![Brew Angels' owner Sean McCool says it's been a dream of his to start brewing his own beer on-site. [ALICIA ADAMS | Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-68f2ad47-6ab7-461f-e053-0100007f195f-a52a7e91-scaled.jpeg)
MILTON — When Brew Angels opened in July 2017, it was owner Sean McCool’s goal to eventually brew his own beer to sell at the restaurant. That dream is becoming a reality, and the first batch of beer made in the facility is almost ready.
“I definitely feel like the dream is starting to come together,” McCool said. “Now, it’s just trying to make sure we have the right staff on at the right time so we can actually do more of this (brewing) and less of that (food).”
McCool said he feels this new aspect of his company will bring in more business, since breweries tend to be their own tourist destination. Bottling or canning the Brew Angels beer is a long-term goal of McCool’s, but it will be a long process.
“It’ll be awhile,” McCool said. “The license I just got only allows for consumption on the premises… The first goal is to get this going so we can actually have our stuff on tap in-house.”
Brew Angels is the first brewery in Milton, and the second in Santa Rosa County. Brew Angels did its first pour of its new beer on Friday, but staff plans on holding a “grand pouring” event in the near future for the community.
Making the beer takes three tanks. The first tank is the hot water tank where mash forms. The brewer adds barley to warm water. Starches convert to sugars and proteins break down. After the sugar conversion is complete, the brewer raises the temperature, which halts enzymatic activity.
In the second tank — called the mashing lauter tun — grain converts into wort. This process removes the solids from the mash to deliver clear wort to the boiling kettle. After this step is complete, the wort draws out through the bottom of the lauter tun and pumps into the boiling kettle.
The wort comes to a boil in the boiling kettle, and the brewer adds hops three separate times. The first “hopping” provides the majority of the bitterness to the finished beer. The second hopping is considered the “flavor hopping.” The final, or “aroma hopping,” happens at the end of the boil.
The wort is then spun for 15-30 seconds in the whirpool and rests for 20 minutes. During the resting period, hops, large protein molecules and any other matter sinks to the bottom. The wort is then delivered to the fermenter.
The final step in the brewing process is the “knock out”. During this step, hot wort is chilled to room temperature through a heat exchanger, and oxygen is added while the wort is transferred to the fermenter. Yeast is added to the wort in the fermenter to begin the fermentation process.
During fermentation, the yeast consumes sugars and creates alcohol and carbon dioxide as by-products. After fermentation is complete, the beer undergoes a two-day rest period and is then cooled to 33 degrees Farenheit, which causes the yeast to go dormant and begin to settle to the bottom of the fermenter.
Brew Angels makes an India pale ale (IPA), amber ale, blonde ale, sweet stout and a rye beer. It takes anywhere from two weeks to three months to make the beer, McCool said. The darker the beer or higher the alcohol content, the longer it takes to ferment.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton pub, restuarant begins brewing beer