Today’s photo shows the fermenting tanks at the old Stegmaier Brewery. There look to be about 6 or 8 tanks in the room and they appear to be all wood or wood-clad.
They are all wood. The interior of the wood was lined with a coating that had to be re-done every several years. This coating prevented the beer from contacting the wood. Workers would go in and scrape and heat off the old coating and brush a new coating on the wood. It was very labor intensive.
They would definitely be all-wood, probably cypress, lined with a pitch-like product called Mammut, and open-topped to boot. I'm surprised at how short they are, actually. Cool photo! I hope there are more to come.
Hey Leo, my first visit to The Lion was when Phil Leinhart was a brewmaster, and you were still using cypress fermenters for 1857 if memory serves me right.
Sam, you are correct. We used the open cypress tanks until 1990. We then sold the cypress to a local company that sold the wood to ship builders. We saved some of the wood. I have a piece of it somewhere in my house.
I cannot remember what the capacity of all the tanks. Some were 175 bbls and some were over 350. I believe we had 17 tanks, but I cannot remember. I will have to look at some old paperwork. The one thing I remember was how dark the cellar was!
When Jones Brewing got rid of their last cypress tanks in the 1960s, my Dad built a picnic table out of some of the lumber. Heavy as hell and would stand up to the elements like nothing else!
On Monday, I will send another picture of the fermenters, which is a picture taken above the tanks and you can see the brews in high krausen! It is an awesome photo.
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Bil,
ReplyDeleteThey are all wood. The interior of the wood was lined with a coating that had to be re-done every several years. This coating prevented the beer from contacting the wood. Workers would go in and scrape and heat off the old coating and brush a new coating on the wood. It was very labor intensive.
They would definitely be all-wood, probably cypress, lined with a pitch-like product called Mammut, and open-topped to boot. I'm surprised at how short they are, actually. Cool photo! I hope there are more to come.
ReplyDeleteAny idea how large they are?
ReplyDeleteHey Leo, my first visit to The Lion was when Phil Leinhart was a brewmaster, and you were still using cypress fermenters for 1857 if memory serves me right.
ReplyDeleteSam, you are correct. We used the open cypress tanks until 1990. We then sold the cypress to a local company that sold the wood to ship builders. We saved some of the wood. I have a piece of it somewhere in my house.
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of capacity did these tanks have?
ReplyDeleteI cannot remember what the capacity of all the tanks. Some were 175 bbls and some were over 350. I believe we had 17 tanks, but I cannot remember. I will have to look at some old paperwork. The one thing I remember was how dark the cellar was!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leo....amazing tanks. Just think what fun you would be able to have with them now.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jones Brewing got rid of their last cypress tanks in the 1960s, my Dad built a picnic table out of some of the lumber. Heavy as hell and would stand up to the elements like nothing else!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet it smelled great too...
ReplyDeleteOn Monday, I will send another picture of the fermenters, which is a picture taken above the tanks and you can see the brews in high krausen! It is an awesome photo.
ReplyDeleteSounds cool Leo...can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteHmmm,din;t remember the smell, but goo thought anyway! Can't wait for the high krausen, Leo!
ReplyDeleteI did mean a GOOD smell!
ReplyDelete