Before starting on our tour of the brewery,
let us look over the ground that must be covered. To the right is the plot of the brewery
property, with the exception of a large plot north of Atwater Street, owned by the brewery
and reserved for future buildings.
Extending along Atwater Street from the railroad
siding to DuBois Street are the boiler house, engine room and brewhouse. Adjoining these
are the settling, fermenting and storage cellars. Then comes the government cellar with
beer line running direct to the bottling works. Adjacent to the government cellar are wash
house and racking room. There is a shipping platform running full length of these two
rooms that accommodates all trucks handling draught beer.
Notice, too, the pipe tunnel that runs from
brewery to bottling plant carrying water, steam. gas, CO2 gas, electric
conduit, compressed air. The bottling department is a story in itself and will be covered
in full when we get there on our tour.
That little house just beyond the bottling
department and alongside the boat slip contains the river water intake to the brewery. The
use of river water in certain plant operations is economical and effective. It will be
discussed in full at the proper time.
The logical place to start is in the brewhouse.
There are a number of things in this part of the plant that are somewhat different than is
ordinarily found. Mr. Koppitz is a brewer with years of experience behind him, and it is
not surprising that he has ideas of his own about equipment. But before describing
individual pieces of equipment we will have a look at the brewhouse layout.
