Tools They Use: Pueblo Vida Brewing’s Kyle Jefferson


October 4, 2016
a man wearing a hat
By Jackie Tran
By Jackie Tran

Tools They Use is a new series that takes a peek at local food artisans, such as chefs, bakers, brewers, and more, with a simple photo displaying signature items and favorite tools.

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Kyle Jefferson's tools at Pueblo Vida Brewing Company (Credit: Jackie Tran)
Kyle Jefferson’s tools at Pueblo Vida Brewing Company (Credit: Jackie Tran)

Beer is easy to drink and have fun with, but its creation is a technical, concise procedure. Here’s what Pueblo Vida Brewing Company co-owner and brewer Kyle Jefferson has to say about the craft:

“Brewing is a beautiful and important interplay between science and sensory. We use science for repeatability, control, and quality. The physical tools pictured are for the science portion. Sensory, smell and taste, is the other half of brewing and just as important. The romantic part of sensory is it is tied to memory. In order to build your sensory you have to continue to discover new foods, search for smells and tastes everywhere you go, and travel to new places. Your senses have to experience as much as they can in order to improve. Sensory allows us to build a beer that smells, tastes, and feels just the way we want it to. It’s the art of brewing. We believe in order to craft a beautiful beer you must have a conscious mix of science and art. It’s really hard, but it is why we love what we do.”

Sieve

Measures the crush of the grain used in brewing.

Butterfly Valve

Used to control flow of water and wort (the unfermented sugary liquid that will become beer) and beer in the brewing process.

Tri-Clamp

Stainless clamp used to connect a number of fittings, pipes and houses together in the brewing process

Microscope

Used to count yeast cells in solution of wort.

pH Meter

Used to measure PH of wort/beer throughout the brewing process.

Hydrometer

A basic tool that is used to measure the ratio of a sample wort/beer liquid’s density to the density of water.

Refractometer

Optical device that measures the specific gravity in our wort. Used during the brewing process.

Hemocytometer

A instrument for visual counting of the number of wort samples under a microscope.

Faucet Wrench

Used to take off faucet in order to clean tap lines.

CO² Volume Meter

Device that measures average CO² levels in beer.

Pipette

Used to take accurate volumes of yeast for cell counting.

Pueblo Vida Brewing Company co-owner and brewer Kyle Jefferson (Credit: Jackie Tran)
Pueblo Vida Brewing Company co-owner and brewer Kyle Jefferson (Credit: Jackie Tran)

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Article By

Jackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon...

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