Charles takes me further down the row of steel tanks. He tells me that once the brewer is happy with the sugar-high malt-water mixture – or simply known as ‘wort’ –, it is then filtered and stored in the second tank, which leaves behind a deposit of munched grain. This by-product is removed and collected by farmers to feed their cattle. This separating process is called lautering. I follow Charles to the third tank, what is apparently a gigantic kettle. This is where the hops go in and any flavour additions you want to add in for the final tasting notes. He tells me that you pour the hops and additional flavours early on in the process for bittering and flavouring, or later on for scent and aroma. 

The fourth tank is normally called the ‘whirlpool’, where any heavy material left that hasn’t been dissolved – like chunks of malt or hop – is separated from the liquid. The liquid is then transferred to either the cellar or fermentation units where the yeast is then added. The yeast inside the fermentation units reacts with the wort, changing the sugars into everyone’s beloved alcohol. Charles notes that the difference between producing ale or lager is purely down to the types of yeast you use and the amount of time you leave the fermentation to occur. Any ale tends to be 3-5 weeks, and lager beers around 5-6 weeks. Once fermenting is finished, the beer is transferred through pipes into identical-looking tanks positioned in the brewery’s packaging unit to rest for a time before being canned or kegged, and distributed across the British Isles.