After seven years of blending water, malt, hops and yeast and wowing beer lovers with his traditional German beers, brewmaster Jochen Neuhaus of Tawandang German Brewery on Rama III Road is working harder than ever.

The brew house opened its second venue at Pradit Manutham Road, Ram-Indra, last year, and Neuhaus travels between the two ensuring that proper care is taken of the copper fermentation tanks that are worth around Bt25 million.

"It's not so cheap because everything is imported from Germany - the machinery, the fermentation tanks, the hot-water tanks and the raw materials. Everything except the water comes from Germany," he says.

"Most brew houses today use a stainless steel rather than a copper tank because it's cheaper and a lot easier to maintain."

Like the Rama III outlet, the new Tawandang branch is also a microbrewery with the capacity to produce 900 to 1,000 litres of beer a day. Half of that is lager, 30 per cent is wiezen beer and the remainder is dunkel. All three brews are made with different yeast and brewed at different temperatures and at different pressures. The fermentation style is different too, and each brewmaster has his own recipes and secrets.

"A brewmaster is like a chef. It is a combination of craft and art. You need to find the right way to get the right beer. The most important thing is to be clean and hygienic," Neuhaus says.

The whole process is strictly based on German Purity Laws. According to this code, only four natural ingredients may be used to brew fresh beer - water, malt, yeast and hops. Additives of any kind are forbidden.

"You must also follow the traditional style of brewing. The process costs more money but you'll get the best full-bodied, well-balanced beer with a good flavour," he adds.

Other than the copper brewing equipment, which Neuhaus says is better than stainless steel, the new branch has an open tank for the fermentation process. Most brew houses are fitted with closed tanks.

"On one hand it's very good for the flavour. You get full-bodied beer with nice flavours. On the other hand, it  is expensive and sensitive and you need to pay more attention to making the beer. You must be very careful, work safely and be very clean when the beer is fermented in an open tank. You only want to add yeast to the beer, no other micro organisms," he stresses.

"This is the only open tank in Thailand. I saw one in Japan and it's special ... it's not easy to find."

After the malted grain and water are heated up in the brewery pot to allow the enzymes in the malt to break down the starch in the grain into sugars, the liquid - now called "wort" - is extracted by a mash filter. The wort is then boiled again and hops are added to give it bitterness.

As the wort cools, yeast is added and the liquid is transferred to the tanks for the fermentation process. To keep down the risk of contamination, strict hygiene protocols are followed and entrance to the fermentation room is restricted to a few people.

After about a week, the beer is moved to another room for separation. This is when the brewmaster decides whether he wants to make lager, wiezen or dunkel. The beers will be stored in storage tanks for three to four weeks at a temperature between 0 to 3 degrees Celsius.

The 37-year-old Neuhaus graduated from the famed brewing institute in Berlin in 1996 and started worked with K&S Company, which manufactures microbrewery equipment and provides expert training.

He was assigned to Japan and Costa Rica to teach local staff the techniques of brewing before he received an invitation from Tawandang German Brewery's managing director Supote Teerawatanachai to come to Thailand.

Visitors to Tawandang can see the brewing process but are not allowed inside the brew house without Neuhaus' permission.

The new branch targets a different group of customers compared to the Rama III outlet. For instance, it has a non-smoking section, which allows families to sit, eat, drink and enjoy themselves without having to breathe in secondary smoke.

The new branch of Tawandang German Brewery is on Pradit Manutham Road and is open from 4pm to midnight. For more information and reservations, call (02) 789 9988 or visit www.tawandang1999.com.

Juthamas Cholthavornpong

The Nation