FIRE BREWING STORY

[Music] big cities do not become big by standing still in an age when continuing progress is a requisite for success America's great cities such as Detroit are getting more modern-looking every day [Music] keeping pace with the ever-increasing vitality of Detroit or its industries like the city itself these industries must plan a continuous cycle of progress in order to achieve and maintain success this is the story of one such industry this is the story of the stro Brewing Company whose red brick buildings are among Detroit's most familiar landmarks [Music] we think that Bernard Stroh who founded the straw brewery company in 1850 would approve of this pleasant room one of three such recreation centers within the brewery Bernard Stroh liked to see people enjoying themselves which is why he introduced his light lager beer to Detroit a much lighter beer than the heavy ales being consumed at the time Barnard Stroh actually had no intention of brewing beer in Detroit in fact he was on his way to Chicago when he happened to stop in route he liked the city he liked the people and he liked the abundance of good water so essential to good beer the young Brewer from Kern Germany found a small site on Catherine Street and began brewing beer in a tiny brewery and delivering it himself to his customers in small kegs on a wheelbarrow it wasn't easy to get people to Christ rose light lager beer in place of the heavy ales they'd grown accustomed to a Bernard stroll was a rather persuasive and persistent gentleman and so his business grew he bought more land dug himself an underground storage cellar since there was no refrigeration in those days and his establishment became known as the Lyon brewery then eventually the bistro Brewing Company it's been a family business ever since comparatively few people as they enjoy the refreshing ly consistent quality and taste of the beer Bernard Stroh brought to America realized the painstaking effort and dedication but has gone into each and every glass that's born those that do are those that have seen at the brewery the unique methods and processes that have enabled strolls beer to become a popular favorite wherever it is available for sale [Music] many people visit the Stroh brewery daily and are taken on a complete guided tour of the many facilities their guides are University students helping to pay their educational expenses by their work at the brewery often they are asked how does it all begin this business of brewing beer it all begins with the finest quality ingredients obtainable malt made from premium barley grits produce from selected corn the very choices tops plus fresh sparkling water these are the natural ingredients in beer all purchased in accordance with the most exacting specifications and controlled by the extensive Stroh laboratory but Stroh's adds one more costly step to achieve its unique satisfying flavor that is fire Stroh's is America's only fire brewed beer and these are the only brew kettles in the United States heated by direct fire each has a capacity of approximately seven thousand seven hundred and fifty gallons the direct fire boiling of the work which is the sweet hamburger extract from the mash is in the old time-tested tradition oil fired furnaces two for each kettle send heat in excess of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit to the huge copper kettles the direct heat envelops the kettle bottom then flows through flus that surround the vessel thus producing vigorous boiling within which gets more flavor out of the ingredients and puts it into Stroh's beer this then is Stroh's famous fire brewed flavor process an unusual expensive process a thoroughly functional operation that brings out the distinctive flavor and character of the brew giving it a finer lighter taste not found in any other american beer of course much has taken place before the fire brewing stage has been reached and it has taken place in the huge straw brew house an eight-story edifice whose unique interior design is particularly suited to the brewing of Stroh's beer [Music] each of the eight levels from the top down supports its own special equipment and does its own special job on the very uppermost floor are the tops of the grain bins into which the malt and corn have been conveyed from street level great tanks of pure water a prime essential to beer also make their home on the eighth floor a floor below are the mills which crush the mold and make it ready for brewing two levels in the brewhouse are taken over by the massive mash tubs each with a capacity of 30,000 gallons of mash this consists initially of the ground malt mixed with water to which the corn grits after being cooked are ultimately added under controlled conditions until the process is completed then the entire mixture is dropped into the water tubs these vessels like giants trainers have slotted buttons which retain the mall tasks allowing the liquid to drain from them the rotating blades cut through the grains to promote flow the suite and the result known as work is now ready for the fire brewing kettles where at the proper time the hops are added then having made their unique flavor contribution to the goodness of the brew the hops are strained out and the work rests for a while after which it is cooled to 50 degrees here in the Qura room on the fifth floor where the work goes through a heat exchanger and then cascades over the cooling plates now we change locations as the word is pumped from the brew house to the gigantic stock house and into the fermentation vats over 400 open and closed fermenters here the yeast is added and the fermentation process takes place over a one-week period from the time the yeast is added the liquid is no longer called work now it is beer but there is still much to be done for example during fermentation the brew undergoes frequent and rigorous laboratory tests for Standardization of quality taste and flavor a modern laboratory is vitally important for quality control if a fine beers to be produced the laboratory at the Stroh brewery company is one of the finest and most complete in the industry highly-trained full-time technicians keep a constant vigilant eye on quality control they are the guardians of Stroh's goodness tasting testing examining analyzing thus the superior quality and flavor of Stroh's beer remains uniform from the fermentation vats the beer goes to hundreds of glass line storage tanks 488 of them case you're counting here the beer is matured and no mode to the peak of perfection this area is refrigerated to near freezing temperature after aging one final step remains before the beer is packaged in bottles kegs and cans filtering from the storage tanks the beer passes through the filters and emerges bright and sparkling ready for packaging and consuming [Music] larger than a football field and filled with all kinds of mechanized marbles the stroll packaging plant can produce almost 5 million bottles and cans of beer daily [Music] visiting the stroll packaging center for the first time gives one the impression that everything is happening at once and this is literally true while cases of empty bottles are being unloaded and conveyed to the bottle so furs which clean them to sparkling perfection thousands of bright new cans direct from the manufacturer are dumped into the ingenious and unscrambler where they are automatically placed into proper filling positions convenient wrinkle tabs at the bottom [Music] meanwhile after passing inspection to ensure their cleanliness the immaculate bottles move to the filler and then to the crowning machine which seals them at a rate of 600 per minute they pass by the thousands through the pasteurizer ease this process protects the unique Stroh flavor then they are given the final inspection which ensures that each and every package is properly filled suitably crowned and consumer perfect only then does the beer get the ultimate stamp of approval to stroll label [Music] and so the beer is packaged encased and made ready for transportation so that millions of consumers may continue to enjoy the famous fire brewed flavor of strobes it's not at all unusual that sons follow fathers into the business of brewing here nor that many employees have been with straws for 20 and 30 years or more Stroh's just happens to be that kind of brewery Stroh's is also the kind of brewery that places healthful active emphasis on sport for many years the Stroh brewery company has sponsored a bowling team one of the nation's best winning numerous championships Stroh's has continued to foster widespread participation and such sports as bowling fishing scheme and golf for the sports fans Stroh's presents the Detroit Tigers on radio and the Detroit Red Wings on radio and television large and enthusiastic audiences share in the stroll sponsored sports presentations [Music] wherever you find people having fun you'll probably find them enjoying strolls beer and that's just as a Tata P because throws beer is a beverage with the fun built in a good times drink that is forever being discovered by a new generation of young consumers yes roses available nearly everywhere in its market area transported in great highway trucks the stro distributor organization a vast dedicated long-term group of leading independent businessman whose pride in distributing Stroh's beer equals that of the mental bruit services over 50,000 retailers this is big business of course but its bigness has never overshadowed the warm personal family tradition that has been the hallmark of the Stroh brewery company since 1850 this has been the story of a family founded family-owned brewery that has kept pace with the dynamic youthful outlook of the metropolis and which it flourishes by bringing to its millions of customers the finest beer that a wealth of experience and modern technology can provide Stroh's America's only fire brewed beer [Music] this then is the story of the straw brewery company we hope you enjoyed it [Music]