10 November 2008 After 9 months of anxious waiting, the big day arrived on Monday with the delivery of a beautiful shiny stainless steel bottling line to the Brewery. The lift-in took a day and a half but now all tanks and the line are in position. There were a few anxious moments – the filler made it through the door with about 5mm clearance on either side! The race is on now to get the line up and running. This involves a team of 2 electricians and 5 welders working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week until the job is done. |
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27 October 2008 The bottling line delivery is very nearly upon us. I went over to the Czech Republic a couple of weeks ago to check on progress. All went well, but it became apparent that the manufacture was a little bit behind where it should be. It was decided that delivery would be delayed 2 weeks to allow everything to be finished off but, more importantly to allow it to be thoroughly workshop tested before sending it over. The equipment will now be delivered on 10th November. On site, preparations have been carrying on apace. The civil works are complete, the micro testing facility in our laboratory is operational and we are now holding stock of all the necessary packaging materials – including 48,464 bottles that arrived on Friday. Jimmy Swan, Head Brewer |
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September 2008 About 95% of the beer brewed at Wye Valley Brewery goes into casks for sale to pubs and this has long been our main focus. Currently our bottled beer is brewed here at Stoke Lacy and tankered off site to be bottled by another brewery. Early this year, we decided it was about time we put in our own bottling line. The line will be installed in what used to be the apple pressing shed when the site was owned by Symmonds Cider. This out-building had been used by us as a general junk store and was in a state of significant disrepair. Sections of the walls and roof have now been reinstated as well as installation of new drains, a hygienic resin floor and a heating and lighting scheme. The line itself will arrive in October. It will be capable of filling 2400 bottles per hour. Because our beers are bottle conditioned, we do not pasteurise them. The line is therefore designed to fill ‘aseptically' – in other words, ensuring absolutely no bugs get into the bottle. The line incorporates a number of features to ensure that this is the case – for example, the filler cabinet is maintained at a positive air pressure compared to its surroundings with sterile filtered air. Also, the bottles are rinsed with sterilised water and even the bottle caps are sterilised prior to application. All process water and gas is sterile filtered too. The installation of the line has also prompted an upgrade to our laboratory facilities and includes creation of an in-house micro testing facility. This is a major investment for Wye Valley Brewery but will give us total control over the quality of all beer leaving site and in that regard, will be a small price to pay. |
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