Courage Western. Brewing School visits 1968 to 1969

Courage Western, Oakhill Brewery Maltings

Visit by Brewing School students – private visit on 16 December 1968

Originally a floor maltings for Bristol United Breweries Ltd. Modernisation initiated by Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. Ltd and unfinished work was taken over by Courage & Co. Ltd in 1960.

There are 47 storage silos totalling 15,000 quarters. Eight green barley silos are fitted with temperature probes.

1.5% upper nitrogen limit. Barley is better than usual this year

Steeping

There are four 110 quarter cisterns, two are filled each time. Effluent disposal into local authority system at agreed rate through balanced tank. Steeping takes 50 hours comprising - 12 hours wet, eight hours air, 9 hours wet, one hour drain to make sure operators do not drain to below grain level and then refill followed by another 16 hours wet. Slurry is pumped to Saladin boxes. Cisterns have outside aeration coils which are not used; the agitation probably more useful than actual aeration. Cistern to cistern transfer is possible also. Schedule can be altered depending on water sensitivity etc.

Germination

There are three Saladin boxes. The air delivery system has a curtain of water to get desired relative humidity with recirculation through the box until temperature increases. Cold bleed louvres, cold water bleed via diaphragm valve. There is a second fan if necessary. No need for refrigeration system. All automatic, should parts fail duplicates are readily available.

220 quarters in a 2½ foot bed which rises 12 inches with root formation. It is turned every six hours and the turner takes one hour to travel. Barley spends six days in the box at 62°F ideally. Could increase throughput but there are grain handling problems. GA added through a water boom at the first turning, rate of addition is 0.1 ppm but often only half that. Communicating doors between boxes maybe left open to helping increase temperature of newly boxed grain.

Kilning

Kilns are oil fired and of 220 quarter capacity. In summer three gallons of oil per quarter are used and 4.5 gallons in winter. The average over the year is 3.8 gallons per quarter. Four hours low fan which goes to high speed at 175oF. Killing takes 24 hours, followed by a further 6 hours to cure the malt and produce flavour, the airflow is reduced to raise the temperature through 220, 225 and 230°F. Sulphur is added for the bleaching effect to make the malt look more attractive in comparison with ABM and Pauls etc. Oakhill malt goes only to Courage breweries. The product is standard and called No2 Pale.

There are common conveyors but separate screens for barley and malt.

Apparently bromate was being used in the cold spell, but illegally!

See also Oakhill Saladin Box Maltings.