Carolina Beer Company offering public a peek at brewery

John Stritch and Mike Smith are bringing English ales closer to home with the Carolina Beer Company.

Teaming up in 1997, the two created the company that now brews more than 65,000 barrels a year of their famous ales, such as Carolina Strawberry Blonde, touted as a summertime beer for its natural strawberry flavor.

The brewery recently started giving tours to the public from noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays using local home brewers as their guides.

"It's great to show people what we do and spread the word that there is a local microbrewery," said Tour Center Manager Brittany Cobb.

Len Rosol, one of the Carolina guides, took a group of about 10 for the first tour of the day and shared his vast knowledge of the industry with visitors.

Rosol said previous visitors who return may notice a big difference in the building.

"There used to be a large vintage Coke bottle line from 1948 that could do five cases a minute, but it would often break down," he explained. "That was been removed and our line is now ... computerized and can do 1,200 cans a minute or 900 cases."

Rosol said their beer is simple and all malt, meaning they use barley instead of corn or rice.

"We actually adhere to the old Bavarian purity law of the 1400s," he said.

Passing around a cup of pure barley, he told the group what the ingredient adds to the ale.

"Barley gives the beer sweetness and color," he said.

The barley is run through the machine, and rolling-pin action inside cracks the seeds.

Step two led the group to another room, where the barley is heated to 150 degrees after adding water.
"We're taking out the sugar and the color and getting all we can," Rosol said. "We keep it there for an hour and the container has a mesh bottom, so the liquid seeps through to eventually go to the aging tank, and the grain that is left is pressure blasted to get the rest of the flavor."

Hops are the next ingredient needed to make the ale, and the slightly bitter flavor balances the sweetness of the barley.

After adding the hops and boiling it again, the liquid, called "wort," is very much like beer without the alcohol.

Yeast is required to turn the brew into a true ale. The aging tank holds 3,100 gallons, and yeast is added at the top and kept at 68 degrees for a week to nine days to produce an English or Irish style ale.

After fermentation, the temperature is cooled to 34 degrees and the liquid is taken off the top. The yeast at the bottom is collected and used up to six times.

"After the liquid is collected, it's thrown through a cold filtration system and comes out clean, crisp and bright," he said. "It's stored in the bright beer tank and left for two to three days, adding CO2, because Americans like their beers fizzy, not flat."

Rosol filled a pitcher with fresh Carolina Blonde from the tank and allowed the tourists to take a few sips.

"You can see it's a little cloudier, but that's because it hasn't been filtered yet," he said.

The Alvarez family used the brewery as a fun family event.

"We had family come in so we decided to use this as one of the tourist places we took them," said 14-year-old Scarlet. She came with her mom, dad and siblings to explore the brewery. "I liked it a lot. It was kind of a short tour, but it was really enjoyable."

Ivan Ward liked the tour so much he has now taken it twice.

"It's been over two years and I haven't seen any of the changes," he said. "I wanted to see what it's like now, and it looks like the business has really increased."

Ward said as a member of the Air Force, he spent time in England and grew to like the ales.

"I think that's why I enjoy the way these taste," he mused. "I really like the darker ales like the Low Down Brown or the Irish Red."

He was also impressed with the tour guide he received this time around.

"He was really informative and I learned a lot more about the process," he said. "I'll definitely be back."