chef. With a pinch of this and a dab of that, a brewmaster's recipe ultimately decides the fate of his company. So in choosing their brewmeister, Bermuda Triangle Brewing Ltd. decided to go for the best. Having received the best possible education in beer production and with 11 years brewing experience behind him, brewmeister Marko Saager was a natural selection as the person who would be responsible for making Bermuda's first beer. "I'm very proud to be the first brewmaster on the island,'' he said. "I come from Munich, the town of beers and after high school, I didn't know what to do so I traveled through Europe. Everywhere I went, I saw people drinking beer and I decided I wanted to be a brewmaster.'' Explaining that Germany has the best schools at which he could study his craft and also the best breweries, Marko said he began his long haul in Stuttgart. "There are two ways you can become a brewmaster. You can either do a three-year apprenticeship programme and work for two years before becoming qualified or you can enter a three-year apprenticeship programme and then go on to five years of university study. I did it the second way, studying at the University of Munich, the most famous for the production of beer.'' Mr. Saager obtained his "Diplom Braumeister'' degree from the prestigious Doemen School in Munich and obtained certification as a brewer and maltster in 1986. He has worked in large German breweries such as Paulaner and Lowenbrau and also in Bavaria, at ones similar in size to the Bermuda Triangle Brewing Ltd. "As you can see we shop for the best,'' said company president and one of its founding shareholders, Paul Mason, "but I think that's what Bermudians expect -- the best! His knowledge and experience have been invaluable in ensuring that we produce a consistently great tasting beer!'' Mr. Saager said he was required to study a lot of microbiology, ensuring that he would know what to do if the beer had an infection or if any other problems arose. "He told me he wants a beer that tastes like this region and so I sat down for two sleepless nights and made a recipe. It wasn't easy and afterwards, I'm the one who's responsible. I have to know how to make this taste and how to make that taste. It's comparable to a chef. But only ten percent of the whole work is making beer,'' he said. "It's only a small part of it all. The biggest part is cleaning, sterilising, washing the tanks, cleaning the pipes and controlling the temperature, pressure and gravity. It's not so difficult but when we have a problem, the first question goes to the brewmaster.'' As an example of how satisfied they are with their brewmaster's mixtures, Mr. Mason said the beers have remained the same since they were first introduced last December. "After a lot of testing we think we have arrived at the taste we were looking for,'' he said. "Our beers are meant to be full-bodied, fresh and flavourful. They are designed within the parameters of an internationally accepted style of beer. "Because our beers are hand-crafted there will always be a slight variation in consistency from brew to brew. Even with the same brewer, no two batches are identical. All large brewers tend to blend their batches to improve consistency. We don't blend -- each batch is individual. Each batch is hand-crafted. There are no computerised process control systems. But I think the degree of variation is so small that I doubt anyone other than a very experienced taster would be able to tell the difference.'' Mr. Mason added that the company's packaging methods were also done with taste enhancement in mind as they avoided cans, concentrating on bottles and kegs. "Cans are only feasible for large producers who can fill millions of cans at a time,'' he said. "I don't know of a single microbrewery anywhere in the world who uses cans. "They also have an image problem. Cans tend to imply a cheap, mass-produced beer. Some brewmasters in large breweries are known to send slightly "suspect'' batches to the canning lines instead of the bottling lines on the assumption that anybody who is drinking from a can won't know the difference anyway!'' Mr.

Mason said that the company was interested in a reusable bottle concept for its beers but, although they offered to donate a bottle washer to Government if it would arrange a bottle-return depot, the idea was turned down. "The best container for beer is the stainless steel keg,'' said Mr. Mason. "No light or air can get to the beer to spoil it. They are the ultimate reusable containers because they are easy to clean, there's no waste and they last for years. We offer the 50-litre kegs which are standard in bars and restaurants and also 20-litre kegs. Both are available to the public for private parties and events. "For parties, the price of the keg includes the complete set up with cooler, CO2 and fittings. It's easy, simple and no mess. In less than 30 seconds you're ready to serve Bermuda's freshest beer straight from the brewery.'' Added Mr. Saager: "And there is a big difference between bottled beer and draft beer. The 50-litre keg is the same as 150 bottles. The biggest enemy of beer is oxygen and in every bottle we have a little bit of air and in a keg there is nothing, that's why draft beer is always fresher.'' However, Mr. Saager pointed out, it is important to differentiate between the meaning of "draft'' in countries. "In the UK, `real draft' means a beer that has a secondary fermentation in the cask. It leaves the brewery after only a few days and is stored in the cellars of the pubs. After a time in the cellars at Defining draught beer the cask up to the bar. Because the beer is not forced out by CO2 pressure and air is allowed into the cask it is a beer that has to be drunk very quickly or else it goes off; usually within two days at most. There are no bars in Bermuda capable of serving this type of beer and besides, it would take too long to get here from England. "In the US, legislators have defined draught beer to be anything that is not pasteurised. We like to keep things simple. If it's in a keg, it's a draught. If it's in a bottle, it's bottled beer. If it's in a can, you don't want to drink it! "We want to make a number of beers in different styles. Each beer should have its own unique flavour. All of our beers have very distinct tastes and aromas. We don't want to make a bland beer. We want to make a beer that people really enjoy drinking. After all, if you can't taste what you're drinking, then why are you drinking it?'' PHOTO GOURMET BREWER -- Brewmaster Marko Saager is responsible for ensuring the perfect blend of ingredients go into the making of each batch of beer.