1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,040 We drink more than seven and a half billion pints 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:07,600 of beer a year. 3 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:10,320 That's more than 20 million every day. 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:15,680 No wonder it's the nation's favourite alcoholic drink. 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:17,720 Whether you're making craft ales, 6 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,720 stout, or lager, 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,160 brewing is a complex process that involves malting, 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,240 mashing and fermenting. 9 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,320 It's all happening in here... 10 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,000 ..at Britain's biggest brewery. 11 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,000 I'm Gregg Wallace... 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,800 I've never seen anything like this. 13 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,040 The scale of this production is ginormous. 14 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,360 ..and I'll be following the incredible journey lager takes 15 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,040 from barley to beverage. 16 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,920 One small step for mankind. 17 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,800 It's a very long way for a pint of beer. 18 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,160 I'm Cherry Healey... 19 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,840 Oh, wow! 20 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:00,600 ..and I'll be discovering the secrets of the perfect pint. 21 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:03,280 You can really smell the alcohol, actually. 22 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:05,240 Historian Ruth Goodman... 23 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:06,680 Gosh, that is dark. 24 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,920 ..discovers how beer got its stereotypically blokey reputation. 25 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,680 Men get interested in brewing when it gets a bit more lucrative? 26 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,080 Yes. 27 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,040 Over the next 24 hours, three million pints of beer 28 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,440 will roll off the end of this production line. 29 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,800 That is a big night by anyone's standards! 30 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,760 Welcome to Inside The Factory. 31 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,400 This is the Molson Coors Brewery in Burton upon Trent. 32 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:03,320 They've been making beer on this site since 1777 33 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,840 and today they knock out six different varieties. 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,560 Tonight, we follow the production of their biggest seller, 35 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,800 which is also the UK's most popular lager, 36 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:15,120 Carling. 37 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,160 But no matter what kind you're making, all beers 38 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,680 are traditionally made from just four key ingredients - 39 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:26,800 water, hops, yeast and barley. 40 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,120 This humble grain is essential, providing the nutrients 41 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:34,080 that kick-start the brewing process. 42 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,520 It's as important to the beer as grapes are to wine. 43 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,240 Cherry's helping out with the harvest. 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:49,240 Overbury Farms in the Cotswolds produces 1,200 tonnes 45 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:51,520 of barley every year. 46 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,120 Farmer Jake Freestone has been growing this lot 47 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:59,320 for the last 11 months, and today it's ready for cutting. 48 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:00,440 Hi, Jake. 49 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,160 Cherry, hi. It's lovely to meet you. Lovely to meet you, too. 50 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,960 I feel like I've picked a good time, it's just far enough away! 51 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,080 That is a big old combine harvester. 52 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:09,160 It is, yes. 53 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,960 That's quite a large machine and it's got a lot of capacity. 54 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,520 We can cut about 400 tonnes of barley seed a day 55 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,120 with that one machine. 56 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:18,760 So why are you harvesting today? 57 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,760 Well, the crop is fit and it's ripe and it's ready to be harvested. 58 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,360 The weather forecast are for heavy thunderstorms 59 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:25,800 from about three o'clock onwards. 60 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,400 Oh, my God! So we've got a bit of pressure. 61 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,360 It's now a race against time to complete the harvest. 62 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,360 Wow, look at that! 63 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:39,640 That is an absolute monster machine. 64 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,240 That's taking about ten and a half metres wide. 65 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,560 Why have you got a big, rotating cone? 66 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,480 So that just helps to feed the crop into the knife. 67 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:48,560 Right. So it pulls it in. 68 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,480 At the bottom of there, 69 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:52,200 there's a knife cutting. 70 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,600 I've never seen a machine that looks so much like an animal - 71 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,120 eating, eating, eating, 72 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,320 kind of digesting and then spitting it out at the back. 73 00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,480 And then spitting the rubbish out the back. 74 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,480 Travelling at just two miles an hour, the combine pulls 75 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,560 the barley into threshing drums, which rip the seed heads away 76 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:12,800 from the stalks. 77 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,480 The grain is carefully collected. 78 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:22,480 While the leftovers are used for animal bedding. 79 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,360 Oh, my God! It's better than a fairground ride. 80 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:27,720 It's real! 81 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,720 Jake needs three dry July days to clear his fields. 82 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:43,280 It's a round-the-clock job, made easier by the technology 83 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,400 on board his harvester. 84 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,360 I don't want to sound like a nervous passenger but I have noticed 85 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,720 that you're not in any way driving this or touching any buttons 86 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,560 or anything. Are we all right? 87 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:56,240 We're absolutely fine. 88 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,480 The wonders of modern technology means that we've got a computer 89 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:03,080 programme on board here that is following a defined line 90 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:04,200 up the field. 91 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,040 So there's absolutely no need to steer until we get to the end. 92 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,760 Is it autopilot? Autopilot on here. 93 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:12,320 And on the screen, I can show you where we are. 94 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:15,320 So this is the combine in the field. That's amazing! 95 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,840 It's tracking the field and giving you a path to go on? 96 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:19,120 Yep. 97 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,920 Once the tank is full, we can tell the waiting tractor 98 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,960 we're ready to unload, at the push of a button. 99 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,120 Just once? That's it. Just once. 100 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,080 There you go, look. Look in the mirror. 101 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:34,960 That is one big old pipe. 102 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:36,680 Here's the tractor. Here comes Gord. 103 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,720 Then if you press that yellow one there for unloading... 104 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,320 Three, two, one... Off we go. 105 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,040 Out. I mean, look at the ferocity of the grain 106 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:46,960 coming out of that pipe. Yep. 107 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,760 Nothing about this operation is half-hearted. 108 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:53,560 Everything is full-throttle. Full-throttle. 109 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,000 And that can unload nine tonnes in about two minutes. 110 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:58,640 And yet, still you're going, still you're harvesting. 111 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:00,080 Still harvesting. 112 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,600 That's it. And off it goes. Off it goes back to the grain store. 113 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,480 No time to lose. 114 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,920 Look, he's absolutely going like the clappers. 115 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:15,400 Each tractor unloads nine tonnes of barley into the intake pit. 116 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,160 Conveyor belts transport it up into the rafters 117 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,080 and through a series of grates, which sieve out any larger pieces 118 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,160 of straw or debris. 119 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,360 The clean barley then drops down into the storage area, 120 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:34,600 just as the heavens open. 121 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,440 Oh, my God! Whoa! 122 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:41,040 And here it is in all its glory. 123 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:42,360 Look at your happy face. I know! 124 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,960 That is a happy face! 125 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,160 Oh, look at that. 126 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:49,920 It's absolutely beautiful. 127 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:51,800 Are you happy with it? Very happy with it. 128 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:53,480 Really, really pleased. 129 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:59,160 600 tonnes of clean, dry grain. 130 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,480 So this barley is now ready to head off to start 131 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,080 its transformation into beer. 132 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,520 From the farm, the raw barley heads 56 miles north 133 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,120 to Burton upon Trent. 134 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:22,720 But it can't go straight to the brewery. 135 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,240 Before it can be used to make beer, its internal chemistry 136 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:27,440 has to be altered. 137 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:34,320 And that happens here at Shobnall Maltings. 138 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,920 The operation is overseen by production manager Mark Warren. 139 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,120 Gregg. Pleased to meet you. Nice to meet you. 140 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,120 I've come to see the barley unloaded. 141 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,200 Our beer production begins. 142 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,960 With only four main ingredients, you might think this would be 143 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,560 a quick process, but you'd be wrong. 144 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,680 It'll take nearly two weeks to turn this lot into beer. 145 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,360 How much barley on that truck? 146 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,640 About 29 to 30 tonnes. 147 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:09,320 That's a lot of barley. 148 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:14,120 Yeah. We can handle up to 1,200 tonne a day if we're really pushed. 149 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,720 Is he dumping it into the floor? 150 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,160 Into this pit. There's an elevator there, up through the building 151 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,000 and over into a silo. 152 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,280 Wow! 153 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,960 In just 30 minutes, this clever subterranean system 154 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,160 transports all the barley to the silos. 155 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,000 How do you turn this into beer? 156 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,360 What has barley got that makes beer? 157 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,680 What that is is a food package full of starch. 158 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:54,080 All we're going to do is break down the cell walls that hold 159 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,920 that starch together, that allows it then to be converted 160 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,360 into sugars at the brewery. 161 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:04,200 It's these sugars that will give us our all-important alcohol. 162 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:06,880 What's that process called? Malting. 163 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,680 Is that a traditional way? Is that the way we've always done it? 164 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:11,640 Since Egyptian times. 165 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:13,600 Is this malting a long process? 166 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,440 I'm afraid so, yes! 167 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,120 Are you happy to show me how it's done? 168 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:18,640 I certainly am. 169 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:19,840 Where? Let's go this way. 170 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:21,840 Thank you very much. 171 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:29,720 Over 40 tonnes of barley is piped from the silos... 172 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:30,800 Right. 173 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,400 ..into one of ten giant containers 174 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,320 called steeping vessels. 175 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,040 This is the start of the malting process. 176 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:48,000 The barley is submerged in 138,000 litres of oxygenated water. 177 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,080 What we're basically doing is tricking the barley into growing. 178 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,800 We're doing what happens in nature in the ground. 179 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,200 So we're giving it moisture and air. 180 00:09:58,200 --> 00:09:59,920 This is a seed. Yes. 181 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:01,480 Are you trying to get the seed to grow? 182 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,920 Yes. And you're going to trick it into thinking, what, 183 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,200 it's fallen into the ground? Yeah. 184 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:07,560 Right. 185 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:08,920 OK. 186 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,280 The confused seeds absorb the water. 187 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,480 And after more than 40 hours soaking in this bath, 188 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,960 they've tripled their moisture content. 189 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:23,640 Oh, I thought that would be a mush! 190 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,160 No. I thought that would be a complete mush. It's not. 191 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:27,760 So now 192 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,000 that's what we call a chit. 193 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,160 A chit. 194 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,720 And that is where the rootlets would form. 195 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,320 That little white root that's coming out of there... 196 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,520 That's right, yeah. That's the seed growing? 197 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:40,160 Yeah. 198 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,840 This growth is triggered by the release of starch 199 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,080 inside the seed. 200 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:48,600 So this is a little self-contained, living organism? 201 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:49,960 Yes. 202 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,720 And what is making that root grow is the energy that's coming 203 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,680 from the starch? That's right. 204 00:10:55,680 --> 00:10:57,160 Wow! 205 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,800 Well, listen, I was never very good at science at school, 206 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,080 in fact, I didn't go to school much, but I understand this perfectly. 207 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,400 Each grain of barley is changing its internal chemistry. 208 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:12,000 But they're in no hurry. 209 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,840 We're already nearly two days into production. 210 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,560 Is there something about the slow speed of the process 211 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:20,040 that appeals to you? 212 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,280 Yes. There's nothing here that can't be solved by a cup 213 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:25,800 of tea and thinking about it. 214 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:30,720 Luckily, this next stage is a no-brainer. 215 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,560 Just like when you're planting seeds, once they've had a good 216 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:36,800 water, next, they need warmth. 217 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,720 And that's supplied in these mysterious-looking buildings 218 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,760 called germination tanks. 219 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:48,600 There are four of them here and they're all controlled 220 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,040 from this room. 221 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:51,840 A bit of cool retro tech! 222 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,280 Very important retro tech, though. 223 00:11:56,280 --> 00:11:57,720 Shall I wear flares? 224 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:04,920 Each of these tanks contains 330 tonnes of chitted grain. 225 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,080 Uh-ho-ho! 226 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:10,920 What is THIS? 227 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,800 What is this?! 228 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,760 This is germination. 229 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:17,160 Germination. 230 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,520 This looks like a cross between sand dunes and a baker's bun. 231 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,080 It's warm in here, it's humid in here. 232 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,520 Right, this is the perfect conditions to grow the grain. 233 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,560 Giant fans blow humid air at 16 degrees Celsius 234 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:36,960 up through the grain bed. 235 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:39,640 How deep is this? 236 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,120 This is about 1.8 metres. 237 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,080 If I tread on there, do we just, like, 238 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:47,720 sink to the bottom? 239 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,640 No, we don't. Come on, I'll show you. 240 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,000 Hmm. I think I might let Mark go first. 241 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,320 MUSIC: Walking On The Moon by The Police 242 00:12:58,400 --> 00:12:59,920 It seems safe enough. 243 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:02,480 Oh, wow! 244 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,120 It's, er... 245 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,000 It's not like walking on the beach because the beach is firmer. 246 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,520 I am actually sinking, my feet are sinking in there. 247 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,520 It is safe, right? It's perfectly safe! 248 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,400 It's really, really soft. 249 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,680 One small step for mankind. 250 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,560 A very long way for a pint of beer. 251 00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:23,520 Oh, I really love this. 252 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:31,120 Inside the grain, the chemical transformation is almost complete. 253 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,480 How do you know it's ready? 254 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:34,760 Look at two things. 255 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,320 One is what we call the acrospire, which will become the stem 256 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:40,360 of the plant, which is growing up inside the grain. 257 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:42,920 So we split it open and look there. 258 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:46,440 And then secondly, I just rub it through my fingers. 259 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:47,920 It's definitely squishy. 260 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,520 In fact, you can feel the starch. 261 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,000 It's powdery and sticky. That's right. 262 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,720 How long does it stay in here for? 263 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:54,920 Four days. 264 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:56,560 This is not a fast process, is it? 265 00:13:56,560 --> 00:13:58,880 No! It really isn't. 266 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:01,120 But this is now ready to be made into beer? 267 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,520 No, we've got one final stage for that. 268 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,080 The starch in the barley is now unlocked. 269 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,000 And to stop the seeds eating it all up before it can be used 270 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,600 to make beer, we have to halt the germination process. 271 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:23,200 Nearly six days after it arrived, the barley is dried in this massive 272 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,640 kiln for 21 hours. 273 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,120 So this is it, this is our finished product? 274 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:36,400 This is malted barley. 275 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,120 We took barley in at the start, this is now malted barley 276 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:40,600 for the brewery. 277 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,960 It pours through a grate into the back of a lorry, 278 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,200 which is driven backwards and forwards 279 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,720 to ensure even distribution. 280 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,760 That's an easy job, isn't it, that? 281 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,200 I want that job - move a lorry back and forwards. 282 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,680 It doesn't look a great deal different than it's looked 283 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,200 throughout the rest of the process. It doesn't. 284 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,960 And I have a sample here. 285 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:12,960 It smells malty, though. 286 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,280 That's right, it smells malty. 287 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:15,880 You can now eat this. Can you? 288 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:17,560 Yeah, it's rather nice. 289 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,560 Ooh! 290 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:23,280 Ooh, let's cover them in chocolate. 291 00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:25,280 Has anyone thought about that?! 292 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,720 Is that it now? Is that ready to be made into lager? 293 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,000 It is. You can go make your beer with that now. 294 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,440 Mark, thank you very much indeed. 295 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:35,600 It's a pleasure. 296 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,680 I'm going to head down the road to the brewery with this lot. 297 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,120 And it's no accident, you know, that this town is famous 298 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,960 for its beer, as Ruth is discovering. 299 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:52,080 Burton is the heart of brewing in Britain. 300 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,480 Home to over 30 breweries at its peak in the 1880s. 301 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,840 But why did they cluster here? 302 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:10,920 Apparently, this is the answer. 303 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:12,760 Right across Burton, 304 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:15,120 there's a series of pumping 305 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,080 stations and wells. 306 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:24,160 This is the secret to brewing beer in Burton for hundreds of years. 307 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:29,120 That looks pretty good. 308 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,720 So what is it about this water that is so special? 309 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:36,440 To find out, 310 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,080 I'm heading to the town's National Brewery Centre, 311 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:42,360 where I'm meeting master brewer Steve Wellington. 312 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:43,960 Steve. Hello, Ruth. 313 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,120 What fabulous machines. What are these? 314 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,040 Aren't they, just? These are very old water pumps. 315 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,560 These pumps drew up the water the town used for brewing. 316 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:02,760 So what is it about this water that helps to make this beer? 317 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:05,240 It is very, very hard water. 318 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,520 If you drop that on the ground and it evaporated, 319 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,320 you'd get a white stain. 320 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,320 Right. Now, what is in there are two salts. 321 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:17,320 One is magnesium sulphate, the other is calcium sulphate. 322 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:21,320 Compared to soft water, hard water has a very high mineral 323 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:25,640 count - perfect for brewing strong, highly flavoured beers. 324 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:27,800 Oh, gosh, that's quite nice. 325 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,840 It is quite good, isn't it?! 326 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:35,720 But it wasn't just the water in the beer that was important. 327 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,560 The canal network around Burton allowed boats to bring ingredients 328 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,120 in and take finished beer out, 329 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:46,400 shipping it around the UK and on to all corners 330 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:47,960 of the British Empire. 331 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:54,040 11 years ago, author Pete Brown retraced the journey 332 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,160 some of those exports took. 333 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,120 Pete, hello! 334 00:17:58,120 --> 00:17:59,640 Hi, Ruth. 335 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,000 So am I right in thinking that you took beer from Burton 336 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,200 all the way to India? 337 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,680 A whole barrel, right from here all the way to Calcutta, 338 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:09,880 going the old-fashioned route, the long way round. 339 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,200 And this very marina was the first leg of my journey. 340 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,440 That meant 140 miles by canal to London, 341 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:21,560 then 18,000 miles by sea to India. 342 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:22,600 It took a while. 343 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:24,720 The original route was about six months' long. 344 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:25,920 So one heck of a journey. 345 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,400 I mean, why were we exporting beer all that way? 346 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,920 Well, before we had refrigeration, you couldn't really get away 347 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:33,080 with brewing in India. 348 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,480 And so the beer had to go out there and it had to be really, 349 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,280 really good-quality beer. 350 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:44,160 Over time, a strong but pale ale evolved, that could survive 351 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:45,960 the long sea voyage. 352 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,520 This export earned the name India Pale Ale, 353 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,040 or IPA. 354 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,280 This is probably the closest survivor to that style 355 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:57,000 that we've got today. 356 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,440 It's a heck of a lot paler 357 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,960 than the earlier dark ale, isn't it? It is. 358 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:03,440 I mean, it's not as pale as IPAs are today, 359 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,920 but it's much paler than the dark porters and stouts 360 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:07,800 that were prevalent beforehand. Yeah. 361 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,400 And such was their success, pretty soon they spread 362 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:11,480 around the world. 363 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,160 India Pale Ale became pretty much the world's first global beer style. 364 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:19,920 This pale ale turned 19th-century Burton 365 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,320 into the undisputed capital of brewing. 366 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:30,240 At its peak, one quarter of all beer sold in Britain was produced here. 367 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,440 And all because of that extra special water. 368 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:45,400 My 27 tonnes of malted barley has covered the one mile journey 369 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:48,400 from the maltings to the brewery. 370 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:52,000 This place is colossal! 371 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,360 Spanning 120 acres, this huge site is over 372 00:19:56,360 --> 00:19:58,200 half a mile across. 373 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:03,200 At the intake area, six lorry loads of malted barley 374 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,720 arrive every day. 375 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:09,160 Brewing manager Andy Runcie is waiting for me. 376 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:11,680 Are you Andy? 377 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,040 Hi, Gregg, how are you? I'm good, mate. 378 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,120 I have got a truck of malted barley here. 379 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:18,240 What do I do with it? 380 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,560 You leave that there, it'll get off-loaded here, 381 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:21,760 and we'll go make some beer. 382 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,440 That is a good idea. Show me where to go. 383 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:30,520 My malt is unloaded and a system of conveyors transport it 30 metres 384 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,920 to the top of the six-storey brew house. 385 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,320 Have we got to go up there? Yeah, all the way up the top. 386 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,760 Why do you need to brew beer in a tower? 387 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,000 Historically, all brew houses were built in a tower 388 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,200 because you get to pump it up once and then gravity does all the hard 389 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:46,640 work after that. Come on, then. 390 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:48,120 I hope you're fit and well like me. 391 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:58,120 By harnessing the power of gravity instead of using pumps, 392 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:00,880 the brewery can save energy and money. 393 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,400 Mate, this is a bit much, isn't it? 394 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:12,000 At the top, the malted barley arrives at the hammer mill. 395 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:15,200 At last! 396 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,520 I've climbed a mountain of stairs. 397 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:18,920 Is this beer-making? 398 00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:20,600 This is starting to make beer, Gregg. 399 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,760 Right, OK, so apart from being hot and noisy, what is it doing? 400 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,880 This is taking the malted barley that you brought from the maltings 401 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,560 and turning it into this fine powder. We call it grist. 402 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,320 Looks like baking powder. 403 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,560 Inside the mill, 128 little hammers called flails 404 00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:42,120 spin at 1,500 rpm. 405 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:46,520 As the malted barley drops down, it's smashed against these hammers, 406 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,560 crushing each grain into tiny particles, 407 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,960 most less than a millimetre across. 408 00:21:52,960 --> 00:22:00,080 This ferocious contraption crushes nearly four kilograms every second. 409 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:04,040 That means that in just one hour, it produces enough ground barley 410 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:08,480 to make 224,000 pints. 411 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:09,960 Right, and you call that a grist? 412 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,600 Yeah. Is it a grist? Yeah, grist of the mill. 413 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,320 OK, I've got a grist at the end of me wrist. 414 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,120 Yes. 415 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,840 I think I'm getting to grips with the brewing lingo. 416 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:30,640 The grist drops down into imaginatively named grist cases 417 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,400 on its way to the mash vessels, 418 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,000 where the brewing process 419 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,680 begins in earnest. 420 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,120 Oh! That's like R2-D2's head. 421 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:41,800 That's the mash vessel. 422 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:46,360 Well, that's just a big empty tank. 423 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,520 That's because we need to mash in. 424 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,360 Mash in? Yeah. 425 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:51,880 Mash in? 426 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:55,480 That's another one for the brewing dictionary. 427 00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,400 In order to mash in, 428 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,040 we need some help from the control room. 429 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,040 Andy is letting me do the honours. 430 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:06,920 What do I press and what do I say? 431 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,840 Press the button and say, "OK to mash in". 432 00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,520 OK to mash in. Over. 433 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,880 Yeah, OK. 434 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:16,160 Yeah, agreed. 435 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:19,040 He reckons that's one of the best mash in messages he's ever had. 436 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:20,360 Classic. 437 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,720 11 tonnes of grist are released into the mash vessel, 438 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,480 followed by 26,000 litres of water, 439 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,880 heated to precisely 66.5 degrees Celsius. 440 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,920 A combination of water and heat help start a chemical reaction, 441 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,760 which causes the starch molecules in the grist 442 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:41,560 to break down into sugars. 443 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,720 It's this sugar that will ultimately turn into alcohol. 444 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,080 But we're way off that yet. 445 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:52,800 That grist is coming out with the water. 446 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:53,880 It's a creamy colour. 447 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,400 Yes. Well, actually, it's coffee-coloured. 448 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,760 That is like an enormous great latte. 449 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:01,320 Yeah, it's a very thin mash. 450 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,440 So tell me, please, what is happening? 451 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:06,160 Why hot water? 452 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,080 By using that temperature, we get as much sugar as we need, 453 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,600 but we leave a little bit left over to give it a little bit 454 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,080 of sweetness in the final beer. 455 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,600 And this is the famous Burton water, right? 456 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:17,440 Perfect for making beer. Yeah. 457 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,560 This is what the town was built on but now, because of modern 458 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,160 standards, we need to purify that water first. 459 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,120 I thought it was perfect for making beer? 460 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:28,080 It was when they first started but obviously standards change. 461 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,160 Oh, right. So now we purify it and add back in what we need. 462 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:33,240 So 150 years ago, you could just draw the water 463 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:34,400 from the well. Yeah. 464 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,120 Different health and safety laws now. Yes. How long does this take? 465 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:38,680 It takes an hour and 50 minutes. Right. 466 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:40,920 But there's one over there if you'd like to have a look at that. 467 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:43,000 You're getting the hang of this telly lark, aren't you? 468 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,360 I'm starting to get there. 469 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,560 It takes just 60 minutes of heating to extract all that starch 470 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,280 and convert it to sugar. 471 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:56,520 So the mash is finished now. 472 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:58,840 Now that looks like beer. 473 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:01,440 It's brown and it's got a foamy head. 474 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:02,480 But... 475 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:05,240 ..that's got no aroma. 476 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,520 No, because that's just a sugary liquid at this point. 477 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:11,040 Right. So what has it done exactly, just got the sugars out? 478 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,040 It's made a nice, sugary liquid for us. 479 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,920 How do you know you've got all the sugars out? 480 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,600 We do a test. 481 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,640 So I'm going to take a sample now and we'll go and do that test. 482 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,960 Using what looks like a pole vaulter's pole with a cup 483 00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,400 on the end, Andy extracts a small amount of the finished 484 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,480 mash to inspect. 485 00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,080 It smells malty. 486 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,440 Yeah, that's what we want. 487 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,280 Right, so you've got your sample. 488 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:42,640 Yeah. What are you testing for? 489 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:44,680 So if we put this in here. 490 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,080 We add iodine. 491 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,040 And if there's any black left over when we've mixed it, 492 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:54,560 we've not done our job properly. 493 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,680 Iodine will react black with starch. 494 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,240 We're just checking that there's no starch left over. 495 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:03,560 So all the starch that the malt has produced, you need to turn 496 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:04,640 into sugar, all of it? 497 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:06,960 Yes, we don't want any starch. Right. 498 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,360 So if that goes black, there's some starch in there... 499 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:13,880 Yep. ..and that process, that mashing, hasn't worked? No. 500 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,560 OK. How long do you leave it? It's done. 501 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,240 We can see that's a really good mash. Perfect! 502 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:20,960 Ready to move. Monster mash. 503 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:22,600 Yeah. Perfect. 504 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,880 Am I allowed to taste that at that stage? 505 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:27,520 Of course you can. 506 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:31,520 Andy, right now that looks like a dirty puddle. 507 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:33,560 It's just the first stage of the process. 508 00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:35,800 If I drink this, collapse on the floor, 509 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,360 and I come up with fangs and pointy ears, 510 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:40,200 can you tell my wife I love her? 511 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:41,440 Of course I will. 512 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,480 Ooh! 513 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,080 Ooh! That's sweet. 514 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:50,680 Yeah. That's really sweet. 515 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,720 Right now, it's hard to believe this sugary, non-alcoholic liquid 516 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,520 will become lager, but Andy assures me it will. 517 00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:05,000 As I'm discovering, brewing is a complex process, 518 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:09,440 yet there are only four ingredients traditionally used to make beer. 519 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:12,520 Cherry is getting to grips with the recipe. 520 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,800 I've got to admit, when I walk into a pub, 521 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:25,600 the array of beer choices can be a little bit overwhelming. 522 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:30,400 How can the same basic ingredients make one beer that looks like this, 523 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,120 and another beer that looks like this? 524 00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:40,400 To find out, I'm going to a micro brewery in Walthamstow, 525 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:45,400 East London, to meet chemical- engineer-turned-brewer Jaega Wise. 526 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:49,240 Hi, Jaega, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. 527 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:51,400 What a beautiful spread. 528 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:53,080 So what do we have here? 529 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,520 We've got porter, an IPA, and a lager. 530 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:59,240 And they really are at the extremes of what you can create 531 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,680 with four ingredients. 532 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,800 Malted barley, hops, yeast, and water are the basis 533 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:07,360 of all beers. 534 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:10,520 But, subtle differences in these ingredients have a big 535 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,760 impact on taste and appearance. 536 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,360 It all starts with the water. 537 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:18,360 So, where we are in London, the water's very hard, 538 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,240 naturally. 539 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:24,520 Hard water is ideal for brewing porters and stouts. 540 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:28,680 Soft water, on the other hand, is better for lighter beers 541 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,160 with more delicate flavours. 542 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,160 One of the most famous places in the world for very soft water 543 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,520 is Pilsen, as in in the Czech Republic. 544 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,960 And that's where the Pilsner has developed. 545 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:44,760 Today, Jaega's using good old London tap water to make a porter. 546 00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:48,360 What gives a porter that dark colour? 547 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:53,520 It is all about the very, very dark, roasted barley. 548 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,720 This is the fundamental difference between a beer like this, 549 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:58,320 and a lager. 550 00:28:58,320 --> 00:29:01,680 We can create chocolate flavours, we can create coffee flavours. 551 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,560 Mm! All from the intensity of the roast. 552 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,200 Roasting the barley before brewing 553 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,960 brings out different flavours in the beer. 554 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,440 Ooh, just on top of it, perfect, that's it. 555 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:16,480 Mashing this toasted grain with hot water... 556 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:19,640 Oh, look at that, wow! 557 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:23,160 ..gives porter its dark colour and helps create those 558 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,880 rich stout flavours. 559 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:30,480 For IPA, or lager, like the one Gregg's making, 560 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,000 brewers would use lighter malts. 561 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,480 Now, it is time for ingredient number three - 562 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:37,200 hops. 563 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,240 Hop plants are climbing vines that grow up to ten metres tall, 564 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:44,960 and produce leafy green flowers. 565 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,880 These flowers give beer its aroma and bitterness, 566 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,200 and work as a preservative. 567 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,280 Are there more than one variety of hops? 568 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:55,720 There are a lot of different varieties of hop. 569 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,240 So, this one in particular, this one's known as Centennial. 570 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,560 So this is a hop from the US, you can probably smell 571 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,760 it's quite pungent. Very strong! Yeah. 572 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,680 What is it in the hops that make them perfect for beer? 573 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,040 So, the main things we're concerned with - 574 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:11,640 the alpha acids, the beta acids, and the essential oils. 575 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:15,560 So, the alpha acids is what gives our beer its bitterness. 576 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,680 The beta acids, there's been lots of research showing 577 00:30:18,680 --> 00:30:20,880 that's where beer gets a lot of its stability 578 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,840 and its antibacterial properties. 579 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:25,760 And your essential oils, so that lovely citrus note 580 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:29,640 you can smell, that is what us, as brewers, that is what we're after. 581 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:34,520 Porters require a very bitter hop in order to balance out 582 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,160 the flavours from the roasted malts. 583 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,840 Hops away! 584 00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,520 While lager tends to use more subtle varieties. 585 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:47,400 The final ingredient is yeast, 586 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:51,320 which gives us that crucial alcohol. 587 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,760 So, if you hop on to the step, we should be able to see some 588 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:55,000 yeast in action. All right. 589 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,680 This porter uses a strain of ale yeast. 590 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,520 Ready? Yep. 591 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:01,400 Oh, wow! 592 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:05,440 You can really smell the alcohol, actually. 593 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:07,720 What is this bubbly area around here? 594 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,680 So, this is actually the yeast sat on top, 595 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,720 and it's how ale yeast likes to behave. 596 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,080 We call it top fermenting, so, it likes to ferment and really 597 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:18,120 sit on the top. 598 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,480 Whereas a lager likes to ferment on the bottom, 599 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:22,160 so we call it bottom fermenting. 600 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,400 It's one of the major differences between an ale yeast 601 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:25,720 and a lager yeast. 602 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:31,760 Using different varieties of lager or ale yeast will bring out 603 00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,600 different flavours in the beer. 604 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:38,840 Four ingredients, three very different-looking beers. 605 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:44,200 Now, I get to taste the porter I've been brewing. 606 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,520 I can definitely taste the coffee, 607 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:52,400 the chocolate, the caramel. 608 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,440 It's more like a meal! 609 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,600 Next, the lager. 610 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:58,520 So, it's quite light. Mm-hmm. 611 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,640 But, it's quite bitter - is that the hops? 612 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:03,320 Yes, that's the hops. 613 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,520 Finally, the IPA. 614 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,240 It's citrusy... 615 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:10,600 Yep. 616 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:14,720 And, hoppy, grassy, bit nutty. 617 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,080 It just shows just how diverse beer can be. 618 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,640 They taste so different, and yet, they have got 619 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:22,120 the same four ingredients. 620 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:23,160 Yeah. 621 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:24,280 Well, well done, you. 622 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,160 Cheers. Cheers. 623 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,520 Back at the Burton brewery, we're over six days into our 624 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,640 beer production process. 625 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,800 After one hour of heating in the mash vessels, 626 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:48,680 all the starch in the barley has been converted to sugar. 627 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,720 And Andy and I are in pursuit of hoppiness. 628 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,240 What do you want me to do with this? Weigh myself? 629 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,920 No, I want you to weigh the hops. Are these hops? Yeah. 630 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,240 Are they very trendy? Are they hip hops? 631 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:10,200 I thought hops were like buds, like, looked a bit like corn. 632 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,000 Yeah, but, a lot of that hop is waste, ultimately. 633 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,600 So, what we do is, we pelletize them to get 634 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,840 all the bitterness we want, but none of that waste. 635 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,520 Well, we've got an enormous vat 636 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,160 of sweet, malty liquid at the moment. Yeah. 637 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,120 How much of these hops do we need to add to that? 638 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,360 We need to add 21 kilos. Is that right - 21 kilos? 639 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:30,120 Yes, yes. Not 200 kilos? No, 21 kilos. 640 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:31,480 So, what do I do, put the bags on? 641 00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:33,240 Yes, so, those are five-kilo bags. 642 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:34,720 Right, OK, well, look... 643 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:36,280 Five, 644 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:38,440 ten. 645 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:39,640 15. 646 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:42,400 20 keys. 647 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,400 So, I've got 20 kilos, I need another one kilo. 648 00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:46,760 Shall we put that bag on? Yeah. 649 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:48,200 So, another kilo, right? 650 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:52,840 Astonishingly, this relatively tiny amount 651 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:58,240 will be enough to flavour over 190,000 pints. 652 00:33:58,240 --> 00:33:59,920 There you go. Perfect. 653 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:02,200 Right, 21 keys, where do we go? 654 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:03,800 We're going to put them in the hopper. 655 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:05,760 You grab one, I'll grab the other one, go on. 656 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,120 There we go. Yep... 657 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:14,720 It's just a short "hop" over to the holding tank 658 00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:17,600 to unload our carefully weighed goodies. 659 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:23,800 Is that it? 660 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:26,120 No, we need to add some calcium chloride as well. 661 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:27,440 Calcium chloride? 662 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:29,240 Yeah. OK, give me that. 663 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:30,640 What is calcium chloride? 664 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:31,880 Calcium chloride is just... 665 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,440 Where we're just replacing some of those things that we took 666 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,640 out of the water when we purified it earlier on. 667 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,200 Right, OK. What does it give you? 668 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,800 That balance of sweetness and bitterness. 669 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:43,920 Is that right? Yeah. 670 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:47,680 Calcium chloride is a type of salt. 671 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,440 Adding 12.5 kilos of it into the mix will help bring 672 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:52,800 out the flavours in the beer. 673 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,280 It's just like adding seasoning to your dinner. 674 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,800 How long have you been working with beer, Andy? 675 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,200 I've been working with beer for about 20 years now, Gregg. 676 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,720 And what made you do that in the first place? 677 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:06,640 So, I did a brewing degree, and then joined the company 20 years 678 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,960 ago as a graduate trainee. I've been here ever since. 679 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:13,520 Right, all the stuff's in there, what's the next stage? 680 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:17,840 Before the hops are added, our non-alcoholic sugary liquid 681 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:21,920 is sent from the mash vessel to this giant robotic accordion, 682 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,320 called a mash filter. 683 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,320 Here, the mix gets passed through a series of plates, 684 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,840 which sieve out the leftover grist. 685 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:37,720 56,000 litres of the clean, filtered liquid, 686 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:39,640 now called wort, 687 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,000 is then pumped into giant vats, called coppers. 688 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,800 Yes, I know. They're clearly not made of copper, 689 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:56,000 but in the early days of brewing, they were - and the name stuck. 690 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,120 Are the hops in there? They're not in there yet. 691 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:01,920 I know how much you like a radio, Gregg. 692 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:03,440 Do you want to add the hops? 693 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,960 Press the button! Right, what do I say this time? 694 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:07,560 Add the hops. Is that it? Yeah! 695 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,880 Yeah, it's Gregg. Can you add the hops, please? 696 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:13,200 OK. 697 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,280 With a little help from our friendly control room, 698 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:24,600 the hops drop down into the copper through a pipe in the ceiling. 699 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,400 So, those hops are now dissolving, aren't they? Is that right? 700 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:29,880 Yeah, and we're going to get the bitterness from those hops. 701 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:32,480 And we're also going to form some protein that we can move later 702 00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:33,960 on, to make a nice, clearer beer. 703 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:35,960 This is a really slow process. 704 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,520 When I normally go in factories, they can make crisps, 705 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:40,280 or biscuits, in like, an hour! 706 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:41,920 Does this get any faster? 707 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:44,640 Sadly, no, Gregg, we can't rush it. 708 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:48,440 The mix is boiled for 40 minutes. As well as releasing the hop 709 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:52,400 flavour, the heat kills off any bacteria in the wort. 710 00:36:53,800 --> 00:36:56,920 Today, hops are an essential ingredient in beer, 711 00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,240 but it wasn't always that way. 712 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:01,760 And as Ruth's finding out, 713 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,280 their introduction changed everything. 714 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,000 In the Middle Ages, the home-made ale Britons enjoyed 715 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,280 tasted very different from modern beers. 716 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,120 It was sweet, un-hopped, 717 00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:19,600 and brewed almost exclusively by women. 718 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,720 Brewing was one of the most common professions for women, 719 00:37:22,720 --> 00:37:27,040 who were often known as brewsters, or ale-wives. 720 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:30,440 It's believed that a third of women in villages were brewing 721 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,080 ale for sale. 722 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:34,480 Women learnt the techniques from their mothers 723 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:38,000 and aunts - it passed down in the female line. 724 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,600 But this dominance was not to last. 725 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:45,080 Come in! 726 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,400 Beer writer, Jane Peyton... 727 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:49,120 Hello, Mistress Goodman! 728 00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,080 ..tells me the change began with 729 00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:55,480 some early consumer protection legislation. 730 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:59,320 In 1266, King Henry III passed a law, 731 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:02,000 the Assize of Bread and Ale. 732 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,760 So, he appointed ale conners, these were male inspectors who went 733 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:10,400 round all the places selling ale, and they would test the quality, 734 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:12,600 and if they found it to be bad quality, 735 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,760 or if the ale-wife was overcharging 736 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,800 for that ale, then they could be punished. 737 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,320 The homes of female brewsters became known 738 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:23,600 as public houses, or pubs. 739 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:27,240 But opening their homes up like this also exposed 740 00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:29,120 the women to criticism. 741 00:38:29,120 --> 00:38:31,160 You might become suspicious of them, you know, 742 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:32,520 are they overcharging, maybe? 743 00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,560 Are they putting nasty things into the ale? 744 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:38,320 It's easy to vilify somebody and to give them a bad reputation. 745 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:42,120 Do we have any examples of this hostility, then? 746 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,480 Well, a really good example is a poem that was written 747 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:47,160 by King Henry VIII's Poet Laureate. 748 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:51,800 And, it talks about an ale-wife, Elenor Rumming, and the way 749 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:55,160 she's described is really insulting. 750 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,040 "She is ugly fayre. 751 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:01,760 "Her nose, somdele hoked, and famously croked." 752 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:05,880 It's really not a nice image, is it? At all! 753 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,240 It really isn't. 754 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:10,000 Despite the ridicule, ale-wives continued to brew 755 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,360 on a small scale. 756 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:16,360 Until our game-changing ingredient arrived. 757 00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:21,400 What changed everything was the introduction of hops. 758 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,840 Historians think hops were introduced to Britain 759 00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:27,040 from Belgium in the 15th century. 760 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:31,640 At the time, the un-hopped brew made by ale-wives 761 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:33,680 went off within a day or so. 762 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:40,080 It was soon discovered that hopped beer lasted far longer. 763 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:42,960 This was a revolution, and this is where the schism 764 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,960 between the male brewers and the female brewers 765 00:39:45,960 --> 00:39:48,360 starts to come in - hops. 766 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:50,920 Hopped beer could be brewed in bigger batches, 767 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:53,800 making production more profitable. 768 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:58,080 Men get interested in brewing when it gets a bit more lucrative? 769 00:39:58,080 --> 00:39:59,840 Yes! 770 00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:01,400 You could say that. 771 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,880 And also, brewing on a big scale, in factories, basically, 772 00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,280 where women didn't work outside the home, normally. 773 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:10,240 Right. So, it's going to be easier for a man to set 774 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:11,800 up as a commercial brewer? 775 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,440 So, this really is the great reason for the divide, 776 00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:19,960 for the change, from brewing as a female activity to brewing 777 00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:21,320 as a male activity. 778 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,840 Yes, and the irony is that these are the female part 779 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:27,040 of the hop plant! 780 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:30,120 To ale-wives. 781 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:31,480 To ale-wives. 782 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:39,120 In the brewery, my sweet, malty liquid, 783 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,400 or wort, has been boiling away in the coppers, 784 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,760 and is now fully infused with those fragrant hops. 785 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:48,920 But it's still not beer yet. 786 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:53,240 To turn this wort into lager, we need yeast. 787 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:55,800 Whoa! 788 00:40:55,800 --> 00:40:59,000 I'm meeting Steph Tunks in the project lab. 789 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:00,560 Hello. Is that dry ice? 790 00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:05,600 This is liquid nitrogen, and it's currently at about 196 791 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:08,480 degrees below zero - that's how we store our yeast. 792 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,080 And, I can't go anywhere near that, can I? Absolutely not. 793 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:13,120 Not without some serious gloves on, yeah. 794 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:16,040 Why do you store the yeast like that, please? 795 00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:17,680 It's so we keep it in a stable state, 796 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,160 and to stop it from growing any more than we would need 797 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:21,360 it to at this time. 798 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:24,920 So, we can keep it for long periods, to use it whenever we need. 799 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:30,960 There are over 700 varieties of yeast used in beer-making. 800 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:34,720 And this one is closely guarded by the brewery. 801 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:39,480 Can you please explain to me the part yeast plays in beer? 802 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,560 Yeast is the vital ingredient, it's the magic ingredient. 803 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:47,240 It's what turns all of the sugars that you get from the malts 804 00:41:47,240 --> 00:41:50,360 and the barleys into alcohol and carbon dioxide, 805 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,360 which, to a brewery, is a dream. 806 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:56,520 Yeast is a living, single-cell organism. 807 00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:59,400 Without it, there's no alcohol, no fizz, 808 00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,840 and ultimately, no lager. 809 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,440 How much yeast is in there right now? 810 00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,600 About 0.2 of a millilitre, so a tiny, tiny amount. 811 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:11,240 Is that just a sample? 812 00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:13,200 No, this will now propagate all of our yeast 813 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:15,360 for the next six months. WHAT? 814 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,520 Absolutely. Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. 815 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:19,280 How is that possible? 816 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,960 I thought it was ridiculous the amount of hops you were putting 817 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:23,720 in. Just that little bit there? Yep. 818 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:25,640 That'll keep you going for six months? 819 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:28,360 Yep, it will soon multiply and become everything that we need 820 00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:30,640 within six months, given the right conditions. 821 00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:37,000 The yeast is grown in this 30ml vial. 822 00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:43,480 Steph adds wort before mixing it all together. 823 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:50,840 She then transfers 10ml of the mix into this flask. 824 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:57,600 The extracted yeast now has the food and space it needs to multiply. 825 00:42:57,600 --> 00:42:59,560 Is it extremely valuable? 826 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,640 Absolutely. Without our yeast, we wouldn't have a brewery 827 00:43:02,640 --> 00:43:06,680 to go with. It's so valuable to us, it's the life and soul of our beer. 828 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:07,800 Seriously? 829 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:09,880 It's the heart of every beer. 830 00:43:12,640 --> 00:43:15,640 As it grows, the yeast is transferred to increasingly 831 00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:18,160 larger containers, 832 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:21,120 finishing up in this massive tank. 833 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:23,280 It will continue to multiply 834 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:27,240 until they have over 1,000 kg of the stuff. 835 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:31,960 Then, the whole lot is sent to the fermentation tanks, 836 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:35,320 which are full to the brim with our sugary wort. 837 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,920 So, what's the volume of liquid in there? 838 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:40,560 It's 2,400 UK barrels in one of those. 839 00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:46,000 For those of us not in the pub trade, that's enough to make 840 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:49,080 an unbelievable 1.3 million pints, 841 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,560 in just one of these tanks. 842 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:57,200 And there are 19 of them! 843 00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,280 You've got a bottle of brown. Yeah! 844 00:44:01,280 --> 00:44:03,720 You haven't had beer yet, you've just had bottles of brown. 845 00:44:03,720 --> 00:44:06,040 Yeah, so this bottle of brown is the last time it's wort, 846 00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:07,760 before it becomes beer. 847 00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,200 This sugary liquid is the final stage of production 848 00:44:11,200 --> 00:44:13,760 before fermentation starts. 849 00:44:13,760 --> 00:44:15,520 Can I have a sip of this? Of course you can. 850 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:17,320 Is it going to be horrid? 851 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:18,360 You'll see. 852 00:44:20,360 --> 00:44:23,080 It smells malty, still. Yeah. 853 00:44:27,680 --> 00:44:30,040 It's almost sweet like honey. Yeah. 854 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:33,080 And it is going bitter, and it's actually that bitter 855 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:35,600 flavour you get at the end of a pint of beer! 856 00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:39,160 Yeah. But it started off like a sugar drink! Yeah! 857 00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:41,640 Inside this fermentation tank, 858 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:45,800 this sugar drink finally becomes beer. 859 00:44:45,800 --> 00:44:48,600 But it doesn't happen quickly. 860 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:53,440 Over the course of five days, the yeast cells feast on the sugars, 861 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:58,200 and then expel alcohol and carbon dioxide as waste by-products. 862 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:03,320 The CO2 is siphoned off from the top to be reused later. 863 00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:06,560 And once the batch is finished, the leftover yeast is extracted 864 00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:08,160 from the bottom. 865 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:10,680 And has it used up all of the yeast? 866 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:12,960 The yeast there is cropped off and reused. 867 00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:15,120 So, we re-use that yeast about eight times. 868 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:20,400 After 11 days and 22 hours, 869 00:45:20,400 --> 00:45:22,560 we finally have alcoholic, 870 00:45:22,560 --> 00:45:25,240 slightly fizzy, beer! 871 00:45:25,240 --> 00:45:28,240 But it's not quite ready to drink. 872 00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:32,600 Andy, what is this? 873 00:45:32,600 --> 00:45:35,120 It's like, completely space age! 874 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:36,960 What does it do? Don't tell me. 875 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:38,880 Deep sea divers have left their tanks here. 876 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:41,240 No, this is where we filter the beer. 877 00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:42,720 What, just like a normal filter? 878 00:45:42,720 --> 00:45:46,160 Yeah, so, inside these, there are lots of little membranes 879 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:47,760 that filter out all the particles. 880 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:51,120 That looks like it's sitting still. Is that beer flowing through there? 881 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:56,120 Yeah, in here, it's producing about 2,400 cans of beer a minute. 882 00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:00,880 So, that is just gushing through there faster 883 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:03,240 than my eye can tell. Yeah. 884 00:46:03,240 --> 00:46:07,200 This massive system of filters removes any leftover protein 885 00:46:07,200 --> 00:46:11,600 or yeast particles, leaving clean, but slightly flat, lager. 886 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,040 Can I taste just a little bit? 887 00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,200 I don't mean have a drink, I mean, just... Yeah. 888 00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:22,200 Mate, I've seen hours and hours of beer-making process, 889 00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:25,520 and when I finally get to taste it, it's in, like, a medical jar? 890 00:46:25,520 --> 00:46:26,720 Yeah, it's a sample. 891 00:46:26,720 --> 00:46:29,120 Have you not got, like, a nice jug, with a handle on it? 892 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:31,720 We don't drink in the brewery, Gregg, we only sample. 893 00:46:37,120 --> 00:46:38,640 I can taste my hops. 894 00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:40,520 Yeah. I can taste the hops. 895 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,000 I can even taste the sweetness. 896 00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:44,720 That's more like an ale. 897 00:46:45,880 --> 00:46:50,280 To transform it into fizzy lager, the carbon dioxide given off 898 00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:54,160 during fermentation is pumped back into the liquid 899 00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:57,000 through the carbonation machine. 900 00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:00,760 Our lager now has those all-important bubbles. 901 00:47:00,760 --> 00:47:05,760 And at last, I get to try the genuine article. 902 00:47:05,760 --> 00:47:10,160 That tastes like a clean, more fizzy, pint of lager. 903 00:47:10,160 --> 00:47:13,880 Yep. That is the end, finished product? 904 00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:16,320 That's the end, finished product, here in brewing. 905 00:47:16,320 --> 00:47:17,960 We now need to put it in a package. 906 00:47:17,960 --> 00:47:19,920 Andy, thank you, it's been fascinating. 907 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:22,200 I can't stop and drink more of this, mate, honestly. 908 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:25,320 I've got to see a man about a can. 909 00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:29,040 After almost 12 days of production, we've got beer. 910 00:47:29,040 --> 00:47:33,400 But how should we serve it to get the most out of the flavour? 911 00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:36,000 Cherry is investigating. 912 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:40,480 To pour the perfect pint, you first tilt the glass to a 913 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,680 45-degree position until it's halfway full 914 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:46,920 and then, 915 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:50,880 you straighten up into an upright position. 916 00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:52,080 And there we have... 917 00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:55,440 ..a perfect pint. 918 00:47:57,080 --> 00:48:01,840 But does a great-looking pint make it taste any better? 919 00:48:05,480 --> 00:48:08,280 To find out, I'm meeting sensory scientist 920 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:12,200 Professor Charles Spence, from the University of Oxford. 921 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:15,160 Surely, it's just about the beer in the glass? 922 00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:17,640 To any one of us, it feels like it's just the liquid 923 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:19,360 in the glass that we're tasting. 924 00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:21,480 But a different glass, a different colour, 925 00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:24,240 a different shape, all these other factors matter. 926 00:48:24,240 --> 00:48:25,600 Some more than others. 927 00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:28,160 So, exactly the same beer can taste different 928 00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:29,840 under different circumstances? 929 00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:31,200 Absolutely. 930 00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:32,960 This is the kind of thing that we can test. 931 00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:35,280 I'm pretty sure I can find some volunteers for this. 932 00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:43,440 We've taken over this pub to run three scientific experiments. 933 00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:48,440 In each test, we'll be serving exactly the same beer, 934 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:52,120 but we'll change one thing in the way it's served. 935 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:56,400 First, we present our tasters with a straight glass, 936 00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:57,760 and a curved glass. 937 00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:00,960 Take a sip of each beer. 938 00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:02,040 Maybe two or three. 939 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:03,320 Take your time. No worries. 940 00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:06,840 Which is more flavourful, aromatic, fruitier? 941 00:49:07,840 --> 00:49:09,080 Hmm, interesting. 942 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:15,040 Yeah, that's definitely more fruity. 943 00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:19,320 I think this one has a little bit more, 944 00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:21,920 sort of, interesting flavour, the warm notes. 945 00:49:21,920 --> 00:49:24,440 I think that one's... 946 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:26,160 Was it fruitier? 947 00:49:28,240 --> 00:49:30,920 Yeah, that one's fruitier, I think. 948 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:35,320 Over half our tasters think the beer tastes fruitier 949 00:49:35,320 --> 00:49:37,960 in the curved pint glass. 950 00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:39,480 So, what's going on there? 951 00:49:39,480 --> 00:49:42,240 We find from research with wine, with soft drinks, with beer, 952 00:49:42,240 --> 00:49:44,480 that when you have something more curved in your hand, 953 00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:47,760 that tends to prime notions of fruity and sweetness. 954 00:49:47,760 --> 00:49:51,280 And you express that in the taste of the beer. 955 00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:55,000 This could be one explanation for why people drink more than twice 956 00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:59,400 as fast from a curved glass, compared to a straight glass. 957 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:02,320 On to test number two. 958 00:50:02,320 --> 00:50:05,080 So, here I have two beers - one with a head 959 00:50:05,080 --> 00:50:06,920 and one without a head. 960 00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:10,000 Which is tastier? This one, for me. This one? 961 00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:11,320 That one. 962 00:50:12,600 --> 00:50:15,240 The liquid in each glass is identical, 963 00:50:15,240 --> 00:50:17,680 except for the amount of head. 964 00:50:17,680 --> 00:50:20,480 I'd say that this one had more flavour. 965 00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:22,160 70% of our beer drinkers 966 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:25,600 think that the pint with the head tastes better. 967 00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:28,480 That head is capturing all the volatile, aromatic molecules 968 00:50:28,480 --> 00:50:31,520 in the beer. So, whenever you put it to your lips, you're getting 969 00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:34,000 a bit more release as the bubbles burst more of the aroma. 970 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,200 And we know that 75-95% of what you think you're tasting, 971 00:50:37,200 --> 00:50:38,360 you're really smelling. 972 00:50:38,360 --> 00:50:40,800 So, the more bubbles that burst, the more head on the beer, 973 00:50:40,800 --> 00:50:42,480 the more flavourful the pint. 974 00:50:44,840 --> 00:50:48,200 In the final test, our tasters are served a pint 975 00:50:48,200 --> 00:50:52,520 at three degrees Celsius, and another at 12 degrees. 976 00:50:52,520 --> 00:50:54,880 That's more flavoursome, that one. 977 00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:58,480 Actually... I have to agree with you. 978 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:02,640 All of our beer drinkers rated the warmer beer as more flavoursome. 979 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:05,600 The thing is that our taste buds don't work, 980 00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:07,520 really, when they're too cold. Mm. 981 00:51:07,520 --> 00:51:10,680 In fact, you get more flavour from warmer beer because that allows 982 00:51:10,680 --> 00:51:12,960 the taste buds to do their work and pick up the flavour 983 00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:14,960 that's in the drink. 984 00:51:14,960 --> 00:51:18,800 Despite the ridicule we Brits get for our warm beer, 985 00:51:18,800 --> 00:51:21,720 according to science, we're on to something. 986 00:51:21,720 --> 00:51:24,920 So, there we have it - the secret to the perfect pint. 987 00:51:24,920 --> 00:51:28,600 A lovely curved glass, a healthy amount of head, 988 00:51:28,600 --> 00:51:30,960 and served at 12 degrees Celsius. 989 00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:40,400 In Burton upon Trent, I'm on the final leg 990 00:51:40,400 --> 00:51:42,760 of my beer-making adventure. 991 00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:47,760 It's taken 12 days to get from raw barley to lager. 992 00:51:47,760 --> 00:51:51,400 And only now does the finished product head to the canning area. 993 00:51:53,720 --> 00:51:56,640 17 lorries arrive here every day, 994 00:51:56,640 --> 00:52:01,120 each one delivering 100,000 empty cans. 995 00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:04,640 I'm meeting packing operations manager, 996 00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:06,320 Gareth Annable. 997 00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:09,120 Gareth? Hiya. I think you're my man. I am. 998 00:52:10,720 --> 00:52:14,480 What is pushing them off the truck? 999 00:52:14,480 --> 00:52:16,760 That vehicle has got what we call a live bed in it. 1000 00:52:16,760 --> 00:52:20,280 So, it's got rollers in the truck which transports it onto this live 1001 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:21,680 bed as well. 1002 00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:23,360 I've got a wall of moving cans. 1003 00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:25,680 That's pretty rapid. I mean, how long does it take 1004 00:52:25,680 --> 00:52:26,720 to unload that lorry? 1005 00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:29,360 It takes just under a minute to get those 22 pallets off. 1006 00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:31,680 That's it, they're all off, aren't they? They're off. 1007 00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:33,880 What happens to them now? Let me show you. 1008 00:52:39,640 --> 00:52:42,880 The cans are hoisted up to the de-palletiser... 1009 00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:51,480 ..where a robotic arm sweeps them off the pallets, 1010 00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:54,120 one layer at a time. 1011 00:52:54,120 --> 00:52:59,080 After a very slow brewing process, now, we've picked up speed. 1012 00:52:59,080 --> 00:53:02,520 Over 150 metres of conveyor belts 1013 00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:06,720 push the cans around the factory to the cleaner. 1014 00:53:06,720 --> 00:53:08,960 I've never seen anything like this. 1015 00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:11,800 The scale of this production is ginormous. 1016 00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:13,960 One of the biggest factories I've seen. 1017 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:16,400 And this, I've never seen anything like that, 1018 00:53:16,400 --> 00:53:18,880 a load of upside-down cans. 1019 00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:20,320 Is that magnetic? 1020 00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:23,240 That's a vacuum that holds the cans up. 1021 00:53:25,320 --> 00:53:30,240 The vacuum holds the cans upside down, as fans below the conveyor 1022 00:53:30,240 --> 00:53:34,680 shoot high-pressure jets of purified air up into them. 1023 00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:39,280 This removes any trace amounts of dust or contaminants. 1024 00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:41,120 This machine is called the Nelly. 1025 00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:45,040 Why? We go down here, you'll be able to see. 1026 00:53:45,040 --> 00:53:47,480 The two ears, and the big trunk coming down the middle. 1027 00:53:47,480 --> 00:53:49,040 GREGG CHORTLES 1028 00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:55,440 After a good clean in the Nelly, the cans end up here - 1029 00:53:55,440 --> 00:53:56,800 the filler. 1030 00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:01,680 This giant spinning top is turning at over 11 revolutions per minute. 1031 00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:05,840 The sheer speed makes it almost impossible to see what's happening, 1032 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:07,280 with the naked eye. 1033 00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:13,360 But 165 cans are simultaneously being filled 1034 00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:18,360 with 440ml each of freshly brewed lager. 1035 00:54:19,680 --> 00:54:24,000 Filling all those cans takes just 5.5 seconds! 1036 00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:27,920 Now, that is what I call a quick drink! 1037 00:54:31,120 --> 00:54:33,200 Where's that splash coming from? 1038 00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:36,400 So, as the beer, because it's filling at such speed, 1039 00:54:36,400 --> 00:54:38,720 we can get foam on the top of the beer. 1040 00:54:38,720 --> 00:54:41,600 And that foam has got little bubbles of oxygen in it. 1041 00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:44,400 Oxygen will spoil the flavour of the beer. 1042 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:47,920 So, we have to blow that foam off the top of the can 1043 00:54:47,920 --> 00:54:50,360 before we put the end on. 1044 00:54:50,360 --> 00:54:53,720 That's why you get little splashes of beer foam coming out. 1045 00:54:55,080 --> 00:54:56,360 Right, OK. 1046 00:54:56,360 --> 00:54:58,840 Once the beer's in, we move through to what's 1047 00:54:58,840 --> 00:55:00,280 called the seamer. 1048 00:55:00,280 --> 00:55:02,560 Seamer? Seamer, yep. 1049 00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:05,200 And the lid gets put on the can. 1050 00:55:05,200 --> 00:55:09,440 The seaming actually happens in this machine here. 1051 00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:12,960 It's all then closed, but the lid goes on the can. 1052 00:55:12,960 --> 00:55:17,840 As the can spins round, the seam is formed with the can end. 1053 00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:21,520 So, once it comes out, it is one piece of equipment. 1054 00:55:21,520 --> 00:55:22,840 I've got it. 1055 00:55:29,000 --> 00:55:32,760 Up to 1,850 cans a minute 1056 00:55:32,760 --> 00:55:35,600 are filled and sealed here. 1057 00:55:37,280 --> 00:55:40,640 The operation runs 24 hours a day. 1058 00:55:40,640 --> 00:55:45,520 And this is only one of three identical production lines! 1059 00:55:45,520 --> 00:55:50,120 That sort of volume of beer is really hard to comprehend. 1060 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:53,360 We're producing it, and people are buying it. 1061 00:55:53,360 --> 00:55:54,640 That's an ocean. 1062 00:55:56,880 --> 00:56:01,120 In a year, a staggering 350 million cans of our lager 1063 00:56:01,120 --> 00:56:03,480 will roll off this line. 1064 00:56:03,480 --> 00:56:09,200 And every single one of them passes through this giant pasteuriser, 1065 00:56:09,200 --> 00:56:14,040 which heats the cans to 60 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. 1066 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:18,000 This kills off any microorganisms which might be present, 1067 00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:21,600 giving the beer a shelf life of up to nine months. 1068 00:56:24,560 --> 00:56:27,960 Then they get boxed up and slid on to pallets. 1069 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:33,240 Before being loaded on to an army of waiting trucks. 1070 00:56:34,320 --> 00:56:36,160 How many lorries go out? 1071 00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:38,920 We do about, roughly, three or four an hour. 1072 00:56:38,920 --> 00:56:40,280 Really? Yeah. 1073 00:56:40,280 --> 00:56:41,880 But not 24 hours? 1074 00:56:41,880 --> 00:56:44,680 24 hours, each of these has got 22 pallets on. 1075 00:56:46,720 --> 00:56:50,040 Just 60 minutes after an empty can arrives, 1076 00:56:50,040 --> 00:56:54,240 it's been filled, boxed up, and loaded back on the truck. 1077 00:56:54,240 --> 00:56:56,680 So, basically, the cans are just flowing in one end, 1078 00:56:56,680 --> 00:56:58,200 and flowing out the other? They are. 1079 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:00,360 One hour? One hour. 1080 00:57:00,360 --> 00:57:01,840 Have you got storage area anywhere? 1081 00:57:01,840 --> 00:57:03,600 We don't have any storage on site, no. 1082 00:57:03,600 --> 00:57:06,240 Everything that comes in comes straight out, on the vehicle 1083 00:57:06,240 --> 00:57:07,720 and away it goes. 1084 00:57:07,720 --> 00:57:11,040 The beer-making itself was far slower than I ever imagined, 1085 00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:15,000 but this canning is the fastest thing I think I've ever seen. Yep. 1086 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:16,760 Unbelievable! 1087 00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:18,200 Unbelievable. 1088 00:57:20,160 --> 00:57:22,280 I always knew we loved our beer, 1089 00:57:22,280 --> 00:57:25,520 but this place has completely blown me away. 1090 00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:30,240 From here, the lager is shipped out 1091 00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:32,840 to all corners of the UK and Ireland - 1092 00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:35,120 from Cork to Cornwall 1093 00:57:35,120 --> 00:57:38,320 and all the way up to Inverness. 1094 00:57:38,320 --> 00:57:42,280 I am really impressed by the scale of production here. 1095 00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:44,600 It is absolutely immense. 1096 00:57:44,600 --> 00:57:46,200 But do you know what I really like? 1097 00:57:46,200 --> 00:57:50,040 It's how long it takes to actually make a pint of beer - 1098 00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:53,080 over 12 days, from barley to can. 1099 00:57:53,080 --> 00:57:55,880 You know, in this 100mph world, 1100 00:57:55,880 --> 00:57:58,560 some things just take time. 1101 00:58:01,600 --> 00:58:05,040 Next time...I'm getting straight to the point... 1102 00:58:05,040 --> 00:58:06,360 What is that? 1103 00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:09,200 ..at the world's oldest pencil factory. 1104 00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:15,480 I feel like Uri Geller! 1105 00:58:15,480 --> 00:58:20,000 Those pencils are almost falling over those plates. 1106 00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:21,720 OK, is that a good jug? 1107 00:58:21,720 --> 00:58:23,520 And Cherry waxes lyrical. 1108 00:58:23,520 --> 00:58:26,000 Oh! You're kidding me! 1109 00:58:26,000 --> 00:58:28,400 That is an Inside The Factory crayon.