Beer Teaches Life Skills!
I didn’t expect to learn so much about beer or about life on Wednesday but, a local business was the only way these 2 things could occur simultaneously.
It’s just your average Wednesday morning for the crew of Booneshine, a brewery local to Boone, NC. Get to work around 8 and have your cup of coffee. In the picture above what you see is what you get. Booneshine is tucked away in a small corner next the restaurant Basil’s in Boone.
The brewery is about 2 years old and has experienced a tremendous welcome in the community. The brewery consistently turns over it’s inventory each month, meaning whatever is brewed that month is sold by the end of the month. Booneshine is able to do this while only distributing in a 15 mile radius. They should be expanding to a larger facility soon so everyone can enjoy their beer and they can keep up with the popularity!
When I arrived at 9 a.m., everyone was preparing for the brewing that was going to take place. I was ready to learn how to brew. What I wasn’t ready for was how much science there actually is in beer. We jumped right in and started by mixing in the barley malt with the hot water. This releases the sugars from the malt and is the first step in the brewing process. You can’t rush the mixing or how fast the sugars release because for different recipes the water must be a different temperature. I’m sure if you asked a brewer they would tell you patience is just as important as knowing the chemistry that occurs.
We also had to clean out the other equipment that would be used later. This was easy because the only necessary steps involved rinsing various chemicals through, but like the first step you have to wait after each step.
This process was a lot like life in the sense that you take action and must patiently wait for the results of your actions to occur. In our society we have instant gratification and when we go to the store and pick up that beer, we don’t think about how much effort actually went into it. Being able to take part in the process of brewing gives a new found appreciation of the process. Also things always, always, always take longer than you expect. So what does one do with this very pessimistic news? You take action and you wait, patiently, for the result. In the case of Booneshine the result is several dozen kegs of beer. In life the outcome might be a little different, but hopefully not too different.
I would like to thank all of the Booneshine crew for allowing me to observe and participate in the process of brewing! Check them out here: http://booneshine.beer/.
