Rocks Brewing

What it a HEBS? It is short for High Efficiency Brewing System.

 

What does that all mean? Well one significant difference is the use of a mash filter rather than a lauter tun.

 

What is a mash filter? A mash filter replaces a lauter tun. During the brewing process, the brewery sugars are created by mixing hot water with the grains which makes malt sugars. The sugars need separating from the grains. A lauter tun allows the sugars to drain and be pumped away. A mash filter acts as a pneumatic press to squeeze the malt, just like you can do with a tea bag. This means higher extract of sugars from the malt and less water usage; which kinda means we’re able to maximise every part of the process and make it lean.

 

Mash filters are nothing new to brewing, Meura developed the technology at the beginning of the nineteenth century and they are a widely adopted system in big breweries. It was not till 2011 when our brewery supplier – IDD in California – started building systems for craft brewers that they were available for guys like us. And we jumped at the chance to be the first craft brewery in Australia to order and install the system.

 

The decision was a relatively easy one for us. We’ll get more extraction and therefore use less malt, we’ll use less water – close to 70,000 litres in the first year – we’ll use less energy, and we’ll spend less time making sugar and more time focusing on making our beer better down the production line. We’ll also be making the sugar component in about four hours, compared to the usual seven-nine hours. We can also run multiple batches, which means we can run multiple brews simultaneously.

 

We’re pretty chuffed to be the first craft brewery in Australia to purchase and install this type of equipment. It is good for us as a company, better for the environment and great for our customers – it means lots of fresh beer. All round it’s a great looking piece of equipment, and her name is Connie just in case I didn’t mention that before.

By Scotty Morgan.

 

Well it’s been a crazy, often scary year with a whole shebang load of things going on for Rocks Brewing.

 

Late in 2012, after a visit to the US, we started working on our brewery installation project. We were introduced to IDD by our mate Barry Broughton (Franke Blefa kegs fame) and started the process of looking at the revolutionary new HEBS system Jeff had designed. We were lucky enough to inspect the first prototype system built for Tin Man Brewing in Indiana, and it sealed the deal for us.

 

January rolled around, beer sales were on the up, we had to go to three different breweries to get our beer contract brewed – the new brewery was looking better and better all the time.

 

April came around, and enough was enough. With beer in four plants for the month, Mark (the MD) placed the order for the HEBS unit. The unit will make up to one and a half million litres of beer with the current number of tanks, pushing to three million with more tanks added.

 

July arrived and you guessed it, beer sales were on the up and we were at five plants and still waiting desperately for our brewery to ship.

 

September, I took off to the US to inspect our equipment prior to shipping and to brew a collaboration brew with Chris Anderson at Coachella Valley Brewing. Coachella have the same brew house, so it was part collaboration brew and part ‘lets see how this sucker works’ trip. And work the brew house did. We made a 10.0% Imperial IPA with fresh wet hops flown down direct from Washington State. The hops had their own plane seat. We got 95% efficiency from the brewery (that’s massively impressive, a normal system would push to give 75%) and the beer – from Chris’s reports – turned out killer. Some of the beer will be oak aged, waiting for our next visit.

 

October, well lots of men with work boots, cranes, and what not started the putting the building together for the brewery. The brewery, incidentally named Connie, also arrived.

 

Here we are in November, waiting for the brew house to be installed and knocked together. This part of the process begins on 9 December, with Frank from IDD coming out to supervise works. The brewery will be fired up by mid-late January, and I am very excited... Oh, and we still have beer in four breweries this month, so thanks to those brewers helping to make our beer!

Position Vacant – Production Brewer (NSW)

 

Rocks Brewing Co is looking to add to our growing team. With our new brewery opening early next year, we are looking for a qualified Production Brewer to join our Head Brewer Scotty Morgan in our state of the art facility in Alexandria, Sydney. This position is a hands-on production role across the brewhouse, packaging and QA/QC.

 

Key Responsibilities:

• Brew house operation and wort production
• Packaging machinery operation – keg and bottle
• QA/QC
• Mentoring and managing junior production staff

 

What we need someone with:

• Comprehensive experience across wort production, packaging and QA/QC
• A burning desire to work for one of Sydney’s largest brewers
• Good communication skills
• The ability to work flexible hours including weekends (attending beer festivals etc.)
• A certain level of physical fitness i.e. capable of picking up 65kg kegs

 

What you need to have:

• A completed brewing qualification from a recognized tertiary institution (Ballarat, Edith Cowan or similar)
• 3-5 years experience in a large commercial brewhouse
• A passion for craft beer
• To be organised and self-motivated
• Ability to work unsupervised and as part of a team
• An obsession with creating a clean, neat and safe work environment

 

The Fine Print:

We are a pretty picky bunch at Rocks Brewing Co, so only applicants with the correct tertiary education requirements will be short-listed. And please note that while interstate applicants are encouraged to send us their resume, there is no relocation allowance for this role. Salary will be discussed as per candidates’ experience. All applications will be treated as strictly confidential.

 

If you think you fit the bill, drop us your resume at jobs@rocksbrewing.com.