● BREWERY VISIT Craft brewing takes off at Clonmel Revival of a long brewing tradition in received a huge boost as it supplied quality beers to the troops during Tipperary the First World War. However, after the war it went into decline during a The C&C Group (known as Cantrell and Cochrane before period of economic stagnation and its fl otation), major supplier of such well-known brands eventually closed. In the 1930s it became the cider production facility as Magners Irish Cider and Tennents Lager (and Bulmers for a certain local man Mr William Cider in Ireland only), saw an opportunity recently to take Magner. Later, English cider makers H. P. Bulmer purchased a 50% share part in the skyrocketing craft brewing market. in the business. After the Second World War ended, Bulmers bought t was with much expectation that hinterland of farms, hills and moun- the remaining 50% and changed IBDI’s Ireland correspondent Gerry tains, dominated by the Comeragh the name to Bulmers Ltd Clonmel. McGovern, set out in early summer range to the south. It has a long tra- In the 1960s the company was sold to witness the fruits of this idea, the dition of brewing, cider making and to a consortium of Guinness and brand new brewery that had been spirits production going back through Allied Breweries and was renamed built by the group right in the heart the centuries. as Showerings (Ireland) Ltd. At the of the its main cider site in Clonmel, same time expansion constraints Co Tipperary. History forced the company to move to the Clonmel itself is a small town, In more recent times the original eastern outskirts of Clonmel, to surrounded by hills and mountains, Clonmel Brewery, owned by Messrs Anneville. It is now part of the C&C with the river Suir at its centre, Thomas Murphy and Co. Ltd, was Group. In August 2009 the Group had meandering its way toward the sea. founded in Dowd’s Lane in 1798. The set its sights on making an impact It is a hidden gem, well off the main brewery had a very healthy trade in on the beer world with its purchase tourist trails yet with a vast attractive the southern counties of Ireland, and of Tennent Caledonian Breweries 2 ❚ Brewer and Distiller International September 2015 www.ibd.org.uk BREWERY VISIT ● cess of being fitted out when the sup- plier of the equipment unexpectedly went into liquidation. This naturally threw the project into a consider- able state of turmoil and tested the resilience of Bulmers’ own engineer- ing and small brewing teams who were left to complete the installation and commission the plant largely on their own. Thanks to the huge effort made under trying circumstances, the business was able to successfully launch its first beer, a European- style draught lager, in July 2014. One of the major advantages of Mein host, Clonmel Head Brewer Rod being surrounded by a large cider Williams, outside the brewhouse building facility like the Annerville site (1.24 and its iconic Wellpark Brewery in million hL of cider planned for 2015) Glasgow. is that most of the services normally Subsequently, with the ongoing required for a brewery are already growth of craft beers worldwide, the in situ and waiting to be tapped into. C&C group saw a perfect opportunity Key requirements such as steam, to kick-start a revival of brewing in cooling, water, electricity are read- Anneville, Clonmel. ily available – and goes a long way to explain the siting of the brewery The brewery proper here. Even deaerated water systems A pint of Clonmel 1650 in one of its native habitats, the I was met at the Bulmers main were present, given that Bulmers Church pub in Dublin. This magnifi cent venue was used as reception area by my host for the was kegging beers such as Tennents the launchpad for the beer in August last year day, Rod Williams, Head Brewer, supplied from the Wellpark Brewery who guided me through a warren in Scotland for over ten years before brews per week (two batches Tues- of corridors, packaging areas and the new brewery was built. day, Wednesday and Thursday) into external tank farms to the two-acre a variety of fermenter sizes, but it site where the brewing operations Details of the brewery is obviously capable of a lot more are carried out, right in the middle I was in for a shock of surprise and in years to come. It was developed of this huge 150-acre cider facility. pleasure with my first sight of the with ales, lagers and stouts in mind. We chatted for a while about his own plant. It was on a par in terms of In terms of overall sales, Rod told origins. Rod had started his career finish and automation with most me that they are on target to reach in the early 1990s under the tutelage modern and installations I have seen around 30,000hL in 2015 and will of Ken Don at the Youngs Brewery in anywhere, albeit on a smaller scale. have the capacity to ramp up to Wandsworth. He subsequently moved The major brand brewed is a 100,000hL over the next few years. to Gales of Hampshire and then to proudly-named and award-winning the Ringwood Brewery in the mid-90s (of which more later) pilsner type as Head Brewer. In 2004 he set his lager called Clonmel 1650. The date sights much further afield and ended is a signifi cant one in terms of the up in Victoria, Australia, just as the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, momentum of the craft revolution when Clonmel was besieged by Oliver was beginning to build there, and he Cromwell’s New Model Army in April worked at a number of sites. There and May of that year. They also brew were four craft breweries in Victoria an ale, Roundstone Smooth Irish Ale, when he arrived and upwards of 70 as well as occasional contract brands. when he left ten years later! In size it is a 100hL brewlength Knowing that they would require brewery, currently producing six a good technical brewer, Bulmers were able to tempt Rod back from the warm Aussie climes with an offer he and his family could not refuse – and so he found himself on this side of the world right at the start of a cool winter. The shock to his fam- ily cat was such that it lay under the duvet for three weeks, appearing only for meals. Before Rod’s arrival, during the summer of 2014, the new brewhouse The inside of the lauter tun, with knives and was purchased and was in the pro- grain removal booms at the bottom A rather elegant wort sampling station www.ibd.org.uk Brewer and Distiller International September 2015 ❚ 3 ● BREWERY VISIT A ground fl oor view of the brewhouse An internal view of the wort kettle capacity. A straightforward infusion conversion then takes place over 60 minutes at 66°C, before being fi nally raised to 76°C in the fi nal stages. Total time in MCV is three hours. The vessel is steam-jacketed in the cone and the shell. The mash is then pumped over to the lauter tun, fi lling from two ports underneath the vessel. It is allowed to stand, then recirculated to brightness and run-off to brew kettle. The kettle has an external calan- dria and gives very good boil-offs. Anywhere from 5% to 10% can be achieved depending on the brand in a time of 45 to 60 minutes. Hops used are a German Magnum variety. There is no sugar addition and the aim is to achieve 100hl in fermenter/dual pur- pose vessel (DPV) at 1065° or so. Rod tells me that extract recovery rates are in excess of 95% and wort clarity is very good. On the day I arrived it Kettle and whirlpool in line was a down day for maintenance and Brewing materials cleaning. Malt is sourced from Irish Malting Kettle fi nings rates have halved this Company in Cork and is offl oaded into year due to the much improved 2014 two 30t day bins. Some small amount barley quality compared to the 2013 of bagged Caramalt is used occasion- barley. Post-boil worts are pumped ally for colouring and fl avouring pur- into a standard whirlpool. poses. Water is locally sourced from the site’s own artesian wells and, given Fermentation its intrinsic hardness, goes through Wort aeration is via direct injection of a full demineralisation before enter- food grade oxygen, which is controlled ing the process. It is then treated with by eye! This is one of the few process- standard brewing salts to give it the es not fully automated in the brewery. characteristics required by Rod and his Dried yeast from Lallemand is used team. for pitching, as well as cone-to-cone yeast transfer. The DPVs vary in size Brewing from 100hL to 360hL, with three at Each 2.25t brew is milled and then 100hL, two at 240hL and two at 360hL. Control of the brewery is via a bespoke system with fi xed terminals out in the plant…Rod’s ambition is to be able to mashed-in over a 40-minute period A collection temperature of 13°C is copy this system onto a portable tablet system allowing for through a mash hydrator straight into targeted for Clonmel 1650 and it is increased ease of use when they become busier a mash conversion vessel (MCV) of 10t allowed to free rise to 16°C before 4 ❚ Brewer and Distiller International September 2015 www.ibd.org.uk BREWERY VISIT ● Fully automated routing valve cluster with Sudmo valving – a fi rst for the author in a small craft brewery The impressive new beer tank farm set up at the time of the brewhouse installation the keg plant fi ltered beer tanks for packaging into 50L kegs (note that none of the Clonmel 1650 brand is found in small pack).