Big time beer. Small town soul.

That’s the motto adopted by White Street Brewery, and very appropriate as they usher in a new phase of operations. On Monday we were invited to preview their new state of the art production brewery up the road in Youngsville. Less than a mile off US 1, in a converted warehouse, is where White Street is moving their brewery operations.

The facility will not only allow for increased production with tons of room for growth, but also shows a huge improvement in brewing equipment that should enable greater control of the entire process.

We were treated to a tour by the director of brewing operations, Ian VanGundy, who walked us through most of the features that will help produce a “metric crap-ton of beer.”

The focus is on precision, starting with am RMS roller mill that will allow for incredible control over the initial grains.  Chain and disc conveyors move the grain to the grist case, which is oversized to allow for large and high gravity recipes.

Computer touchscreen controls help to automate basic systems and give greater control to the operator to fine tune temperatures and pressures to meet the requirements of the recipe.  An oversized heat exchanger allows 1000 gallons of wort to be cooled from 200 degrees to 65 degrees in a mere 20 minutes, which should make for some incredible IPAs that will be reminiscent of the big floral west coast style.  I asked Ian if any one particular brewery served as the main point of inspiration during the planning and design phases, and I was not surprised when he answered with Green Flash Brewery in San Diego, a brewery probably most famous for their big hoppy IPAs.

They acquired a bottling system from Otter Creek Brewery in Vermont that can fill an incredible 24 bottles at time, 6 times a minute.  So get ready to see plenty of your favorite White Street beers in more and more places.

Oh any they have a truck that pours beer out the side.  If anyone is looking for a last minute Christmas gift for us, here it is, one of these:

Cheers!