MR M. JOEL’S BREWERY.

Evening Star, Issue 3627, 7 October 1874, Page 2

MR M. JOEL’S BREWERY.

Development is the law of all well managed businesses, and successful manage, ment may generally be estimated by grow?!*. Applying this test to the breweries of Dune* din, it may fairly be said that from small beginnings great results have been achieved. A few buildings, limited in area, sufficed for Mr Joel’s requirements when some years back he .turned his attention to brewingbut room has been added tq room, am| pro* cess to process, until at last a large extent of ground has bean covered, with every prospect of further extension being needed. through the courtesy of Mr Sibbald, Mr Joel’s salesman, and Mr Smith who superintends the manufacturing departtTwhiri™ C^ ucbed over thebrewery, have recently been ?' d ®' Everybody knows good bee/when he tastes it, but everyone does not know ow it is made. Good old home-brewed is a household word with Engli|bmen. Up to the time of our leaving Dome many farmers ana gentlemen were accustomed tq brew their own beer, and it must be confessed, as j j e ’ succeeded in obtaining a splendid article. It was commonly strong, dear luscious; tasted well of the hop, and went down the throat most charmingly. We remember well the delicious flavor of a brew that had been in bottle twenty-one years • the first cork having been drawn on the majonty of the eldest son, in whose honor it had been brewed at his birth “ Don’t be afraid of it, sir." the proud papa said “it’s as mild as new milk’’ bo it was—and as creamy, wh n the carbonic acid gas rose to the surface, mdd k^ nß w l,ke f Champasne - But * wa« ESS* I* Waa Btrou 8. and required a strong And i? r rry j t ootiple * f tnmbiers steadily And it should have been strong, for it cost ln .^ alt to . £ave brewed three times ? lth the H S hfc of modem science. We should imagine that few nowa days brew their own beer, for brewers can supply it equal in quality at half the price, with a fair profit to themselvts. This is dons by tfae labor-saving processes rendered profitable by large business. What used to

be done imperfectly by band, is done per feotly by machinery. Every process is re duced to certainly. Everything is so regulated that chance may be almost said to be defied. The first step in the process of brewing is malting the barley—that is, convert tag the starch contained in the grain into malt sugar, by causing the grain to germi nate, or, to use a _Saxon word, “sprout.” This is done by moistening it in a steeping ▼at ami then laying it on afl .or heated from below by no means so simple a process as it seems to be ; for the heat requires to be enough to encourage growth, but not to scorch the grain ; enough to keep it in good color, and be continued a sufficient length 6f time to effect the change, but not to carry it to such au extent as to waste the snb•tance of the grain. Mr Joel’s arrangements for this purpose are excellent There are extensive steeping vats, a good malt kiln and drying floor, and, we are glad to find, an excellent supply of Colonial barley of very flue quality. We were shown-some samples of very good coloi that weighed 651b to the bushel. The barley, converted into malt, is next crashed, prepaiatory to going into the mash tun. This is done by the malt mill, which is worked by a steam engine—one of tho most useful slaves in the establishmenk it pumps water, grinds malt and hops, and does a variety of little odd jobs that, without its help, would involve an immense amount of labor. The crushed malt is then fused to the top of the house and placed in a hopper for the purpose of gradually sho >tmg it into the mash tu*. This is an immense reservoir, capable of containing a large number of hogsheads. The mashing of the malt is a very delicate process, for the water must be neither toe hot nor too cold. If too hot all the malt meal would become converted into paste, and no sweetness would be extracted j if too cold, the process would not only be protracted, but much of the sugar would remain unextracted. It is therefore, of importance that the temperatare should be exactly suited to the purpose desired. In order to execute these processes With certainty, and at the cheapest possible cost, a coil is introduced into the tun through which steam from the engine boiler passes, and thus economy and certainty of temperature can be secured. Of course, the thermometer is indispensable. Having remained sufficiently long in the mash tan to extract all the sugar from the malt, another process is necessary, for ale is not me-ely extract of malt but essence of malt and hops. The malt is subjected to pressure to expel eyerydrop of moisture, and the “grains,”con •iating of the insoluble portions of the malt, are now in a condition for feeding cows, for Which purpose there is large demand. The extract of malt is next subjected to boiling with the hops, and this is done in a separate vessel, placed conventently so that the liquor can be transferred from one to the other at the least possible cost of labor. After boiling tbe necessary length of time, the wort is ready f. >r passing into the fermenting vat—a very extended shallow receptacle, large enough for a respectable piscina. But it would be a loss of time to allow it to go into tho vat at so high a temperature ; and to assist the process the liquor is parsed over a refrigerator—a comparatively modern invention, consisting of tabes through which a stream of cq'd water £i continually passing, and over w’hiqh the . ®sted wort passes on its road to the fermentW vat. In this vat fermentation is parried fin, and on the success of this part of the process the quality of the beer depends. It must bo carried on as nearly as possible at an ascertained temperature, for, if either hotter or colder, fermentation will not go on

properly. As soon as the wort ceases ** working” it is racked off into barrels, and “ hopped ” again. Another fermentation is set up in the casks, and that continued sufficiently long, they are closed up and ready for use. We hare given no dimensions of the rooms nor of the sizes of the vessels for carrying on the various processes described : for bo record of feet and inches affords an adequate idea to those who have not visited large manufacturing establishments. Each process, however, tends to a result, aqd ap fdea may be formed of the jnagnititfe of the establishment by gating that theadditiopto tpe cellar-room lately made has been that of * monster room, 12Qft long by 50ft wide, ju which stand row- of casks, butts, and hogsheads. It must not be forgotten that care as to temperature is requisite even in this department Although day by day there is change—cask after cask being sent out for family use, or publican's supply, either in Dunedin or one of the towns in the interior of Otago, or on the coast of the Colony—this large area, in addition to old qellar room, must be kept constantly full * AJI the rejt of the ropms we have named lend their aid tp this, but the d mand is equal to the supply, and no cessation of production is necessary, i ur notice of Mr Joel’s brewery would be incomplete were we to omit the bottling department The ap ointments a»d appliances are as perfect in this •s in the other parts of the establishment Ihe process is conducted rapidly, safely and economically. As in other operations, machinery is employed where practicable, And where not, human hands are ’trained to act with, the precision and rapidity of machines, so that everything is done with order, regularity, and despatch. We have wins far described only what may be seen, but there are other important arrangements that do not appear. We take those on faith, among which, perhaps, the 3bief is the filtration of the water used for brewing. So far as we are able to judge, this is equally arranged as other manufacturing processes, At any rate, the brightness and fine flavor of* the bottled beer led to the inevitable conclusion that where such palatable beverage was produced -good to the eye and pleasant to the taste—care and skil are a necessity. A mens the industries of Dunedin, Mr Joel’s extended and extending brewery is not the least interesting.