Blending tradition with technology, we at Mendocino Brewing Company strive to produce award-winning beers at our state-of-the-art-brewery at Ukiah in California.

Great beers start as superior raw materials. At the brewery we ensure that our suppliers know exactly what we require and our Quality Assurance program maintains a close eye on all the raw materials. The Quality Assurance center is right in the heart of the brewery complex, constantly keeping a strict check on production procedures to guarantee the superlative quality that our customers have become accustomed to.

Basically there are four ingredients that are used in the making of beer - Malted Barley; Water; Hops and Yeast. And with just these four ingredients, brewers the world over conjure a myriad number of tantalizing beers that have created customer followings for not decades, but centuries. But as in anything, it is not just the mere ingredients that create the brew, it is the brewer's skill, his experience that melds these four, tweaking here, twisting there, and brewing beers that consumers savor and hold dear. At Mendocino Brewing Company we have our own unique production methods that have been devised by our brewers. They use their skill and more to create a range of beers that have since the inception of the company, become Legends.

The brew process starts with the selection, combination and milling of the malted barleys. These malt selections and the quantities needed are specified in the recipes that have been developed painstakingly by our Master Brewer Donald J Barkley. Don is an amalgam of wit, wisdom and hands-on beer savvy that have honed his skills, making him one of the finest Brew Masters in the business. But with Don, it is not merely business, it is Passion, first and last. A passion for creating a range of beers that have given Mendocino Brewing company the recognition of being pioneers in the American Craft Brewing Renaissance.

While we are traditional in our approach to the making of our beers, we do use every modern facility to see that our beers are steadfastly good. It is for this reason that we computer control the grain blends and the milling so as to insure an accurate and consistent supply of crushed grains and grist to the "Weigh Hopper" (the Hopper is a bin that batches each load of grain).

The "Mash Tun" is the second vessel in the beer making process. It receives up to 5500 pounds of grist from the "Weigh Hopper." This grist is "mashed" with pure hot water. Our process computer then adjusts the temperature for this slurry of water and grain, depending on the type of beer that we are brewing. In the "Mash Tun" we bring about the almost magical transformation of the starches in the grain into a spectrum of sugars, unique to our ales.

Once the metamorphosis of starch to sugar is complete, the "mash", that's the grain and water slurry, is transferred to the next vessel - the "Lauter Tun". Here the magic heightens as the sweet liquid extract, the "Wort" is separated from the grain-bed.

This operation proceeds cautiously and carefully so that none of the precious wort is left behind. After about an hour and a half, 3000 gallons of sweet wort have been leached from the grain-bed and transferred to the "Kettle". This extraction is called "Lautering", and once it has been completed, the spent grains are removed and used as an extremely effective nutritional supplement in the production of cattle feed.

The Kettle boils these 3000 gallons of wort for between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on the brand being brewed. Right through the boil, our brewers add hops to the kettle. And the magic continues!

Hops impart not only the slight distinct bitterness that makes a beer as refreshing as it can be, but also adds the spicy and flowery character that so enriches the beer drinking experience.

At the end of the boil the wort is transferred through a hop separator and then into a whirlpool tank. This boiling hot wort is spun in the whirlpool tank for a short while before being sent via a heat exchanger, to the fermentation cellar. This heat-exchanger not only cools the boiling wort to 60°F, but also recovers 100% of the hot water that is needed for the next brew.

One of the most important ingredients in this almost magical process of making beer is the Yeast. At Mendocino Brewing Company we pride ourselves on having evolved our own proprietary strain of yeast. It is this that makes our beers the legendary brews that they have become.

This pure culture proprietary yeast is "pitched", our word for "added", to the cooled wort in the fermenter and this wort, becomes beer! The fermentation process takes two to three weeks for our ales and three to four weeks for our lagers. Our fermenters hold two batches each that's over 6000 gallons of beer. Each batch in the fermenter is closely monitored for proper and healthy fermentation. Our computerized process-control program constantly maintains the required temperature.

After fermentation, the beer is cooled to 32°F. Prior to packaging the beer it is sent through a centrifuge and a pad filter to remove any yeast and haze particles.

This "bright beer" is then sent to the bottling tank. This is where most of our beers are prepared for the "bottle conditioning" process.

Bottle Conditioning is a process that is unique to but a handful of breweries in the world and we are proud to belong to that august group of excellent brewers. We take great pride in using this traditional method of developing the unique character and carbonation in our products. Traditionally to produce a bottle of "Real Ale", no artificial carbonation may be added. To initiate the bottle conditioning process, we add a specific amount of brewer's yeast and a precise measure of fermentable sugar.

This packaged beer is held in the conditioning cellar at the brewery for two to three weeks at the required temperature. It is during this conditioning period that a secondary fermentation takes place within the bottle. This results in the creation of natural carbonation and in heightening the rich fermentation flavors that are unique to the Mendocino Brewing Company range of bottle conditioned ales.

The end of our exacting brewing process, is the beginning of your pleasure, as these great beers make their way to the market and from there into your eager waiting hands. You raise a glass and savor a brew that has been crafted with passion, with care and without any compromise for your enjoyment. Because....

You deserve the best!