h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yesterday evening I spent my time being shown round the Queens Brewery, home of the Hydes brewing company here in Manchester.
At the appointed time we turned up at the gates of the victorian complex and met with the assembled group - a bunch from the Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA branch and some like us who had completed the Mild Challenge earlier on in the year.
We were shown up into the brewery bar and were invited to start the evening with a sample of one of the 5 real ales (along with smooth bitter or lager) that the company produce under their own brand. After spending some time drinking (Hydes Dark 'welsh' Mild, a dark but very drinkable brew) we were given a short talk on saftey on the tour (no drinking glasses, beware of the steep steps, don't touch any chemical/barrels) and we went up to the top of the brewery into the mill room. As we were at the top of the building it was very warm in there. Were were given a description of what would happen there in production and then moved down into a different area.
Here we saw the copper whirlpool (where the hops are added to the process) and something I can't remember the name of but which allowed the brewery to get 80+% yield from the malt - something our tour guide was a pains to tell us about, the fact that Hydes use an all malt (ie no added sugar or other grains) brew process.
The fermentation room was next on the tour and we saw the big stainless steel modern fermenters that are used now but also they keep an old wooden fermenter built around the turn of the 19th century for specials and test brews. In this large open topped vessel we could see a brew which had reached the end of it's fermentation and the guide said would soon be racked off into barrels for secondary fermentation and transport to the customers. The tour guide also told us about how he helped improve quality when he first joined by implementing a lab system to check the yeast and stopping using sulpher tablets to try and help keep the beer - thus removing a couple of taints from the beers. We also were told about how for the main beers the recipe has remained essentially unchanged for probably 100 years.
Down the stairs to the racking room where many barrels stood round waiting to be filled, or filled and waiting to be delivered. Then we were taken round a corner and shown the source of the water. The brewry has it's own well in the base of the brewhouse, going down 120 feet to draw the water up and through a filter rather than using the same tap water I drink each day.
This was the end of the tour and we went back up to the hospitality bar for more drinks and some nibbles. Drink was drunk and chat was made, an approach was made for me to buy the guide to Stockport pubs (Viaducts and Vaults, a guide to every pub in the bourough of Stockport, real ale or not) and for us to join CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. As I'd already got the book and was going to join CAMRA at the next beer festival I go to (a couple of weeks time) we managed to keep them talking and not have to sign anything
Then all too soon the bell was rung and we were having to go on our way into the night to our homes.

Good stuff

Was it a hopback?

It was something beginning with a L rather than a hop back - something to do with getting more of the malt sugars out of the malt rather than the hops.

Mmm, I love the smell of malt. Had a cleaning job at the local brewery way back when..

Is this part of the job, Phil - or is it a reward for having survived to the first pay packet? Either way, have fun. You deserve it.

This was a win from something I did earlier on in the year. It was certainly good fun and it would be nice for it to be part of the new job but alas.

It sounds like you had a really interesting tour.

We were watching Fred Dibnah the other evening and H thinks he has founds the ideal job: maintaining the engine at a steam powered brewery.

Except that we can't remember the name of the place