Brewing up a tribute to women

By Laura Watson

March marks Women’s History Month and March 8th 2020 marked International Women’s Day. As part of this, Burnt Mill Brewery opened up the doors for for their International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) event. A great chance for women in the industry to reflect on progression, and consolidate their endeavours in the beer world.

I’ve learnt a huge amount from working in the beer industry, but have never really learnt about the brewing process in much depth. So the IWCBD event at Burnt MIll seemed like a great opportunity see the process up close and meet some of the key influencers in beer.

Arriving at the brewery on a surprisingly mild-for-March Sunday morning, I was met with a mix of women who gave me a warm welcome. We were joined by a very energetic dog, Baxter, owned by head brewer and founder of IWCBD, Sophie de Ronde. I’m a big fan in having an animal (particularly dogs or cats) at any occasion - wholesome company and a great conversation starter - they are a massive help for overcoming any initial social awkwardness.

Starting with a workout

The first step (after eating pastries, drinking coffee and giving Baxter attention) was shifting, undoing and tipping the sacks of malt into the mash tun. This activity was sure to test upper body strength with each bag weighing 25kg and between us we had over 25 bags to get through. Who needs the gym when you can brew a beer instead!

Ingredients going into the brew consisted of crushed pale malt from Muntons, with a flourish of specialty malts: torrefied rice and torrefied maize from Crisp Malt.

Searching for the sorghum

Another ingredient was Sorghum flour - chosen by head brewer Sophie as a nod to the IWCBD theme: ‘Unite: tribute’ - creating a brew to pay homage to ‘anyone, anywhere or anything that inspires you’.

However, after ordering the bag online, Sophie was surprised to receive a tiny 500g bag - not quite the quantity she needed for a brew of that size. Safe to say that the beer is unlikely to be overpowered with notes of sorghum…

Size aside, the addition of sorghum is a tribute to women in sub-Saharan Africa who are exclusively responsible for post-harvest production of the grain, including brewing and selling sorghum beer (EPAR Research, 2009). So, although the ingredient wasn’t a major part of the brew physically, it’s a major part symbolically.

Once the malt had been mixed in with water and a ‘pinch’ of the precious sorghum flour added, it was time to taste a few of the beers from Burnt Mill whilst we waited for the malt to steep in the mash tun.

Judging a beer by its cover

One by one, we followed the Burnt Mill team into the storage cupboard (not as weird as it sounds) and were met with an array of Burnt Mill beers and other collaboration brews. Which to choose…

I respond massively to design and the Burnt Mill Brewery packaging doesn’t disappoint. Mountains, fields, and oceans are some of the landscapes used to reflect the name and style of brew, each with a unique colour theme and impressionistic background. It’s not just the imagery that provides standout but the material of the labels too, a matte textured finish gives the cans a premium feel. And no, they didn’t slip me a fiver to say this in true marketing speak.

The labels contrasted nicely against each other when lined up on the shelf, proving difficult to choose a beer at first glance. As well as an appealing design, I’m a sucker for a fruit flavoured beer so naturally I was drawn to ‘Tulum’ a 4.8% pineapple gose. Described as ‘a beautifully simple malt with a wort that has soured overnight, boiled and salted before being sent to the fermenter to condition on a load of pineapple puree.’

On first taste, the sourness hit, and I wasn’t certain if I liked it or not as it was unlike any other beer I’ve tried. But after a few sips, I noticed the pineapple finish and grew to love it. Tulum became a solid favourite of mine – all within a few minutes.

Next, I tried the collaboration brew from last year’s International Women’s Day ‘Unite 2019’. The 6.6% saison was brewed using sprigs of rosemary hand-picked by last year’s guests to tie in with its foraging theme - a very nice touch indeed. I’ve never tried herbs in a beer but was impressed by the flavour - a spicy hint of rosemary balanced nicely with refreshing notes of smoked citrus.

Working with watercolours

In between sipping beer and bonding with a few of the women over our mutual love of animals (naturally), we learnt about the Titration test - a test of water pH.

From previous learnings, I know that by adding hops and malt to beer makes a great difference to flavour, but without really taking into consideration the impact water can have.

Making up 95% of beer, water and its quality is arguably a deal breaker between a good beer and a great beer (Beer & Brewing, 2017).

Minerals have a part to play in this. Calcium, magnesium and sodium impact the brewing process and ultimately affect the taste of the finished product (insert more brewing science here).

Location can affect water content too. Scotland and Cornwall for example have water rich in minerals, whereas here in Suffolk it’s a tougher fight to get a decent water pH for brewing. Fortunately the scientists know exactly what to do to make the water perfect for brewing.

So the purpose of doing the Titration test is to indicate water pH, determined by a colour given by a titrant solution. And much to Sophie’s delight, the test indicated the right colour pH for the brew.

Mashing out

Time for the part I had been looking forward to most, mashing out. A great opportunity to get hands on and really feel a part of the brewing process. Donning our wellies, we took it in turns to clamber into the trailer and shovel the grain out of the mash tun, which would later be sent for animal feed. Yet again, the process reinforced how labour-intensive brewing is. Shoveling aside, several of the women enthused that the mash tun gave a great steam facial treatment. Sweat or steam, suffice to say, we left the brewery glowing.  

Putting the kettle on

The now-removed grain had been put into the mash tun to extract a viscous liquid called ‘wort’. The sweet wort filtered to the bottom of the mash tun and through pipes to the kettle for boiling. Hops were added to give the brew that bitter edge or ‘hoppy’ flavour that’s widely recognised as a main character of British beer.  

Satisfying caffeine cravings

The wort needed time to reach the right temperature, so this gave us a convenient window for another trip to the store cupboard. I chose Burnt Mill’s coffee porter ‘Density Wave’ – attracted by the word ‘coffee’ in hope of a caffeine boost post-shoveling.  

From first smell, a strong wave of filtered coffee hit and this was the same for the taste. Not too bitter or heavy compared with previous porters I’ve tried and coming in at 3.6% it made for great sipping. Even though I appreciated the complex burst of rich flavours, it hasn’t quite converted me from my love of fruity, refreshing beers.

Sampling the brew

Sophie poured a sample of the beer from the fermentation tank (pre-fermentation) to test the density using a hydrometer. This check was done by lead brewer Zoe Wyeth who gently lowered the tool into the beer until it floated freely. She waited until the surface of the water aligned with the scale on the hydrometer, to give the density measure.

When pouring the beer, Sophie was met with several of us (myself included) keen to taste the brew, but shortly after doing so, we realised why she was hesitant. Each one of us took a sip followed by a grimace as we noted the sweetness and watery mouthfeel. Samples tipped down the sink, our lesson soon learnt that the beer needed around 2 to 3 days of fermentation with the addition of yeast before it would become the familiar drink we know and love.

Paying tribute

Sophie de Ronde quote from Emma Inch’s Fermentation Beer and Brewing Radio 7th March 2019 - International Women’s Day: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/fermentation-beer-brewing-radio-7-march-2019-international/id1212136177?i=1000431262113

EPAR Research, 2009 - Gender & Cropping in Sub-Saharan Africa: Sorghum: https://evans.uw.edu/policy-impact/epar/research/gender-cropping-sub-saharan-africa-sorghum

Beer and Brewing, 2017 - Water and Mash pH: https://beerandbrewing.com/water-and-mash-ph/