On Saturday’s Ithaca Beer Company Tour, we learned about the steps that go into the beer making process. First, we our tour guide told us about the ingredients that are used. Hops, malt, yeast, and water are the four main ingredients. While portions of the hops, malt, and yeast are shipped in from other places, the water is from Ithaca. Most companies filter or add things to their water, but Ithaca Beer Company does not do this. This way, you have a little bit of Ithaca wherever you go.
After learning about the different ingredients, we saw where the different processes take place. There are extremely large silver containers that each process takes place in. To go between the multiple containers, the beer must go through a series of hoses. In these containers, the bubbles are added to the beer. We learned that the two most important variables in the process were the time and temperature. At the Ithaca Beer Company, they make mostly ales because it takes only one to two weeks for them to brew, instead of three to four weeks like a lager. Soon, they will be expanding their business and hopefully be able to make more lagers because they will now have the time and resources for that.
After shown these processes, we saw the bottling process. Here, we learned that that they can pack 81 bottles per minute. That is 5000 bottles per hour. we saw a special package that was made just for Pennsylvania. They had requested a special Flower Power Beer and got its own packaging. While right now they only make bottles of beer, soon they will be trying to make some cans as well.
After seeing all the steps, it was time for the tasting. I got to enjoy the ginger beer that they make on sight as well. The two beers that the others tasted were a Pumpkin Ale and an IPA. Our tour guide was extremely enthusiastic and well informed, making the tour both enjoyable and educational. I would recommend this tour to people who were curious about the processes that go into making beer at the Ithaca Beer Company.