Library

IBD Membership Required

Hubble, bubble, boil and trouble

By: Roger Putman

01/01/2017

A look at the modern kettle – part 1 Once upon a time when brewing coppers were small and coal fired, during the last quarter of an hour of the boil the fire was intensifi ed with all the dampers opened and the wort got a ‘coup de feu’. The next job was to pull the fire rapidly to avoid charring the wort as the vessel was emptied. Small wonder then that the stokers got double the beer allowance of the rest of the workforce.

IBD Membership Required

Keeping cool in the cellar - Concepts for a new Unitank design

By: Thomas Brewer, Tanya Hulse, Paul Banham, John Hancock

01/01/2017

As part of investigations into new brewery designs, chemical engineers Thomas Brewer and Tanya Hulse from AB InBev have teamed up with chemical engineers Paul Banham and John Hancock from Briggs of Burton and extensively investigated different fermenter configurations, assessing them for construction and operational cost. The aim was part of a vision of the Brewery of the Future; to reduce the carbon footprint of beer, whilst enhancing brewing quality.

IBD Membership Required

Yeast and fermentation

By: Billy Mitchell

01/01/2017

This is the fourth article in the series to support those studying for the IBD General Certificate in Distilling. This will look at some of the practical and theoretical aspects of the fermentation process employed in spirits production. We shall discuss how the raw materials, defined and specified in my first article, when processed as detailed in articles two and three to produce a sugary ‘wort’ solution, can then be fermented by the action of yeast to produce ethyl alcohol and numerous other flavour compounds. I will also cover the Health and Safety implications, general maintenance overview and plant cleaning processes which arise.

IBD Membership Required

Icelandic pioneer: A visit to the island’s oldest brewery

By: Shane McNamara

01/01/2017

Brewing consistently high quality beers is no easy task. Now try and complete that task in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean on an island where the closest large land mass is Greenland. For over 100 years this has been the task of Ölgerdin Egill Skallagrímsson (Ölgerdin). Recently, the company began exporting its wide range of beers to Europe and North America.

IBD Membership Required

The quintessential alchemist - An ancient history of distillation

By: Ian Hornsey

01/01/2017

Although early alchemic texts tend to be shrouded in mystery, one thing that is certain is the fact that in the alchemist’s quest for the elixir of life, and in other processes, distillation played a central role.