Kirkstall brewer Tom Pryke, head brewer Alex Dodds and Crisp Malting’s Carl Heron outside the brewery as a malt delivery arrives
Kirkstall Brewery in Leeds is expanding, thanks to finance and technical support from its malt supplier, Crisp Malting.
Six years ago, a small, eight-barrel plant was installed in a former Leeds dairy, adjacent to the original Kirkstall Brewery, which ran from 1833 to 1983. The new Kirkstall Brewery was soon brewing to capacity and demand was outstripping supply.
Head brewer, Alex Dodds, said: “It’s devastating to have to ration supplies when customers are asking for more and to have to turn away new customers, and so plans soon got under way.”
The installation of a new 30-barrel plant has recently been completed, giving the capacity to produce 60,000 barrels (more than 17 million pints) a year. The challenges faced in implementing this near four-fold growth were many.
Alex said: “The trick in scaling up is to work with really engaged suppliers. They need to have a genuine interest in what you’re trying to achieve and to behave as partners.” He points out that this applies as much in the sphere of malt handling as in the sphere of brewing equipment.
“The smart move was to involve Crisp Maltings from the outset. It helped us to apply new thinking to our malt storage, logistics and processing. Carl Heron, their sales manager, has been fantastic. His brewing experience, technical expertise and commercial understanding have been invaluable. And the finance deal he offered was a no-brainer.”
Control to the brewer
Capital provided by Crisp was used to buy two pristine 20-tonne malt silos and what Alex describes as “a beautiful new mill”. Now, rather than buying malt that’s ready-milled, he can order it whole. Specialist varieties are still delivered by the sack load. But large volume base malts can now be bulk delivered by Crisp’s blower truck straight into the new silos. This reduces price and saves space.
Alex said: “Most importantly, it gives more control to the brewer. We draw whole malt from the new silos as and when it’s required. Then it’s freshly crushed just prior to mashing. And, of course, we can fine-tune the milling to suit whatever we’re brewing at the time. It’s great to be fully in charge!”
Carl Heron points to the growing interest from brewers in malt silos and mills, with their ‘crush-on-demand’ facility. He says this indicates strong sales and a belief in the sustainability of those sales. “All this is an extremely encouraging reflection of the success of the craft sector.
“Some brewers told us that logistical considerations and costs of capital investment were barriers too big to overcome. That’s exactly why we developed our finance packages and bought a new blower truck for bulk deliveries. Our consultation, technical support and advice (from years of experience) comes as part of the deal.”
