Fancy A Cuppa? The Hidden “Jacob’s Ladder” Keeping the Malt Flowing

Managing Director James Clarke provides a behind-the-scenes look at the unique challenges—and rewards—of maintaining heritage and production within our Victorian brewery

In 2015, we started a project to restore part of the old Maltings on-site, following the successful opening of the Visitor Centre in 1999. We added a restaurant and function facility to enhance the visitor experience and cater to our growing number of tourists—people wanting to see how we brew the beer, meet the horses, and take in the majestic splendour of our brewery. We included the now-obligatory coffee machine, as well as a range of teas. So, it’s not just beer here, but a whole range of drinks.

But this isn’t about a “cuppa” as in a cup of tea or coffee; this is about different cups and how they are vital to the running of the brewery.

We take in supplies of malt, which need to be milled before we can mix them with brewing liquor (the source of which is still the original aquifer, Marlstone rock from the mid-Jurassic period). Our mill dates from 1899 and was built by Nalder and Nalder, a local firm from Wantage. Sitting on the fourth floor, the mill is the largest single piece of mechanised equipment in the brewery.

The malt is tipped into a hopper on the second floor and then moved up to the mill via a “Jacob’s ladder” system—a 100-foot-long belt with cups mounted at intervals. We set the machinery going, open a slide to release the malt, and the grains flow into these cups to be transported to the top of the mill. It is an intricate piece of equipment but, as with everything here, very well engineered.

However, belts do wear. Last week, the belt decided it was time for a change and snapped. This is not an uncommon occurrence, and we have repair kits on hand. But as we attempted a repair, the belt snapped again. And again. Clearly, this belt felt it had completed its service.

The benefits of the internet meant that by 6 o’clock that evening, we had found a firm in Yorkshire with the belting in stock. Once the new belt was collected, work began to remove the metal cups from the old belt and fix them to the new one—all 73 of them. The belt was then rethreaded around the pulley drive wheels, tested empty, and put to work.

Going from breaking on Monday to being operational by Thursday lunchtime was quite an achievement, with all work completed by our own staff. I cannot remember this belt failing like this in my 35+ years here; it is a testament to the team that they managed to fix it.

So much of the machinery here is bespoke and needs careful maintenance and tender loving care. We hope the new belt will have a long life, now that the brewing team is experienced in such a complex repair.

They certainly earned their beer this week!

Experience our Victorian engineering firsthand; Book your Hook Norton Brewery tour now, and let our excellent guides show you the Jacob’s ladder and the inner workings of our historic brewery:
https://www.hooky.co.uk/visit-us/book-a-brewery-tour/