Samuel Smith's Brewery Tour - Page 4

Dog Kennels
These are technically called wort receivers, but the brewers call them the "dog kennels." These are no longer used in the brewery, but they are somewhat like enclosed hop backs. They used to be packed with whole hops and then the hot wort was run through them. Not only would this filter-out the hops that were added during the boil, but it would also add additional hop aroma. Now, they use different methods to separate the spent hops from the wort so these vessels are simply showpieces.

Yorkshire Stone Squares
These are some of the famous Yorkshire Stone Squares. They are made from sheets of slate (hence the "stone" in the name). What we see here is only the top chamber of the fermenter. Beneath the floor I'm standing on, there is the main portion of the fermenters.  The purpose of these top portions is to provide room for the huge foam head that is formed (there is a three-foot diameter cylindrical tube called a "manway" between these upper and the lower parts of the squares. There is another reason that these top portions are so large, but if you know something about brewing, you may be shocked when you see it.



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