Kalispell brewery readies first batch of beer
<p>Cole Schneider inspects a sample of the wort Thursday evening at Kalispell Brewing Co. “This is about the color the completed beer will be,” he said.</p>
<p>Maggie and Cole laugh while waiting to add hops to the mash Thursday evening at Kalispell Brewing Company. Hops are added at three different stages in boiling process for the dunkel style beer being brewed. "This is the first beer brewed in dowtown [Kalispell] since 1955. I think it's pretty cool," Maggie said. May 15, 2014 in Kalispell, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Cole uses a hydrometer to check the original gravity of the liquid mash of grains, called the wort. Original and final gravity measures the density of the liquid before the yeast is added and after fermentation is complete and is used to determine the alcohol by volume of the final product. the May 15, 2014 in Kalispell, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Maggie smells different types of malts Thursday morning at Kalispell Brewing. Kalispell Brewing Company gets most of their hops from Malt Europe out of Great Falls though some malts, like the ones used in the dunkel, are special ordered from Germany. May 15, 2014 in Kalispell, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Cole walks through the nearly-finished tasting room Thursday morning. Between the tasting room and the upstairs patio about 100 customers will be able to sit and enjoy brews at Kalispell Brewing Company/ May 15, 2014 in Kalispell, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Cole walks through the brewing floor Thursday evening at Kalispell Brewing Company. Brewing of Kalispell Brewing Company's first batch of beer started at 9:15 Thursday morning and wasn't completed until 12:30 Friday morning. The triple decoction method used for the Winter at Noon Dunkel requires more time than most brewing processes. May 15, 2014 in Kalispell, Montana. (Patrick Cote/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
After nearly two years of planning, permitting, construction and inspections, Cole Schneider and Maggie Doherty started production Thursday on their first batch of beer at Kalispell Brewing Co. on Main Street.
“It’s a crazy feeling we are actually brewing,” Doherty said.
After one final inspection by the city on Thursday morning, the brewery officially started brewing its first batch of Winter at Noon Dunkel at 9:15 a.m.
Using a more traditional brewing method that involves three boiling phases, it took almost 15 hours to brew the dunkel-style German lager.
This “triple decoction” method of brewing takes much longer than standard methods, but Schneider prefers the flavor profiles created. “It’s one of my favorite beers to drink,” Schneider said. “And one of my favorites to brew.”
With one batch in the fermentation tank, the brewers still have four more styles of beer to brew before they open to the public. Every beer is different, but once in the fermentation tanks it takes anywhere from three to five weeks until the brew is ready to drink.
This puts the brewery’s opening date still a few weeks out, but the owners remain hopeful they can open by the end of June.
Despite several delays, the couple likes to try to keep perspective on what they’ve accomplished in their long $2 million project.