Marstons Brewery. Brewing School visits 1968 to 1969

Marstons PLC Brewery, Burton on Trent

Visit by Brewing School students - 19 March 1969

Marston's have 1,200 retail outlets and many free trade. The houses are concentrated around the East Midlands and the areas of small breweries long since taken over by the main company – Worcester, Market Drayton, Appleby etc. Towards the end of the last century Marston's and Thompson's merged and took over the Mann Crossman and Paulin premises when the latter moved back to London. In 1906 Eversheds also joined the company. Present output is averaging 3,800 barrels per week with a maximum of five thousand.

In common with other Burton breweries, liquor is taken from wells on the west side of the town below the gypsum laden hills. Marstons have eight wells on their sports field adjoining the brewery. The brewery is small and compact. One brew per day taking 12 and a half hours to complete (7am to 7:30 pm). Four 300 quarter malt silos. Maximum 100 quarter mash. Strike at 162oF and mash at 150°-151½°F. Three mash tons of ancient construction. 50 quarters (maximum 70) and two 25 quarters, maximum 30. One hour stand. First worts through in two hours and five minutes. 80 barrel per hour runoff. Six barrels per quarter malt through the mash tun to the copper. Different lengths are boiled separately.

3 x 110 barrel coppers boiled under slight pressure. 7.5% Styrian in the hop grist, cheaper alpha acid 7/10 pence a pound for 1968 English and 8/2 for Styrian. The latter was to assist fining! Brewing sugars dissolved in the under back. Two hour boil. No copper finings.

Closed cooler before the paraflows. 15 minutes stand before for the plate heat exchanger and flow is taken from the surface at 180°F. Cool by well water at 50°F. Breakdown is worked out in inches of different coppers and the final volume declared in collecting vessels. The old dropping system is being reorganised in a modernised fermenting room below. Yield is around 700 to 1,200 barrels per 100 quarters of malt.

Burton Union system is used for Pedigree and Owd Rodger, primary use is production of good pitching yeast so the sets will be continued even though uneconomical in terms of beer production. Two 630 barrel FVs are installed with no CO² collection as yet, said to be the "biggest in town". Since beer is racked in 110 barrel units, the yeast counts could differ at rack from those large vessels. Centrifuges being considered.

The firm believes that is a future in draft beer in cask keeping yeast relatively high to mop up nutrients and prevent infection.