Contreras

• Water is provided by our own sources.
• Malt is purchased in the malt house and delivered in bags of 50 kg.
• The flower hops (Saaz, Hallerthau, Styrian Golding, Brewers Gold, …) originate from Belgium, England and the Czech Republic.
• Four different strains of yeast are used: for Contrapils, for Tonneke and Contreras’ Especial Mars, for Valeir blond, Valeir donker and Extra, and for Valeir divers.

One day before the brewing, the two brew kettles (respectively with a capacity of 37 and 66 hl) are filled with brewing water and then heated. At the same time, the malt is milled and placed in bags above the filtration tank. In this way, everything will be ready to start on Thursday at 5AM.

First, the mash (a mixture of warm water and malt) is made in the mash and filtration tank. At regular intervals boiling water is added so that the temperature of the water-malt mixture rises continuously, up to final temperature of 72° C, stopping all enzymatic activity.

Through gooseneck faucets the filtrate runs into a bottom tank, where the wort is transferred to the largest brew kettle (66 hl). The spent grain that remains is once again mixed with boiling water from the second brew kettle. This filtrate then returns to the small brew kettle (37 hl). After one and a half hours of boiling, the hops are mixed with the boiling wort, after which the mixture is cooled.

From this bottom tank, the boiled wort is pumped to the resting tank on the first floor, and subsequently to the Baudelot cooler. This cooler cools the wort to 22° C (top fermentation) or 14° C (bottom fermentation), while the wort is also aerated. Yeast is then added to the cooled wort.

The cooled wort with the added yeast runs gravitationally to the main fermentation hall. Here, the young beer ferments in a closed tank. After approximately one week (for lager at 14° C) or three to four days (for top fermentation at 22° C) the beer is cooled to respectively 5° C and 15° C, after which it is moved to horizontal lagering tanks in the basements.