Bottle conditioning is the act of adding a source of sugar to a beer before it’s bottled in order to have it develop carbonation in the bottle. Some people add additional yeast to the bottle along with the sugar to ensure carbonation but we only add sugar as our already existing microorganisms are happy, healthy, and looking for more sugar to create alcohol and CO2. The actual carbonation doesn’t take all that long (a couple months) but because of the complex range of microorganisms in our beer another full fermentation is triggered when we add the sugar.
As a result of this additional round of fermentation we hold our bottles in our cellar for an average of 10 months until the fermentation is over and the beer returns to a state as good as, or often event better than the original bottling.
How do we check this? Well, we take one for the team and start tasting the bottles at the 3 month point and every couple months until completion. We’ve tasted enough in-progress beers now to have a really good idea of what to expect during the bottle conditioning process. Once the beer is done, we apply labels and deliver it to you for the final taste!
We're honoured to have been awarded three golds for the second year in a row at one of Europe's biggest beer competitions! Spontaneous Manifesto 2023, Fruitful Pursuits: Cherry 2023, and Substantially Complete 2023 were all judged to be gold standard by a demanding panel of judges from across Europe.
The Monolith is looking for a food and beverage aficionado to join our team full time. We are looking for a charismatic individual with a passion for cooking and working in a kitchen who also possesses enthusiasm for our specialty beer. In this customer facing role, you will provide friendly, responsive service to our guests, while also cooking food for the taproom. Our ideal candidate has a passion for our specialty beer, delicious locally sourced foods, and is excited to share their enthusiasm with our patrons! If these areas aren’t your area of expertise yet, we are willing to offer detailed training for the right person!.
The Monolith is looking for food and beverage afficionados to join our team in both full time and part time roles. In this role you will provide friendly, responsive service to create an exceptional experience for all of our guests. Our ideal candidate has a passion for the specialty beer we make, delicious foods, and is excited to share their enthusiasm with our patrons! If these areas aren’t your area of expertise yet, we are willing to offer detailed training for the right person!.
Greg Zeschuk
Author
Greg’s career has ranged from physician, to videogame developer as founder of BioWare, and now trainee brewer. Greg is the prime enthusiast behind the Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company.