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The position of head brewer at Marston's brewery in Burton brings with it great
responsibility, including the obligation to taste the product on a daily basis.
The brewery now produces between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels of beer per year,
each barrel containing 36 gallons.
To put it in layman's terms, each barrel contains 288 pints and the person
responsible for making sure that there are no bad pints among them is head brewer
Emma Gilleland.
She said: "Drinking the beer is all part of the job because yeast is a living
organism and working with a live product you can never take anything for granted."
While at Sheffield University studying biomedical technology, Emma came to Burton
on a student placement, working in the laboratory at Marston's.
In 1994, she joined the company as a trainee brewer, taking her brewing exams and
working her way up the ranks before being made head brewer at Marston's in summer
2007, becoming the nations highest profile female in such a position.
Emma said: "This is a very traditional industry which is male dominated but I'd
been in the industry for a long time.
"But I am sure some people thought that it was a bit odd to have a woman in
charge."
The strain of yeast that Marston's uses to produce Pedigree has not changed since
the 1830s, not long after the brewery was founded by John Marston. So essential is
this particular yeast to the flavour of Pedigree that a sample of the yeast has
been cryogenically frozen and stored so that more can be grown in the event of a
crisis at the brewery.
It is Emma's responsibility that every pint of beer produced by Marston's has
consistent flavour and aroma, whether it is intended for bottling at the Burton
plant, is produced as part of a contract for other brewers or is going out to
pubs.
Although quality control, security and general hygiene at the brewery have all
come a long way in the last 175 years, the ingredients and the process have stayed
very much the same since the 19th century.
The quantity of malt has massively increased as well and this year, between 130
and 150 tonnes are delivered per week and stored in Marston's six giant silos,
visible for miles around.
Emma said: "We crush the malt in the mills to get rid of the husk and expose the
endosperm." For the uninitiated, endosperm is the tissue produced in most
flowering plants containing the starch essential for beer production. This is then
mixed with hot brewing water but not just any water.
Essential to the quality of the finished product is the water used and Burton
water has special properties which has made the town one of the brewing capitals
of the world.
It was medieval monks who first discovered that the water in Burton was ideally
suited to producing beer.
What they probably didn't know was that it had been filtered through beds of
calcium sulphate which enriches the water with minerals.
"Other breweries all over the world have to Burtonise their water artificially,"
said Emma.
"Over the last 18 months we've invested around 1.5m to fit new water systems
because it is so important. It's particularly good for pale ales."
When the hot water is added, the process known as mashing takes place. "Mashing at
65 degrees activates the enzymes in the endosperm," said Emma.
Like a gigantic cup of tea, mashing takes place over an hour after which a clear
brown sugary liquid called sweet wort is extracted from the porridge-like
substance in the mashing tuns. Hops are boiled with the sweet wort in a giant
copper kettle then the spent hops are disposed off.
"We cool the wort down to around 15 degrees then the fermentation process begins
when the yeast is added. It breaks down into simple enzymes and the yeast mass is
multiplied by four," said Emma.
The fermentation process for Pedigree is carried out with the Burton Union System
which is unique to Marston's.
As the wort ferments, it is piped into rows of casks.
"It is like a giant yeast propagator," said Emma.
"Through gravity, the yeast froth and wort are forced up a pipe into troughs. The
yeast settles out and is skimmed off to be used again and the wort circulates back
into the casks to complete the fermentation cycle."
Newly brewed beer, called green beer, is then piped off into holding cellars where
it is stored in casks where sugar and hops are added.
The cask conditioned ale is then entrusted to licensees who will rack the casks
and left for three days to reach perfection.
Although many pubs are struggling to cope with the effects of the smoking ban and
the recession, Marston's Burton brewery is performing well.
In July, it racked up 7,000 barrels of beer, a record number boosted by
sponsorship of the England cricket team during the successful Ashes series and
special beers to commemorate the competition.
It has also benefited from the increase in bottled beer sales and its products
such as Oyster Stout, Double Drop, Old Empire, Single Malt and, of course,
Pedigree feature prominently on supermarket shelves.
In fact, according to Marston's statistics, this year alone there are 780,000 more
customers for bottled ales.
Marston's Plc has its bottling plant in Burton and is the market leader in the
premium bottled ale market. It has a 17.9% market share as the shift in beer
consumption shifts from pubs to the off trade.
Charged with ensuring the business responds to these changes in the marketplace is
Des Gallagher, marketing manager for Marston's brands.
He said: "Everyone's heard about the numbers of pubs that are closing down. The
weather hasn't been our biggest friend and there was no barbecue summer that we
were promised so there has been a shift from sales in pubs to sales in
supermarkets.
"That said, you cannot replicate the experience of the British pub or the taste of
cask ale at home.
"It takes care and attention to look after it and people are still going out to
get real cask ale," said Des.
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responsibility, including the obligation to taste the product on a daily basis.
The brewery now produces between 250,000 and 300,000 barrels of beer per year,
each barrel containing 36 gallons.
To put it in layman's terms, each barrel contains 288 pints and the person
responsible for making sure that there are no bad pints among them is head brewer
Emma Gilleland.
She said: "Drinking the beer is all part of the job because yeast is a living
organism and working with a live product you can never take anything for granted."
While at Sheffield University studying biomedical technology, Emma came to Burton
on a student placement, working in the laboratory at Marston's.
In 1994, she joined the company as a trainee brewer, taking her brewing exams and
working her way up the ranks before being made head brewer at Marston's in summer
2007, becoming the nations highest profile female in such a position.
Emma said: "This is a very traditional industry which is male dominated but I'd
been in the industry for a long time.
"But I am sure some people thought that it was a bit odd to have a woman in
charge."
The strain of yeast that Marston's uses to produce Pedigree has not changed since
the 1830s, not long after the brewery was founded by John Marston. So essential is
this particular yeast to the flavour of Pedigree that a sample of the yeast has
been cryogenically frozen and stored so that more can be grown in the event of a
crisis at the brewery.
It is Emma's responsibility that every pint of beer produced by Marston's has
consistent flavour and aroma, whether it is intended for bottling at the Burton
plant, is produced as part of a contract for other brewers or is going out to
pubs.
Although quality control, security and general hygiene at the brewery have all
come a long way in the last 175 years, the ingredients and the process have stayed
very much the same since the 19th century.
The quantity of malt has massively increased as well and this year, between 130
and 150 tonnes are delivered per week and stored in Marston's six giant silos,
visible for miles around.
Emma said: "We crush the malt in the mills to get rid of the husk and expose the
endosperm." For the uninitiated, endosperm is the tissue produced in most
flowering plants containing the starch essential for beer production. This is then
mixed with hot brewing water but not just any water.
Essential to the quality of the finished product is the water used and Burton
water has special properties which has made the town one of the brewing capitals
of the world.
It was medieval monks who first discovered that the water in Burton was ideally
suited to producing beer.
What they probably didn't know was that it had been filtered through beds of
calcium sulphate which enriches the water with minerals.
"Other breweries all over the world have to Burtonise their water artificially,"
said Emma.
"Over the last 18 months we've invested around 1.5m to fit new water systems
because it is so important. It's particularly good for pale ales."
When the hot water is added, the process known as mashing takes place. "Mashing at
65 degrees activates the enzymes in the endosperm," said Emma.
Like a gigantic cup of tea, mashing takes place over an hour after which a clear
brown sugary liquid called sweet wort is extracted from the porridge-like
substance in the mashing tuns. Hops are boiled with the sweet wort in a giant
copper kettle then the spent hops are disposed off.
"We cool the wort down to around 15 degrees then the fermentation process begins
when the yeast is added. It breaks down into simple enzymes and the yeast mass is
multiplied by four," said Emma.
The fermentation process for Pedigree is carried out with the Burton Union System
which is unique to Marston's.
As the wort ferments, it is piped into rows of casks.
"It is like a giant yeast propagator," said Emma.
"Through gravity, the yeast froth and wort are forced up a pipe into troughs. The
yeast settles out and is skimmed off to be used again and the wort circulates back
into the casks to complete the fermentation cycle."
Newly brewed beer, called green beer, is then piped off into holding cellars where
it is stored in casks where sugar and hops are added.
The cask conditioned ale is then entrusted to licensees who will rack the casks
and left for three days to reach perfection.
Although many pubs are struggling to cope with the effects of the smoking ban and
the recession, Marston's Burton brewery is performing well.
In July, it racked up 7,000 barrels of beer, a record number boosted by
sponsorship of the England cricket team during the successful Ashes series and
special beers to commemorate the competition.
It has also benefited from the increase in bottled beer sales and its products
such as Oyster Stout, Double Drop, Old Empire, Single Malt and, of course,
Pedigree feature prominently on supermarket shelves.
In fact, according to Marston's statistics, this year alone there are 780,000 more
customers for bottled ales.
Marston's Plc has its bottling plant in Burton and is the market leader in the
premium bottled ale market. It has a 17.9% market share as the shift in beer
consumption shifts from pubs to the off trade.
Charged with ensuring the business responds to these changes in the marketplace is
Des Gallagher, marketing manager for Marston's brands.
He said: "Everyone's heard about the numbers of pubs that are closing down. The
weather hasn't been our biggest friend and there was no barbecue summer that we
were promised so there has been a shift from sales in pubs to sales in
supermarkets.
"That said, you cannot replicate the experience of the British pub or the taste of
cask ale at home.
"It takes care and attention to look after it and people are still going out to
get real cask ale," said Des.
1 Comment Add this link to... Bury
Shit eh ;-)...
There will be a couple of late entries for this event which will be...
There will be a couple of late entries for this event which will be...
Glad to hear it, Barry. Scotty did say he'd look after any judges who...
Would love to be there but will be at Castle Hill judging in the NSW comp....
Got my copy today.
Just a brief look at all the breweries.
Thanks very much, it was an honour to be there....
Hi Barry! It was an honour to hear you talk about your homebrewing...
Just a brief look at all the breweries.
Comments
Mmmm I could really go a pint of pedigree right now.