Mmmm... Beer
Who doesn’t love a nice, cold, refreshing beer on a sunny fall afternoon? But did you ever wonder what it takes to make that brew? We spent some time with Jonathan and Krystyn Nobinger, the owners of Fourth Creek Brewing Company to get a little insight on what exactly goes into that delicious mug of suds you’re drinking.
It all starts with the grain. Fourth Creek locally sources all their ingredients from within 30-40 miles of Statesville, starting with the Carolina Malt House. That grain is crushed and goes into a large tank. It is then basically turned into an oatmeal looking mess called the mash. This causes the natural enzymes to start breaking down the starches and converting them into sugars. All of this is important to the fermentation process. This results is called the wort.
The wort is then transferred into a fermentation tank and the hops and flavors are added. At Fourth Creek, Jonathan and his crew are fans of using locally grown fruits and hops to their recipes. Howard Family Farm and P&C Berries, Greenhouse and Flowers are commonly used. Krystyn emphasized how important it was to them that they support the local community. “Our customers aren’t just supporting us when they drink our beer,” she said, “they are supporting the malt house down the street and the local farmer selling blueberries out of the back of his truck”. Using local produce also keeps the flavors and quality of the product fresher. The pumpkins used in this year’s “You Don’t Know Jack Squash” Pumpkin Ale were hand-picked by the farmers at Howard Family Farm. That’s quality right there.
Once the wort is cooked, the yeast is added and beer is left to ferment for a spell. Sometimes it takes weeks, and other brews sit for a couple months, depending on the type of yeast and what the outcome should be. Once the team decides the beer is ready, they “cold crash” it to cause the yeast to stop working. The rapid change in temperature stops the fermentation process completely and the beer is ready to go into kegs.
Once that delicious brew is kegged, it is usually ready to be tapped and consumed. There are a few types of beer that can age once they are kegged, but at Fourth Creek, they like for you to go ahead and enjoy them most of the time. The tap room is very family and dog friendly and you can often find groups there playing a game of checkers or cards while enjoying a few frosty beverages.
So, the next time you are sipping a cold one, think about all the love that goes into that glass and the community that comes together to make that tasty brew for you. Support our local breweries, and in doing so, support our local farmers. We are lucky enough to have two breweries in Downtown Statesville; Fourth Creek Brewing Company is located at 226 W. Broad Street and Red Buffalo Brewing Company is located at 108 N. Center Street. Stop by and enjoy a beer on National Drink Beer Day (Tuesday, Sept. 28) if you need an excuse, or ANY day!
