Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-13
"A HOME ENTERPRISE.
Such is the Texas Brewing
Co. of Fort Worth.
DESCRIPTION OF BEER-MAKING
The Processes by Which Malt is Made
Notwithstanding OF the Mag
nitude of the Brewery
and Its Work.


t'ade, is worthy Of place in the columns Of
The GAZETTE.
With this thought in mind, represent
alive Of TIE GAZETTE called on Mr.. ]. j.
Cannon, president of the Texas brewing
company, and asked 70 be conducted
through the building, and to have the vari-
Gus processes OF manufacture explained 70
him. If the aforementioned representa-
tive of the leading Texas newspaper had
had correct idea of the magnitude of the
work that he was entering upon, he would
probably have gone through that brewery
In installments.
Mr.. Cannon was found in his office, busy
at work. The business Office proper is a
work of art and luxury, finished in carved
oak and other costly materials, and shows
taste and prosperity. Adjoining this Office
is a remarkably handsome lot of bar
fixtures, plate glass, mirrors, billiard Ia
bles and other furniture that the brewery
company deal in.
Mr.. Cannon readily assented to the re-
quest, and in order TO begin at the begin
ming he led the seeker after knowledge to
the passenger elevator, pulled rope, and
the two Were soon in theseighLh story, from
whence one can see all over Fort Worth,
and with a glass Dallas can be seen.
But, before starting skyward, attention
was called to the bucket elevator by which
grain is carried to the top of the building,
TO begin its downward course through the
tortuous channels that lead to the beer keg.
The carload Of grain is switched up along
side the building, the grain flows into the
receiver and is hoisted by the elevator
buckets to the eighth story without hand
having touched it.
Now we are in the eighth story, 1873 feet
from the ground, and we will follow this
grain downward, noting its adventures.
Descending to the seventh floor, we find
the grain pouring into an enormous steel
tank of 1900 bushels capacity-a big car
load-with scale attachments for the pur-
pose OF weighing the malt as it is unloaded
from the car. Having been weighed in the
balances and not found wanting, it goes
down lower, instead of higher. So we will
60 down with it.
Here on the sixth floor it enters the malt
mill, which has capacity of 300 bushels an
hour.
In this room is an immense cold water
tank that holds 400 barrels of water The
water from the artesian well in the building
is discharged into this tank, ninety feet
from the ground, by natural pressure, no
pumping being required.
Another fight of stairs downward and we
are on the firth floor, where tine malt has
preceded US in the form of meal as it
passed from the malt mill on the floor
above, and it now goes into the fore mash,
where the proper amount of water is added;
from there into the mash tub, which is
situated on this floor. Directly under the
fore mash is an eighteen foot diameter steel
mash tub, with an Olsen & Tilgner hydraulic
mash machine. On this floor also is the hot
water tank, holding 400 barrels of water,
where the water is heated for brewing pur-
poses.
We are on the third floor by another de-
scent Of stair steps. and here, directly IN
derneath the mash machine, is the copper
grand through which the wort or beer
passes on its way to great copper kettle
on the third floor. In this kettle the wort
or beer is boiled. This kettle is of solid
copper and holds 400 barrels of liquid 1t
is of the finest workmanship, put up es-
pecially rfor this plant by Deckeoach
Sons Co. of Cincinnati. Out through a
door, leading from this floor, and over the
driveway, we pass into the cold storage
room for the storage of hops. The brewing
company has this year purchased four car
loads of the best Bohemian hops, imported
directly through the well-known house of |
Herman Cooper q Co. of Cincinnati. This
room is kept at an even temperature of 40 |
dogs. the year round.
Flowing from the boiling kettle on the |
third floor. the beer descends to copper |
lined steel hop jack on the second floor, |
which has a capacity of 400 barrels of beer |
Here is where the beer passes over the /
hops and gets the hop favor. A critical |
Judge will not hesitate to say that the hops |
used here are the equal of the best to be
found anywhere, and those who are ac-
qualnted with the product OF JnlS brewery
will readily attest the fact
Here, on this floor, is the Office of Mr.
George Walters, the brew master, where
one finds him with the scientific instru-
ments that assist him in his work. There
are thermometers for ascertaining tempera-
ture and keeping it at the required degree;
saccharOmeterS for testing the percentage |
of sugar in the beer, microscopes and
everything elsa to- enable the head of the
department to know the exact quality of |
the beer that is being made. In this Office
Is the "bung measure a little gauge that
registers before the brewmaster's eye the
exact amount of air pressure that is
brought TO bear in every tub or cask in the
cooling house.
And now we are where we started from
the first floor. The beer is there ahead of
US. We find here the air, water and beer
pumps and the beer cooler. This latter af-
fair is composed of copper coils, forty-two
Ia number, twenty-four feet long and each |
two inches in diameter The beer from the |
hop-jack above flows over these coils, the |
first one being at temperature of 100 de-
grees, each. succeeding one lessening in |
temperature until the last one is reached, |
which is barely above the freezing point, |
being kept at "a degrees. After flowing
over these pipes 1t is discharge into a cop
pered tank, from which it is pumped into
settling tubs on the fifth floor of the stock
house, in which are two settling tubs with
q capacity OF 4OO barrels each. Thence the |
beer goes TO the fermenting tubs on the {
fourth floor of the stock-house. These are
twenty-seven in number, holding 100 bar /
rels each. The fermentation takes about {
fifteen days for its completion and then the
beer Is drawn to the first or second floor of
the aging room, which are on the second or {
third floors of the stock-house. To get the /
proper age consumes about three months. '
On each of these floors are twenty-seven
watts, capable of holding about 800 barrels S
sach- After aging the beer goes TO the I
chip or "ining'' room, where the pro- I
cess Of manufacture is completed and it '
then reaches the final stage, when it gets to c
he 'racking'' room and is pegged ready b
,or market /
Thus we have followed the fate of the
matted grain from the moment it Is dis v
,harFed from the freight car to its present
liquid state, clear as amber, when it is I
'e2dy to appease the thirst of thousands of I
Texans and others, who insist that Fort b
Worth heer'' is the. best for Texas stom- p
,'hs. Now for few facts in regard to the v
'rewery building and the Improvements a
hat are being added to it.
THE BUILDINGS.
The brew house is 40x60 feet, and is eight a
tories high, built of brick, stone and iron, d
re-proof, with concrete floors, and the ar a
angements are such as TO give the greatest d
and convenience to the work The | u
took house and cooling rooms take up COX IL
D feet, the height being five stories. South nj
the brewing house, and a part of the
anna bl1ildinr iS the anCiua rom in which | II