Wicklow Brewing Process
Beer tastes best when it’s made fresh, not having spent weeks in a warehouse or on a shelf.
That’s why Wicklow Brewery beers are made right here in Redcross on a daily basis. We use only the best ingredients like home grown and imported malted barley and hops, Wicklow yeast and our own Wicklow well water. Because we use no preservatives you are guaranteed a fresh and natural glass of beer each and everytime.
1. Milling
The specially selected malted grain for each different beer is run through the mill
2. Mashing
The crushed malt drops into the mash tun and is mixed with hot water where the starches in the grain are converted to sugar
3. Lautering
The liquid is now referred to as wort. The wort is strained from the malts and is transferred into the brew kettle
4. Boiling
The wort is brought to a vigorous boil in the brew kettle which ensures its sterility. Hops are added at various times in the boiling process to impart hop bitterness, flavour and aroma
5. Whirlpooling
The wort is sent into the whirlpool where the so called teacup effect forces the more dense solids such as vegetable matter from hops into a cone in the centre of the whirlpool tank
6. Cooling
The wort is cooled by passing it through a plate heat exchanger chilled with cold water from the water tank. Oxygen is added after cooling to stimulate yeast growth
7. Fermenting
Wort is pumped into fermentation tanks and yeast is added. At this point, the product is called beer. Sugars won from the malt are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide
8. Maturing
Beer is transferred to maturation tanks. When sugars have been almost completely digested, beer is cooled to around freezing which encourages yeast to settle to the bottom of the tank
9. Kegging
Beer is put into kegs and dispatched to customers