Fermentation Boogie
There is something about walking into the brewery around 7:00 a.m., all the lights are off, nothing but the steady hum of the boiler, the darkness of the mornings promise, and the sweet smell of yesterdays brew hanging in the air. I'll get in, turn off the alarm, and before…
Announcements
» We have published our first annual Sustainability report
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» Brewery Vivant becomes first LEED certified commercial microbrewery in the U.S.
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» Named Top 25 Places, Midwest Living Magazine
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» BV offsets 100% of electricity with renewable energy!
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» BV in The Buzz from Sicialiano’s
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» We are in Draft Magazine!
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» Draft Magazine named us one of 12 breweries to watch in 2011!
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The Brewery
We may be located in the middle of a neighborhood, but we are a full manufacturing brewery. We brew all of our beer on the premises and either pump it over directly to serve in our pub, or we package it to be sold through our wholesale partners. (starting Spring of 2011)
The brewery itself is a 20 bbl three vessel brewhouse built by our friends across the pond in Wisconsin, the WM Sprinkman Corporation. The signature sign of a Sprinkman system is the 1950's style milk can that functions as our grant between the mash tun and kettle. The grant allows us to transfer our beer wort from the mash tun without pulling a vacuum on the grain bed. It is both functional and stylish.
We have 20 and 40 bbl cylindrical conical fermenters as well as horizontal storage tanks that have been repurposed from dairy tanks. These storage tanks allow us to give our French style "biere de garde" the extra time it needs to develop and mature before we package it. We think the horizontal surface area gives our beer a little extra house flavor by creating a larger surface area for our yeast to work.
