha!! You can't answer definitely because they all are! Hahahahaha!!!!

Jason: Uhhh... I don’t... I’m confused. This question makes my head hurt.
Fritz: I got it..... that’s easy.......... I like the beer that is in my hand!!!!!!
Austin: Stormcloud

Have R&S considered non-alcoholic beer?

No, non alcoholic beers are difficult to produce. However, we do like root beer.

Do you filter your beers or are they just naturally that clear?

We filter our Blonde, Red, Bucking Bock, and Oktoberfest. Everything else we allow to naturally settle. The reason we filter those beers is they are lighter in color than others and haze will show up much more in those beers than Pug or Thistle. Although it’s lighter in color we don’t filter Stormcloud. The yeast settles out nicely in Stormcloud, and IPA’s are better unfiltered.

Wenn ist das Nunstruck git und Slotermeyer?

Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!

Well that’s all we have for now. If you guys have any more questions feel free to post them on Facebook.

Prosit!!

Jason, Austin, and Fritz