Something’s
BREWINGin
Anderson Valley
Story & Photos By Carole Brodsky
“…All among the barley, who would not be blithe?
When the ripe and bearded barley is smiling on the scythe…”
For the folks at Boonville’s Anderson
Valley Brewing Company, the words to
this Old English folk song celebrating the
joys of fermented grains – otherwise known
as beer – have as much significance now as
they did when the song was penned.
Founded in 1987 by Ken Allen, the
brewery has rocketed to the top of the craft
brewing industry, and though still considered a relatively small brewery, producing
24,000 barrels of beer annually (a walloping 744,000 gallons!), the Anderson Valley
Brewing Company is an award-winning
business whose support for their local community and environment adds an even more
distinctive quality to their smooth, full-fla-vored brews.
The thirty-acre brewery site is located
just south of downtown Boonville. Featuring a visitors center, beer garden, an 18-hole
professional disc golf course, Shire horse
carriage rides and of course, the craft brewery, the Anderson Valley Brewing Company
is a perfect stopover for folks traveling to or
from the Mendocino Coast.
The pristine Boonville water source on
the property is the perfect starting ingredient for the beer. A three-story Bavarian-style
brew house holds glistening copper brew
kettles imported by Ken from a German
brewery, as well as the spotlessly clean fermentation tanks and bottling line.
Several varieties of malted barley grains,
the staple for most beer, are stored in silos
and sprouted. The sprouted barley, referred
to as grist, is mixed with hot water and
blended in a copper tank called a mash/
lauter tun. This process turns the grist to
mash, which is left in the mash/lauter tun
for about ninety minutes. The fermenting
process has begun.
The mash contains enzyme-rich, liquid
called “sweet wort,” which is transferred
into a brewing kettle and boiled for ninety
minutes, during which hops may be added,
depending on the beer style and aroma
desired. This “hopped wort” is sent to a
whirlpool where it is spun for about twenty
minutes. The hops and coagulated proteins
called trub settle out, and the mixture, now
at about 200 degrees, is strained through
more fresh hops and passed through a heat
exchanger to cool it to 70 degrees in a few
seconds.
At this point, the yeasts begin activating.
The mixture is fermented for several days,
and the yeast/sugar interaction produce
the fun parts of the brew – the alcohol and
carbon dioxide bubbles. With the exception
of stout beers, the brew is allowed to mature
and is chilled for two weeks, when it is then
ready for tasting and bottling.
The bottling equipment produces about
three hundred bottles per minute. The
bottles are stored chilled, and Head Brew
Master Neil Atkins suggests that beers
remain continuously chilled for maximum
flavor and prevention of oxidation.
The beer labels carry the distinctive
image of the AVBC mascot, the Boonville
“Beer.” This intriguing cross between a bear
and a deer is an elusive resident of the Valley, but can usually be found hobnobbing
with the locals at the visitors center.
The names of the brews often have a
local twist. In the late 1800’s, residents of
Anderson Valley began to invent a few slang
terms for commonly used words, and over
time a language known as Boontling developed. The Brewery’s Hop Ottin India Pale
Ale actually means “hard-working hops” in
Boontling, and their Poleeko Gold Pale Ale
refers to the nearby town of Philo.
There are currently thirteen beers available at the Brewery, including a barley wine.
The beer is distributed in about twenty-two states. A “beerfinder” search engine on
the AVBC website identifies distributors
throughout the United States.
The brewery and the individual beers
have won nearly one hundred awards. The
AVBC has been honored several times as
one of the top ten breweries in America, and
in 2007, their Brother David’s Double brew
won the Best of Show award in the highly
prestigious Commercial Craft Brewers
