Where should I boil my wort?

 Those who follow Granby will know I have recently demolished the existing brewery and am about to start building a new one.


Unfortunately, while not unfamiliar with the product……I have absolutely no idea how it is made


Back in September, Doug (Chubber) of this parish sent me a really useful Brewery link :

Its well worth reading, not just for the illustrated history of the architecture and development of smaller Victorian breweries, but also for a succinct summary of the brewing process. It certainly gave me some useful ideas.


My old brewery was built in 2010 using Metcalfe kits















I contemplated re-using some of the buildings but decided against it. They are very attractive models but perhaps a little small for Granby. They have become so popular that they are immediately recognisable. I wanted something a little different.


Scalescene Warehouse kits are very flexible and I think I can create that sense of mass so typical of Victorian buildings







Within the confines of the site and allowing for the modular nature of Scalescene Warehouse I intend to make two principal buildings. A warehouse/bottling plant that will be three stories high and a brewhouse that will be narrower and taller with 5 stories.


There will be assorted ancillary buildings….Cooperage, Boiler House, Water Tower etc but these will come later.


Here are some scale mock ups














The modified Metcalfe unit, on the left, will serve as the Brewer's House, Offices and the Brewery Tap.


Right now I need advice and input on where the various brewing processes would be allocated to the two principal buildings


From the link I have summarised the distinct processes as follows


Malting:                      Barley is steeped in water for 3 days. The germinated barley is turned and dried 7-14 days and then roasted                             All this took place in a separate building. Some breweries had a Maltings on site, others bought                                         the malted grain in.


I dont think I have enough space for a separate Malting building so the malt barley will be bought in



Milling                         Malt Barley ….Milled and ground …… Grist


 

Mashing    Grist mixed with hot water  in Mash Tun. Mixture stays in tun at controlled temperature for 2-3 hours to become

                   wort


Boiling the Wort         Wort is run off, mixed with Hops and boiled in a Copper for two hours


Cooling the Wort         Wort is sieved (hop waste is sold) and cooled


Fermentation                  Yeast added and fermented for three days in large open containers (wood/copper/stone )
                                                         Surplus yeast is skimmed off and sold    


Racking                           Beer run off from fermenting vessels into conditioning tanks. Finings clear any remaining yeast  

                                                   Finally transferred to Barrels or bottled.




The brewhouses or towers were designed to maximise gravity……raw materials were hauled to the top using a sack hoist along with water pumped from a tower or reservoir. On completion of a process it was dropped down to the next floor finishing up with beer ready to be bottled/barrelled on the ground floor.    


And yet…..some of these processes require significant ventilation…… cooling the wort (in the middle of the sequence) according to the document was sited near the top of the tower for just that purpose


I am not proposing to have highly detailed interiors but I would like to have a rough idea of where the processes would likely have taken place in the configuration I am planning. This will dictate whether I have windows or vents  and at what floor I locate the external corridor connecting the two buildings that will convey both product and people.


Right now I am guessing on the following:






                                                                                               WAREHOUSE                                                                                                                             BREW HOUSE


Floor 5  (Tower)                                                                     NA                                                                                                                                                    Mashing


Floor 4                                                                          NA                                                                                              Boiling the Wort     


Floor 3                                                                        Conditioning                                      Corridor                                               Cooling the Wort      


Floor 2                                                                               Racking/Bottling                                                                                                      Fermentation


Ground                                                                          Storage and Distribuition                                                                                          Receiving and Milling




Total guesswork I am afraid…….. I would really appreciate any advice.


Best wishes from Vancouver


John

Like you John, I have only the vaguest idea of how beer is made; but what I do know is that Victorians, Queenslanders and New South Welsh Persons, have even less idea.

The only drinkable beer comes from the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

I will be paying close attention as you unravel the process,   :thumbs

Cooling wort was made easier with the arrival of electric motor  pumps,  the apparatus  could be placed anywhere.  Imagine a car radiator  full of beer, with cold water taking the place of the air-flow. In super efficient systems the warmed up water went to the mash tuns, saving some steam heating.

Poop-Poop!

Doug

Hi John,

I spent many hours as a young 'un in the local Victorian vertical brewery in Hook Norton (featured in one of the original Inspector Morse series). I have a small booklet on the brewery with the process and a flow diagram. In the interests of research I'll scan and PM you the relevant pages.

Still steam driven and as far as I know using dray horses and wagons for the local deliveries. The malt house alongside the brewery is now a museum and visitors center.

Nigel

[user=269]MaxSouthOz[/user] wrote:

Like you John, I have only the vaguest idea of how beer is made; but what I do know is that Victorians, Queenslanders and New South Welsh Persons, have even less idea.

The only drinkable beer comes from the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

I will be paying close attention as you unravel the process,   :thumbs

Thanks Max

What about Tasmanian persons?:pedal

Cheers 

John

[user=312]Chubber[/user] wrote:

Cooling wort was made easier with the arrival of electric motor  pumps,  the apparatus  could be placed anywhere.  Imagine a car radiator  full of beer, with cold water taking the place of the air-flow. In super efficient systems the warmed up water went to the mash tuns, saving some steam heating.

Poop-Poop!

Doug

Thanks Doug

That's good to know. I get the impression that the industry was in a process of constant change and innovation throughout the latter part of the 19th century and most of the 20th.

Not long before I start cutting card!

Best wishes

John

[user=1632]BCDR[/user] wrote:

Hi John,

I spent many hours as a young 'un in the local Victorian vertical brewery in Hook Norton (featured in one of the original Inspector Morse series). I have a small booklet on the brewery with the process and a flow diagram. In the interests of research I'll scan and PM you the relevant pages.

Still steam driven and as far as I know using dray horses and wagons for the local deliveries. The malt house alongside the brewery is now a museum and visitors center.

Nigel

Thank you so much Nigel I have sent you a PM

Best wishes

John

Taswegians make the worlds best whiskey, John. 

They don't need to make beer.   

Anywhere with sheep and peat. 'Nuff said.

Nigel

Note to self. . Must not read when tired, I read "Anywhere with sheep pee"   

[user=2080]Barchester[/user] wrote:

Note to self. . Must not read when tired, I read "Anywhere with sheep pee"   

There is a difference? All that peat does is to refine it a bit and concentrate it. Nigel