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“I recommend...bread, meat, vegetables and beer.” Sophocles - Philosophy for a balanced diet |
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THE BREWERY
 This is an illustrated outline of the brewing system used at The FILO Brewery.
Basically, the same brewing process is used for all four of our ales. |
INGREDIENTS
 MALT:
All the sugar derived for brewing is obtained from the pre-crushed malt supplied to the FILO. The malted barley is supplied in three types, pale, crystal and chocolate, the combination of which determines the colour and 'maltiness' of the beer. The only exception to this is the roasted barley (which has no sugar content)which is added to the Cardinal to create its rich, dark colour.
 HOPS:
The hops arrive from the hop farm sealed in vacuum packed bags which guarantee the quality of the hop. The hop essentially gives the beer its bitterness, dryness and aroma which is also determined by the type of hop used. The FILO uses two principal types, Fuggles and Goldings, both of which are classic hops from the south of England. The FILO Gold premium ale is brewed with a third mystery hop. A prize if you can guess what it is?
LIQUOR:
Hastings is extremely fortunate with its water quality and the supply company is always pleased to advise on the mineral constituents. The liquor is 'burtonised' (the mineral content is balanced) in a way that suits the beer to be brewed.
YEAST:
The FILO has its own unique yeast culture which is kept in storage at a yeast bank. However, due to the uncertainties and sequence of brewing, the FILO has begun to use a proprietary dry ale yeast which has proved to be remarkably successful and has not diminished the quality of the brewed beer.
Note
As in the best German tradition, all FILO beers contain only the four essential ingredients; Malt, Hops, Water and Yeast.
Step 1
All tanks, pumps, pipes, surfaces and implements are cleaned and sterilised.
 
Step 2
The liquor is collected and heated in the liquor tank to mash tun temperature.
Step 3
The malt is weighed in the hopper and then mixed with the preheated liquor in the mash tun and left to steep for 1hr 30 minutes.
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Step 4
The sugar infused liquor (known as wort) that is now in the mash tun is pumped to the copper and heated until it boils. Hops are added as the wort starts to boil in order to give bitterness and dryness. 1hr 20 mins later at the end of the boil, more are added to give the beer its aroma.
Note: Once the hops have been added to the wort, we have beer.
Step 5
The hot beer goes through a rapid cooling system using a heat exchanger and mains water. The hops are separated from the beer using the hop back, a type of sieve at the bottom of the copper. The beer is now transferred into the fermentation tank.
Step 6
Once all the beer is collected in the fermentation tank and cooled to the correct temperature, the yeast is added and the fermentation process begins.
Step 7
On the completion of fermentation, the beer is ready to be racked into suitable casks. The FILO uses its own Firkins (9 gallons) and Kilderkin (18 gallons).
Step 8
Maturation follows, where the beer is allowed to continue fermenting in its sealed cask for a minimum of 10 days before it is ready for conditioning and consumption.
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