This month I decided to try to explore the world of zymurgy. Zymurgy is a branch of applied chemistry dealing with fermentation, as in winemaking, brewing, the preparation of yeast. The word zymurgy first appears in literature around 1868, and is a combination of two other words, zyme, meaning a leaven or yeast involved with fermentation, and ourgia, meaning “a working,” from the latin word ergon, meaning “work”. So maybe ‘yeast works’ might be a different way to define zymurgy.  Zymology is the study of the history and different types of zymurgy.

For our purposes and interest, zymurgy really means ‘making beer’, and that’s a good thing. Benjamin Franklin once said that, “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” I couldn’t agree more.  Articles over the last few months have explored the different breweries around Southwest Montana, all united to make that beer which makes us happy. But for some people, making their own beer is just as fun and rewarding as drinking beer. These people dabble in zymurgy, and Bozeman had an organization of people who like to make their own beer.

I met with Collin Christianson at the 409 Brewery in Bozeman, and we discussed home brewing over a 9% Double Black IPA, a beer I’d highly recommend you try. Collin is the head of the Bozeman Home Brewing club called the Bridger Brew Crew which can be found online at www.BrewMontana.com. Collin says that there about three dozen members of the group, and about a dozen of them are fairly active in their brewing activity.

Collin is a biologist with a degree from Western Washington University in Bellingham. He’s been making home brew himself for about 5 years and usually makes one or two batches of beer a month. Each batch is about 5 gallons or 48 bottles of beer.  He makes the beer in his kitchen at home, but is working towards a garage operation, something required of the different method of brewing that he is working towards.

There are two different ways to make beer, the extract method, and the all grain method. This is kind of like making a cake. You can buy a cake mix, or make a cake from scratch. The scratch method is harder, but it allows for more flexibility and ultimately a better taste. With the easier extract method of brewing (cake mix method), a base beer syrup is purchased. The extract is the alcohol and flavors from the grains.  Just add hops, ferment, and carbonate, and you have beer. A batch takes about 3-4 hours to make.

The all grain method involves obtaining the different grains desired, cooking them, and essentially making your own extract first, followed by the extract method. This method involves considerably more equipment and time, but allows for the use of selected grains and a wide selection of methods to create a unique extract.

In both methods, typically hops are added to mellow the beer and bring out the different flavors of the grains used. Hops can be ordered online, or one can grow their own hops during the summer. Bozeman Brewing Company has offered free hops rhyzomes (kind of like plant bulbs) for people to plant each spring, with the expectation and understanding that after the plant grows, a portion of the hops will be brought back to Bozeman Brewing for use in their beers. The local beer community seems to be full of helpful people who support each other in their noble effort to make others happy.

By either the extract or all grain methods, the beer is then left to ferment for about a week before it is carbonated. At this point, using either home brew method, a secondary optional fermentation process can be applied. IPA’s and ‘hoppy’ beers typically add hops a second time, and other recipies may add chocolate, coffee, raspberries, passion fruit, or whatever the brewer would like to create a unique or bold new tasting brew.
By either the extract or all grain methods, after fermentation, the beer is ready for carbonation. There are two methods of carbonation. When bottling beer, a small amount of sugar is added to each bottle before it is capped, and that sugar keeps the fermentation process going, a byproduct of which is carbonation.

The other carbonation method is easier and usually involves kegs. That method involves pressurizing the sealed kegs with CO2 which under pressure carbonates the beer. That sounds kind of complicated and expensive, but Collin explains that one can use the smaller 5 gallon used/recycled soda kegs rather than the large 15 gallon kegs that breweries usually use.
The process can be a lot of fun and is not that difficult or expensive. Home brew can be made in your kitchen, and there is lots of help available, locally, online, and in periodicals. Two of the best resources are BYO (Brew Your Own) magazine at: www.BYO.com, and Zymurgy: the Journal of the American Homebrewers Association at:  www.HomeBrewersAssociation.org.

Homebrewing supplies can be found online, but also locally at Belgrade Liquor and rumor has it Planet Natural may soon carry some supplies also.

For those interested in making beer, the Bridger Brew Crew is a great group of local people who are all interested in helping others learn to make beer and passing the knowledge base around.  They usually meet the first Thursday of every month, usually at one of the local breweries.  The next meeting will be Thursday January 5th at the Madison River Brewing Co in Belgrade right across from the entrance to the airport.

Each year in February there is a home brewing contest hosted by the Bridger Brew Crew, and the winner is represented at nationals. Anybody is welcome to enter, and information will be posted soon on the groups website. Last years winner received a gold medal at nationals. For more information regarding zymurgy, visit their website: www.BrewMontana.com and check out this wonderful wintertime indoor hobby.

For More Information:
Feel free to contact: Collin Christianson
Collin.Christianson@gmail.com

Mike Comstock is an MSU graduate; software engineer by day, math tutor in the evenings, musician on the weekends, and freelance writer in his spare time.