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| The
Brewing Process at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc |
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Hopper
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Weigher
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Roller
Mill
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Grist
Case
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malt starts its journey through the Brewery by being tipped
into the Hopper. The malt is immediately screened
for quality, cleaned from dust, weighed in the Weigher,
and crushed by a Roller Mill according to certain
specifications which vary for every kind of beer. The
crushed malt is collected into a Grist Case which
is a storage silo located under the mill. |
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Meanwhile,
the brewing water, or 'liquor' as it is known to the
brewers, is prepared and tested for quality. Farsons
produce two kinds of 'liquor' for their beers, one for
the English type beers (Ales) and one for the continental
(Lager) type. After the quality checks, the water is
heated in Liquor Tanks at the very top of the
brewery.
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Liquor
Tank
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Mashing of these two ingredients is a process whereby
the malt and hot water are mixed together in the Mash
Tun. The mash is allowed to stand for some time during
which the starch present in the malt, breaks down into
fermentable sugars which, unlike starch, are totally soluble
in water and can be easily metabolised by yeast. The resultant
liquid, called sweet wort, is drawn off through the malt
husks which rest on perforated plates at the bottom of
the vessel called the Lauter Tun. The wort is transferred
to the Boiling Copper for a long and vigorous boil
during which hops are added. Through boiling, the wort
is concentrated to a standard gravity. |
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Whirlpool
Tank
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Chillers
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Fermenting
Vessels
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At
the same time, the bitter substances present in the
hops are extracted while proteins, which are detrimental
to the stability of the beer, are precipitated. Aromatic
substances which contribute to the final aroma of the
beer are also extracted from the hops during this part
of the process. The boiled wort is then pumped at high
speed into a tank called the Whirlpool Tank.
Here most of the protein particles and the remains of
the hops separate out to produce a clear wort. The hot
wort is then pumped from the whirlpool through the Plate
Heat Exchangers (or Chillers) where the wort
is cooled down to a level suitable for fermentation.
The cold wort next flows into the Fermenting Vessels
where the main fermentation takes place. Yeast is added
to the wort on its way into the fermenter.
Closed
stainless steel cylindro-conical fermenters are part
of the new high-tech approach to brewing that allows
today's brewer to ensure a consistent high quality of
traditional products. Micro-chip technology enables
very accurate control over the process conditions (such
as temperature) which were for many years manually measured
and controlled.
Fermentation
takes some days, the number of which depends on the
type of beer. During this process the malt sugars are
converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The brewer
needs to be constantly in control of this process to
ascertain that high quality is achieved.
This
'green beer' as it is called in brewing terms, has to
still spend a period of weeks in the cylindro-conical
tank where it matures and achieves a refined flavour.
The mature beer is then chilled to minus 1 degrees Celsius
and stored for a further period in the tank. During
this process proteins combine with other substances
and precipitate out of the beer to give it better keeping
properties.
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Filter
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Bright
Beer Tanks
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Automated
Valve System
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last stage of the brewing process before the beer is bottled,
canned or kegged, is the filtering process (Filter),
after which the beer is held in Bright Beer Tanks.
The finished product is then thoroughly tested and tasted
by an expert panel before it is released for packaging.
The product is then routed automatically to the packaging
lines through a complex valve system (Automated Valve
System). |
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| Bottling |
Canning |
Kegging |
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Bottles are first washed sterilised
in a Bottle Washer. From the Bright Beer Tanks, beer
is pumped to an Automated Filler. Here the bottles
are filled and crowned at an impressive rate of 30,000
an hour. This machine also automatically inspects
every single bottle! Bottles then go through a Tunnel
Pasteuriser, which process takes about 45 minutes,
after which bottles are transferred to the labelling
machine. A Full Bottle Inspection Machine checks each
and every bottle for correct filling height and labelling.
At this stage, bottles are packed into clean plastic
crates or carton clusterpacks. The full crates are
then electronically scanned for missing or broken
bottles in the Crate Inspection Machine. Finally,
filled crates are stacked onto wooden pallets which
are forklifted and transported to the Finished Goods
Warehouse.
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The
bright beer from the Bright Beer Tanks is gently pumped
to the Can Filler and Seamer where cans are filled and
fitted with a lid which is seamed on immediately. The
sealed cans are turned upside down and conveyed into the
Tunnel Pasteuriser. Following pasteurisation, each can
goes through an inspection test in a Fill-Height Inspection
Machine which checks that the right amount of beer is
in the can. Cans accepted by the inspection machine are
then date-coded and conveyed to one of two machines: one
that applies a plastic carrier forming a traditional 6-pack,
or the Clusterpack Machine that wraps up six cans in a
special paperboard 'multipack' carrier. Finally, 6-packs
are off-loaded from the production line and palletised.
Filled trays are placed onto pallets, picked up by forklifters
and transported to the Finished Goods Warehouse. |
Kegs
are used in bars and catering establishments where beer
is served 'on draught'. The returned kegs are washed internally
in two stages. The Keg Pre-Cleaning Machine tests the
kegs for leaks, drains off any beer residues, rinses and
then washes and soaks the inside of the keg with hot detergent.
The kegs, full of hot detergent, then travel very slowly
to the Keg Cleaning and Filling Machine. This soaking
ensures the removal of all traces of internal soiling.
The kegs are then submitted for further turbulent internal
cleaning and fresh water rinsing before they are finally
steam-sterilised, pressurised with carbon dioxide and
filled with flash-pasteurised beer. All kegs are then
fitted with tamper-evident seals, labelled and stacked
on wooden pallets. |
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