The tap that
pours the bear.
In this casa
Bombay
Bomber, comas
dlrectity from
one of the 310
gallon cold
storage tanks
behind the bar.
LOCAL
BEER
BREWING
The art of brewing boor has
evolved since ancient time* to
become, in the modem world, a
high-tech. largo-suile industry
Within this big beer business in
tho United States there is a grow
ing trend of small local micro
breweries and brewpubs, includ
ing bugene's Steelhead Brewery.
The process of brewing beer is o
relatively simple one, with some
important steps The
four essential ingre
dients needed to start
tin1 process are malt
ed barley, hops, yeast
and water. Subtle
variations in quanti
ties and types of
these four ingredi
ents tain yield any
thing from a Bud
Light to a Guinness
stout.
The first stop is to
mash in the crusher!
malted liarley with hot water. This
mixture has the decisive name of
mash. The mash is left to sit for
about an hour, during which time
natural enzymes break the starch
es in the groin down to simple
sugars. Once complete, the liquid
is strained through the bottom of
the mash tun and into the brow
kettle. The liquid has now earned
the title of wort.
Story and
Photos by
Thomas
Bergstrom
Once in the brew kettle, the
wort is boiled for one-ond-a-half
hours while hops are added. Ai
Steelhead, hops are added three
different times so os to fine-tune
the bitter flavor the hops give to
beer Up to this point, anyone of
any age may legally consume the
wort as it is technically not Inter
\et But when the wort is trans
ferred to the fermenter and the
yeas! is added, the liquid becomes
beer
It is in the fermenter that the
exciting chemical reactions hap
pen The yeast consumes the sug
ars from the malted barley. The
by-products from this reaction are
heat, carbon dioxide (the bubbles)
and alcohol (the dangerous stuff)
The beer ferments for five to seven
days.
The alcohol content of the bi>er
depends on the amount of malted
barley used in the mash tun; the
more grain, the more sugar for the
yeast to consume However, this is
only true to a certain point. Once
the alcohol reaches a level of
about 10 percent bv volume, it
kills the yeast and stops ferment
ing.
The beer is stored in a cool serv
ing tank, where it is aged for one
or two weeks to smooth out the
flavor After being aged. the beer
is ready to lie tapped straight to
the bar and poured, served and
J
Assistant brewer
Scott Saulsbury
(above), works on the
first step In the brew
ing process of mixing
In the mash at
Steelhead. Saulsbury
performs one of the
more acrobatic tasks
(left) of climbing Into
one of the fermenters
In order to clean and
sterilize It
Police chief locks up his mistress’ husband
RUMNEY. N il. (AP) — A man
with a lengthy criminal record says
a respected small-town police chief
lockod him up so he could carry on
an affair with the man's wife.
Sound preposterous? A prosecu
tor found it convincing enough to apologize to Thomas
Phelan and file charges against police Chief Robert
Thompson.
NATIONAL
Thompson, 47. is suspended pending the outcome of
his trial Me denies the charges and calls Phelan "the best
con artist I've seen in my life."
The case has stirred strong feelings among Rumnoy's
1,450 residents, even those accustomed to strange twists
in local politics.
"If he gets that badge back. I'm out of here." said Phe
lan, a native of Somerville. Mass. "I'll just put what I can
in my truck and I'll go bock home."
Phelan. .15. acknowledges having a troubled past that
includes jail time in Massachusetts for a drug conviction.
Mis arrest record is 18 pages long, the chief says.
But Phelan has stayed out of trouble for more than a
decade and said he thought he had found the American
dream when he moved to Wentworth, a nearby hamlet.
five years ago with his wife, Paula. They were planning
a family when he got in a car accident in Rumney in Sep
tember 1992.
Thompson investigated and wound up falling in love
with Mrs. Phelan, who left her husband. Two months
later. Phelan was accused of plotting to kill the police
chief.
The charge later was dropped, and Thompson was
charged with lying to a judge to get Phelan's arrest war
rant so he could continue his relationship with Mrs. Phe
lan. His trial is set for Oct. 18.
"The only thing I was guilty of is poor timing," said
Thompson, a former state trooper who has spent 20
years in law enforcement, the last two as Rumney chief.
"The only problem with this job is when you're a cop
you're presumed guilty instead of the other way around.
But I didn't do anything wrong."
Thompson's lawyer, K. William Clauson. accused
County Attorney Ward Scott of giving the case more
attention than it deserves. Scott's office did not return
phone calls seeking comment.
Several people described the chief as hard-working
and well-liked, especially by children he worked with in
an anti-drug program.
Lynn Carter, a clerk at a general store, said Phelan was
"a nice guy." She added: "We like them all and that
makes it hard.”
Thompson said he arrested Phelan on Nov. 21 based
on a tip that Phelan and another man planned to "do me
In.”
Thompson later acknowledged that Mrs. Phelan was
the informant.
Phelan was charged with being an armed career crim
inal. which carries a penalty of 10 to 40 years in prison.
Phelan said he learned of his wife's relationship with
the chief shortly after his arrest. His lawyer told the pros
ecutor. who asked the SherifTs Department to investigate.
In April, all charges against Phelan were dropped.
Soon afterward. Thompson was charged with perjury,
false swearing, official oppression and adultery. Perjury
is a felony, the others are misdemeanors.
Phelan said the case has hurt his appliance repair
business. His 29-year-old wife has filed for divorce.
"I'd like Paula to open her eyes and look at the big pic
ture and see what happened here." he said. "I know how
our marriage was before. I really wanted to make the
marriage work. I think she did. too. hut once Bob got
involved, that was it. she was gone."