Cast In Stone

Brewers Experiment with Equipment that Has Winemaking Origins.

- Rebecca Kirkman

Since the bright red, egg-shaped, 15-barrel concrete tank arrived at the Portland, Ore., brewery in April 2015, Sprints has filled it with many of the iconic recipes he usually ferments in stainless, like Blue Dot, an Imperial IPA, Cherry Lila, a Pale Bock, Fred, a Golden Strong Ale, and even a Barleywine, Doggie Claws.

Sprints says making recipes he knew well helped him understand the vessel’s potential. “Before I started using it, I thought of it as a big barrel,” he says,“and for the first few beers I used it only for maturation.” Like any new process, it took some trial and error to get the flavors dialed in. “I was not happy with the level of minerality imparted to the beer and started using it only for fermentation. Now I am very happy with the flavor and mouthfeel changes we get from the fermentor.”

So, how exactly does concrete change the beer? It’s subtle. “In general,the beers have a softer, smoother mouthfeel and more lush flavors,” Sprints maintains.

Although concrete tanks are new to the beer world,the vessel’s use dates back centuries to vintners in Europe. Most of California’s pre-Prohibition wineries used large concrete vessels for fermentation and storage,too, before the material fell out of favor. In California wine country,the practice has regained popularity over the past 10 years, spurring local manufacturers like Vino Vessel in Templeton and Sonoma Cast Stone in Petaluma to begin selling the tanks in the US.