Here at Rock Bottom, we believe there are some simple truths regarding the beer we brew.

The best beer is the freshest beer. Because our beer is produced in our onsite brewery, it will not be gathering dust in a warehouse, or spend weeks traveling on a truck or boat. Brewing the finest beer requires the highest quality ingredients, dedicated Brewmasters, and a reverence for the rich traditions of brewing. Two things influence the way we brew beer in each of our breweries: local water and local tastes. Because these two factors differ in each of our locations, our brewers work to customize beers to absolutely "fit" each locale.

We strive for balanced beer. All of the ingredients in our beer must compliment each other, and work together to bring forward the perfect blend of flavors for each beer style. Our brewers handpick the finest hops in the Yakima Valley, bursting with citrus, floral, and earthen character. The highest quality domestic and imported malted barley can lend flavors ranging from light sweetness and dry, biscuity character to notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate, raisins, or coffee. These ingredients, together with filtered local water and pure brewers yeast, form the palette of flavors and colors our brewers use to create their own representations of renowned beer styles that go so well with our flavorful food.

We are very pleased and proud of the Brewing teams at all our locations. “They are all dedicated to creating a quality product. These medals underscore our commitment to quality beer. Seeing individual brewers consistently winning awards year in and year out validates the expertise and depth of our Brewing teams" -Kevin Reed, Director of Brewing Operations.

Here's how we do it...

1. The main ingredient of beer is malted barley, which we purchase in 50-pound bags from domestic and English suppliers and store in our grain shed. The malting process takes place before we purchase the grain and involves wetting and sprouting the barley, then dry roasting it. Dark "malts" have been roasted longer or at a higher temperature than light malts. In some locations we receive our pale malt, which is the base ingredient in our beers, in bulk, and store it in a grain silo outside of our brewery.

2. To start the brewing process, bags of various types of malts are taken into the grain room and dumped into the "grain mill" which crushes the grain between two adjustable steel rollers. The goal is to crack the grain and separate it from the husk.

3. The ground grain, called "grist," is stored in a "grist hopper": and then drops by gravity through a hydrating collar into the "mash tun." The hydrating collar sprays hot water on the grist forming a porridge-like "mash."

4. In the mash tun more hot water is mixed with the mash and the brewer stirs the soupy liquid with a wooden paddle to aid the mashing process. As the mixture steeps, an enzyme-induced reaction converts the starches in the grist to sugars. This liquid extract of sugars is pumped from the bottom of the Mash Tun, and poured back on top of the Mash, where it filters down through the grist. This circulation of the extract creates a grain "bed" on a perforated screen at the bottom of the vessel. This bed filters out bits and pieces of grain and husk, until the circulating liquid is clear. This liquid, called "wort," is sweet to the taste, clear of sediment and the color of the final beer.

5. In the next step, wort is pumped from the mash tun to the "brew kettle". As the wort is pumped into the brew kettle, hot water is sprayed on top of the grain bed. This process called "sparging" draws the residual sugars out of the grain bed. At the end of the sparge, the wort in the kettle is brought to a rousing boil and hops are added to impart bitterness and aromatics to the beer. When the boil is complete, the wort is rapidly pumped in a circular motion, or "whirlpooled." This results in the hops residue and other protein sediment settling in a cone-shaped pile at the bottom of the brew kettle.

6. The wort is next pumped from the brew kettle through a plate heat exchanger where cold water cools it from a near boiling temperature to approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. The cooling water becomes heated in the process of cooling the wort and is stored in the "hot water back," an insulated and heated stainless steel tank. This water is then used in the next brew for the mashing process.

8. Wort is pumped from the heat exchanger through stainless steel pipes to one of the "fermenters," large tall stainless tanks above the back bar cooler. Yeast is introduced to the fermenter as the cooled wort enters, and the fermentation process begins in which portions of the sugars in the wort are converted to alcohol. The primary fermentation takes about five days with the temperature in the fermenter held at approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit. As the fermentation proceeds, yeast settles in the cone-shaped bottom of the fermenter and CO2 gas bleeds off through a valve at the top of the fermenter. When the primary stage is complete, the tank temperature is lowered to approximately 42 degrees Fahrenheit and the beer "conditions for another seven to ten days.

9. After proper conditioning, the beer is transferred to serving tanks directly behind the bar. Once there, the beer is carbonated to the appropriate level, and is now ready to be enjoyed. The end results are beers that have been handcrafted by our head brewer and his talented staff to the highest quality standards they can attain.