Bottle Conditioning

To bottle condition our beers, we brew, ferment and filter the beer as usual. On bottling day, we add a small amount of yeast and sugar to the filtered beer before packaging. We then store the bottled beer in our temperature-controlled warehouse for two weeks before release. During this two-week period, the beer will undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle, yielding two great benefits: a depth of flavor otherwise unattainable and a reduction in the amount of oxygen in the bottle (fermentation uses up oxygen). Lowering the oxygen content in the bottle greatly reduces the natural oxidation process (oxygen is the enemy of good beer; it causes beer to taste stale and old).

The yeast which was added to the beer settles to the bottom of the bottle during the two-week storage period, and it is hard to disturb unless the bottle is vigorously shaken. Brewers yeast is well-known for its nutritive value; ingesting the dislodged yeast is harmless.