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3rd April 2006 – Positioning of the new fermentation and lagering tanks
The extension of the new fermentation and lagering building at Andechs Monastery Brewery has moved into the next phase. In the morning two heavy-load cranes lowered the four fermentation and lagering tanks through the roof into the new fermentation and lagering building. The teams operating the cranes were faced with a real high-precision challenge. The tanks were lowered in between the concrete uprights that later are to support the roof. There was only about 25 cm leeway between the tanks and the uprights. There was a strong and blustery west wind blowing and this caused the tanks to start swinging ominously in the air. It took a good deal of skilled manoeuvring to place the tanks in the right position on the floor of the new fermentation and lagering building.
Each of the four cylindro-conical fermentation tanks, i.e. tapering to a point at the base, made of stainless chromium-nickel steel weighs over nine tons when empty.
Each one is 12 metres tall and each one has a capacity of about 1,000 hectolitres – the equivalent of 200,000 half-litre glasses of Andechs monastery beer. They have a diameter of more than 12 metres which means that it would take more than seven men to form a circle round one of the tanks.
The reason why the fermentation and lagering building is being extended is to guarantee nothing but the finest quality for Andechs Monastery beers in the future as well. This is achieved by using top-quality brewing methods such as the triple-mash process for Andechs Export Dunkel and Andechser Doppelbock beers, the dual-tank process for fermentation and lagering, post fermentation itself and the long lagering periods for all of the Andechs Monastery beers that can be up to six weeks.
20th March 2006 – The topping-out ceremony
Bright sunshine and spring-like temperatures were the backdrop for the topping-out ceremony for the extension to the fermentation and lagering building at Andechs Monastery Brewery on 20th March 2006. In the late morning Abbot Johannes, Father Valentin and Brother Leonard, Brother Thomas and Brother Lambert assembled on the building site in the company of all the employees of the Andechs Monastery Brewery and representatives of the construction companies involved in the project.
Abbot Johannes said the date for the ceremony had been wisely chosen – between St. Joseph’s Day, the patron saint of workers and craftsmen, and the day of the passing on of St. Benedict. He also spoke of a “healthy foundation for the future development of the monastery brewery.” He thanked everybody involved for all the effort they had put into the project and said a prayer for the safe progression of the construction work still to come.
At the end of the ceremony the construction workers and brewery staff placed the traditional celebration fir-tree that had been decorated with the ribbons in the blue and white colours of Bavaria on the front facade of the fermentation and lagering building. At the celebration afterwards under the vaults of the Bräustüberl (brewery pub) a carpenter’s apprentice held the traditional topping-out speech which was heartily applauded.
March 2006 – The building shell is up
The shell of the extension to the fermentation and lagering building has been erected. Despite the inclement weather the construction work was running to schedule. In the last few days low-loading trucks delivered the 8-ton concrete uprights to the site at the Andechs Monastery Brewery. Then 12 of the concrete uprights were lowered into position (17 metres high) by huge mast cranes and were then securely connected to each other by specialists. The coming weeks will see the traditional topping-out ceremony.
January/February 2006 – The extension to the fermentation and lagering building is underway
The new fermentation and lagering tanks have arrived
At the beginning of the year the extension project moved a vital step forward. At the end of January/beginning of February the last of the four fermentation and lagering tanks arrived on the site at the brewery. Low-loading trucks and cranes had to heave the 12-metre-tall fermentation tanks onto the place they were being stored, where they will wait under a special cover until it is time to install them.
The cylindro-conical (tapering to a point at the base) fermentation tanks made of stainless chromium-nickel steel weigh over nine tons when empty. Each one is 12 metres tall and each one has a capacity of about 1,000 hectolitres – the equivalent of 200,000 half-litre glasses of Andechs monastery beer. They have a diameter of more than 12 metres which means that it would take more than seven men to form a circle round one of the tanks.
November 2005 – The first turn of the sod for the brewery extension
The Andechs Monastery Brewery is extending its production capacity to 150,000 hectolitres by early summer 2006. On 2nd November 2005 Father Valentin Ziegler, cellerer at the Andechs Monastery Brewery, and operations manager, Alexander Reiss, turned the first sod for the brewery extension project on the site of what is to be the new fermentation and lagering building.
The reason for the extension is the ever growing demand for Andechs Monastery beers. The overall aim of the extension project is, however, the safeguarding of the fine quality of the monastery beers. The monastery brewery is extending its fermentation and lagering capacities in order to be able to ensure the post- fermentation process and the lagering period of the beer of up to six weeks. This investment in the future represents a clear, definite direction for the Andechs Monastery Brewery – in times of ever more competitive beer markets the monastery is adhering strictly to its philosophy of quality. It will combine state-of-the-art brewing technology with old, tried-and-tested brewing traditions, strictly in line with the general principles of monastic business undertakings: “It is our tradition to be progressive and we owe this progress to a great tradition.” Under the direction of the new operations manager, Alexander Reiss, the entire planning has been completely reworked in order to stay abreast of all the new developments heading our way in the future.
It will be early summer 2006 at the latest when the extensive construction work at the Andechs Monastery Brewery will be finished. The fermentation and lagering building, erected in 1984, will be extended in a southerly direction. Four cylindro-conical fermentation tanks (tapering to a point at the base) each with a capacity of about 1,000 hectolitres are to be installed in the new part of the fermentation and lagering building. The extension however has been so generously appointed that another four fermentation and lagering tanks each with a capacity of about 1,000 hectolitres could be installed at a later date, if necessary. The investment volume of the whole building project amounts to over one million euros.
From the outside it will not be any different from the present fermentation and lagering building. It will be perfectly adapted to produce the same visual effect and will be panelled with wood so that the impression of it being a large barn is maintained in future.
Adequate fermentation and lagering facilities are of vital importance, if the fine quality of Andechs Monastery beers is to be maintained. In contrast to other breweries the Andechs Monastery Brewery still uses the traditional, so-called dual-tank process for brewing its bottom-fermented beers (Andechser Vollbier hell, Andechser Spezial hell, Andechser Bergbock hell, Andechser Dunkel, Andechser Doppelbock dunkel). This process involves removing what is called the young or green beer from the fermentation tank after fermentation and pumping it into a lagering tank. The master brewers then allow the young beer to lie in storage (lager) for up to six weeks and mature into a premium product. The production capacities have to be extended in order to continue using this tried-and-tested dual-tank process in future. It is however not just the dual-tank process that allows the Andechs Monastery beers to mature into premium products, it is also the triple-mash process for the Andechs dark beers and the long lagering period of the beer.
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