Burton Union System

[Chris Brooks]

A while ago I decided to build a BURTON UNION SYSTEM just like the only one in existence at Marstons if for no other reason than their's is not the only on. The front end of the brewing cask is used as their trade mark.

The Marston set set comprises banks of 7hL unlined wooden casks, a unit of 26 casks (13 in two rows) would total a 100 barrel batch. There is a tap in the belly of the cask and opposite, a hole which takes a swans neck. This tube directs the fermentation froth from the cask into a trough which runs the length of the set at high level between the casks. Shown below a view of the union sets at Marstons.

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Even I however cannot put away 100 barrels of beer before it goes off so I have scaled it down slightly. There are only 11 "casks" in mine of 20 litres each. I have also made a few adaptions so I can vary the number of casks from a single cask to any number up to 11. It is also possible to have several different brews of varying sizes on the go all at once. I know that 20L in not a large container, but I have a fairly unlimited supply of them AND they are FREE. More importantly they are the right shape to use for a Burton Set.

More to follow

[Dennis King]

Interesting, photos please

[Chris Brooks]

The Burton Union System was used by most of the breweries in Burton and Derby because of the very clear beer it produces and the ability to harvest the yeast to perpetuate the strain and also sell as a by-product to the baking and pharmacutical industries.

This picture is of the fob troughs over the union set which are set at a slight incline so that the beer drains from the fob to another small trough at the end of the set and is fed by gravity back into the casks.

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The largest of which was at the Bass brewery (alas it closed in 1982) which boasted of 1560 casks in double rows of 30 making 60 casks per set. Each set produced 200 barrels of beer at a time.

Below is shown the fob trough close up aand gives an impression of how much actually fobs off the brew (hence the saying).

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[Marshbrewer]

Fascinating stuff, looking forward to seeing this develop.

[Chris Brooks]

This picture gives a better view of the fob trough and the feeder tank. You will note that the contents of the feeder trough has a small amount of yeast or "Krausen" on the surface. This serves to keep the wort that has drained from the fob to remain sterile by producing not only a cover but also a co2 layer. It also introduces healthy new yeast (by reproduction) to pick up where the primary yeast may have become dormant.

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To give some idea of scale to the casks the picture below shows the head brewer at Marstons standing beside one of the 7hL (700 litre)litre casks.

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Looking at the front end of the cask you will see the cross shaped trunnion (one of which is on the rear too) that fits into a mount to suspend the cask. The two lines of tubing run to the cask attemperator that is used to keep the temperature down to as close as possible to 19 degrees celcius. Just below the top is the feeder arm that allows the wort from the collapsed fob to return to the cask from the feeder trough.

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Out of sight is the swans neck that directs the fob in the trough above from the top of the cask, and also the drain tap at the bottom of the cask.

You will see from the picture below that the is also a small tap to the right side. There is only cask in each set that has this which is used to take samples from to plot the attenuation of the brew.

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[Chris Brooks]

Finally, after the brew is complete the beer is racked from the casks by opening the taps below each cask. The tap is fitted with a plastic bag secured with a rubber band and the beer flows into a bottom trough which empties by gravity and is fed to the racking vessels. Some 3 litres of ‘grounds’ held back in the cask by the length of the tap are run to waste before cleaning. Put into perspective the waste from a 23 litre brew would be just 112ml!

The bottom trough which runs the full length of the set is shown below.

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[Chris Brooks]

At this point I should confess that I have an abundance of empty food grade HPDE barrels available to me through the company I own. We wholesale ink for thermal inkjet printers, and also remanufacture inkjet cartridges which we sell on eBay. We are the only vendor in the catagory with a 100% satisfaction rating. Anyway I digress. As we sell ink in units as small as 500ml it does not take long to empty barrels and we have been at it for over 20 years.


Inkjet printer ink is around 95% water and non toxic. When empty the barrels wash out totally with water. After cleaning they just need adapting if nescessary. I have been using these containers for brewing for around twenty years so I am living proof that they are safe.
Below the barrels as we get them and after.

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Above are the two types of barrel available to me. One holds 28 litres and is a UN rated container. The other is an American barrel of 20 litre capacity. Thats 5 US gallons or 4 real ones. I chose the US container because of the shape of the egress, which is ideally suited to a union cask and also the closure or cap has a ready formed 1/2" NPT/BSP female thread. Just drill a hole and screw in a tap.

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[f00b4r]

I’m looking forward to seeing this come together. It does help you have a free supply of “barrels” play around with.

[Chris Brooks]

As you have seen from previous pictures, the Marston cask has a cooling unit inside it for temperature control keeping the contents at or around 19 deg C. I forsaw that my problem would be keeping it up to temperature. After a lot of thought I decided to go with internal heating. This I achieved using an 150 watt thermostaticaly controlled aquarium heater. This was installed into the top of the barrel through a M40 cable gland. This has the advantage of being water and air tight, therefore when on its side ..no leaks (that's the plan anyway).

The heater power was chosen as only one in three casks will be fitted with a heater as it will be the heat source for the casks either side. Also for when it stands alone or in a pair.Into the original closure I drilled a 13mm hole and fitted an appliance shut off valve with a 10mm push fit adaptor attached. From this I can fit the swan necked 10mm copper tube during fermentation, a pouring spout when in use as a keg or stop plug when carbonating.

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On the left side of the neck is fitted a 6mm push fit bulkhead fitting for the return of the fobbed off wort. The inside connection has a 150mm length of pvc pipe fitted. This ensures that the returned wort is fed in below the surface. It also serves as a port to take samples from to check attenuation. You will notice that there is a port on the handle. This can be opened to allow air in when using as a keg.

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[chris2012]

Very cool project! I'm curious how much the wooden barrels of say the Marston's burton union system affect the taste of pedigree. Been a little while since I've had pedigree now.

You might find this interesting - https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/IdBjsaZjWz/ the firestone union thing doesn't really seem like a 'proper' burton union as the foam seems to be entirely just discarded.

Your photos of the Marston's union are really cool too! Definitely want to visit them sometime.

Noticed you mention 11 fermenters, as part of your union, do you have a big brewing setup for that?

[Chris Brooks]

At this stage I will explain my choices in the build. Not only was the shape of the american barrel more suited to this system, but also the opening is wide enough for me to get my fingers into the barrel to hold the locknuts on the inside for the gland nut and bulkhead fittings to be tightened fully.

The swan necked tube is made from 10mm copper pipe, not stainless for a reason. It costs a lot less, is harder to form to the required shape, is a lot harder to cut and finally copper has always been traditionally used for the swan necks by the breweries. Stick with tradition I say.

The aquarium heaters are very reliable, accurate (think of the fish), fully submersable and cheap, around £10.00 apiece. For the 150 watt version they are about half the price or less of a brewbelt or heat pad. 25 watt ones are around £6.50 each.

All the other piping used is 6mm od/5mm id translucent nylon tube, this is a standard tube used in the trade for gas and beer dispense (I know they also use 5/16 and 3/8 too).

To deal with the fob I decided the make a modular fob trough that could be tailored in length to the size of the set in use for the brew. I got food grade white nylon containers from Wilko for both the fob and feeder troughs. The fob trough measures 250x170x110mm high and the feeder trough 300x120x65mm high. These all sit on a sloped shelf that is 200mm wide. The feeder trough is set sideways on the the fob troughs to allow fitment of a control valve underneath, and the return piping. The valve is a plastic elbow tap of the kind used in r/o water systems.

All the linkages between the fob troughs and the feeder troughs are 6mm od/3mm id soft pvc tuping of the type used in peristaltic pumps, terminated with medical leur lock fittings on the joints. Again, these were chosen not just because I have a free supply of them but the small size and their ability to form air and water tight joints with only light tightening.

[Cyclops66]

Well done on the write up and very interesting hearing about the Burton Union System, the picture of the head brewer must be an old one as it is now Pat McGinty, and that is certainly not him in the picture. There is another union system on display although not used in Guild street in Burton upon Trent.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.80704 ... 384!8i8192

I have been in and seen the Union system at Marstons and it is certainly a sight to behold.

[Chris Brooks]

Thank you. I still have some more to come on the build, then will will be putting it to use.

[Chris Brooks]

The first brew has been pitched, and my Burton Union System is up and running as at 10p.m. tonight. It is a wheat beer being brewed according to the Ukrainian receipe. Pictures will follow tomorrow.

[f00b4r]

Good to see that it is now in action.