The Morning Advertiser learnt more about the new pilot brewery in an exclusive feature about Fuller’s visitors’ centre earlier this year.
Fuller’s pilot brewery was installed earlier this year and brewing commenced in August, however, the official announcement of its opening wasn’t made until this month.
Able to produce 40 firkins
The system is able to produce 10 barrels or 40 firkins of beer per brew, which can then be packaged in bottle, cask or keg.
The new plant has an infusion mash tun, a copper/whirlpool with an external wort boiler as well as four fermentation tanks and two bright beer tanks.
One of Fuller’s shift brewers, Hayley Marlor, managed the installation of the plant and oversaw the production of its first beer, Beer One, which is a strong ale based on the Golden Pride recipe that comes in at 7% ABV.
Additional experimental brews include Galaxy Pale (4% ABV), a pale ale made with Galaxy hops; Grapefruit IPA (5.7% ABV), made with real grapefruit peel and juice; Thai Stout (4.8% ABV), made with Thai spices; and a New England IPA (5.5% ABV), in which the brewers experimented with Cryo Hops.
Head brewer Georgina Young said: “This pilot brewery is a fantastic addition to Fuller’s. Prior to this, the smallest batch we could brew was 160 barrels (625 firkins), so we tended always to play safe with flavours.”
Testing raw materials
She added: “We will be using the new brewery for testing different raw materials such as new malts, hops, herbs, spices and fruits.
“We can test out new equipment and procedures before scaling up and we can attempt beer styles that have never been brewed here at Chiswick before. It will also play a role in training future brewers.”
Meanwhile, you can read an interview with Fuller’s visitor experience and publicity manager Joanne Steward online now.