B
ehind The scenes in
1889
Extracts from Alfred Barnard’s ‘Noted Breweries’ enables us to look around Mann, Crossman & Paulin’s Albion Brewery “On the floor of the brewhouse… are five mash tuns fitted with copper covers, three of them constructed of iron and two of wood. All of them are fitted with Steel’s mashing machines, and contain internal revolving rakes, sparging apparatus, and draining plates… All the tuns are in continual use to keep pace with the requirements of the business.”
Barnard VisiTs In 1889-1891, Alfred Barnard visited over 110 breweries throughout the country. His mission was to produce detailed narratives on each, including descriptions of their technical equipment, brewing process and beers. This colossal undertaking resulted in a four-volume publication, ‘The Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland’. The Avenue in the Great Tun Room
“We next directed our steps to the great settling-back room, once the vat house, containing a number of these vessels fitted with attemporators, and used for bitter and stock ales.”
Barnard visited three in the East End: Truman’s Black Eagle Brewery, Charrington’s Anchor Brewery, and the Albion Brewery of Mann, Crossman & Paulin. The reports were somewhat flattering – after all, he hoped the brewers would use facsimile versions as self-promotional pamphlets. Nevertheless, it’s thanks to Barnard’s work that we can go ‘behind the scenes’ to see how these breweries were organised. 23