Tower brewery

rdf:langString Tower brewery

rdf:langString A tower brewery is a distinct form of brewery, identified by its external buildings being arranged in the form of a vertical tower. The purpose of a tower brewery is to allow this multi-stage flow process to continue by gravity, rather than lifting or pumping the brew liquor between stages. Once the bulk raw materials, water and barley malt, are first raised to the top of the tower, they can then mostly flow downwards without requiring further pumping. Tower breweries developed in the late Victorian period, the first examples from around 1870, the majority in the 1880s. At this time steam power was available, but not electricity. Powering a single large pumping step was practical, but multiple small pumps around a building would be much less so. The buildings of a tower brewery are arranged as a tower with around six floors. There may be a single tower, but many breweries were less regular, with portions reaching varying heights. Only relatively small areas were needed for the highest floors. The highest point would be a small water tower, the next highest a prominent ventilated attic giving good airflow for coolers.