UK’s MEANTIME BREWING HIRES BAVARIAN EXPERTISE
Leading British microbrewers, Greenwich based Meantime Brewing, have awarded the contract to build their new 100 Hectolitre brewhouse to top fabricators ROLEC of Bavaria.
A number of factors put ROLEC ahead in a beauty contest of the world’s best brewery manufacturers; in particular the fact that the firm is owned by brewers.
Not only have ROLEC’s founders worked in breweries worldwide they have also installed equipment in a significant number of the leading microbreweries in the USA: firms that have played a major part in redefining beer making as part of America’s brewing revolution, including Stone, Magic Hat, Victory and Brooklyn.
Meantime Brewmaster, Alastair Hook said. “ROLEC are uniquely placed to combine traditional brewing engineering expertise, at which the Germans are unsurpassed, with an understanding of modern, uninhibited brewing methods as practiced by ROLEC clients in the USA and by Meantime in the UK. In short, it makes sense to work with a company that reflects Meantime’s values entirely.”
The new Meantime brewery on the Greenwich Peninsula – a mere 10 minutes walk from the O2 – will be amongst the most technologically advanced in the UK. The 100 Hl (60 UK barrel) brewhouse will enjoy state-of-the-art automation, freeing brewing staff to focus on the hallmark standards of quality and flavour upon which Meantime has built an international reputation.
Capacity growth to the 100,000 Hl per annum that Meantime believe London will soon be demanding will be achieved by incremental additions to the tank population currently employed at the existing premises. Some 30 or so vessels will be moved the 1.25 miles between breweries in a phased relocation by project managers M-Projects.
In addition to existing brewery tanks, M-Projects will be responsible for relocating the keg and bottling lines; upgrading the installation to current best practice; integration with the new brewhouse and design and installation of new services to the brewery, including planned expansion capability to reflect forecast growth.
M-Projects Operations Director, Matthew Hadwen said. “We are delighted to be part of such a prestigious development. We have great respect for Meantime; they are pushing the boundaries of crafted UK brewed beer in all directions. We expect to learn a lot during this project”.
Given that Meantime are a brewery unlike any other, Matthew Hadwen is almost certainly right. Alastair Hook explains. “Meantime use 10 different malts; up to 10 different yeast strains in any calendar year; 12 plus varieties of hop, and on top of that water from our own reverse osmosis plant, treated and blended to give unique and authentic beer characteristics. On top of that a variety of herbs, spices and fruits all fit in to the Meantime production matrix. Not only do we produce more beer styles than any other brewery in the UK, we have more packaging formats than most too. We don’t just put beer into bottles, kegs and casks we even oak age in wooden barrels. All of which means that in agreeing to automate our processes both firms have embraced a challenge that will tax their expertise to the full.”
In addition to a state-of-the-art brewery Meantime are also investing in a state-of-the-art visitors’ centre. A glass fronted mezzanine with access to the brewhouse platform will put visitors right at the heart of the operation and allow them to overlook all aspects of production and packaging from the comfort and safety of the training suite. The facility is designed to enable people to appreciate beer’s historical and cultural significance as well as its organoleptic and sensory attributes. It will be open to members of the public for organised tours as well for staff training for the growing number of pubs, bars, hotels and restaurants that stock Meantime’s award winning beers.
Meantime’s other new investment in 2010 will be a bar, restaurant and brewery in the new £6.5m Discover Greenwich complex at the Royal Naval College. This is to be opened by Mayor Boris Johnson on March 22nd 2010, to coincide with Meantime’s 10th birthday celebrations.
This new six barrel (10Hl) brewery will act as Meantime’s R&D facility as the company is committed to bringing a diversity of beer styles and flavours to the drinking public and already brews a wider range of beers than any other brewery in the UK. It will also act as the Meantime standard bearer until beer starts to flow from the new brewery sometime in August 2010.
Founded in 2000 Meantime Brewery is London’s largest privately owned brewery and is Britain’s leading brewer of quality hand-crafted bottled beers producing both traditional classic beers styles and new, innovate modern beers.
Meantime beer is nationally available through Sainsburys and around its homeland in many top bars and restaurants in central London, details of availability are at www.meantimebrewing.com
Meantime’s beers are fully matured in accordance with traditional brewing techniques and are never pasteurised, so ensuring absolute freshness of flavour.
In December 2008 Meantime founder and Brewmaster, Alastair Hook was named ‘Brewer of the Year’ by the British Guild of Beer Writers.
Meantime was the first and only UK brewery to win any medals at the World Beer Cup held in San Diego in April 2004, and is the only British brewery to wins medals at every subsequent World Beer Cup
At both the International Beer Challenge 2007 and 2008 Meantime had no fewer than 4 beers ranked in the World’s Top 50.
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