The evidence: The brewmaster's engine room

Albert von Wallmoden is the German-born brewmaster at The Freedom Brewery in Covent Garden, London, and has set up other micro-breweries in Croatia and China

"This machinery is very up to date. Apart from using the fermentation tanks downstairs I can make any kind of beer or ale with just these two vats. At the moment I only make ales here. One vat (1) is used twice in the brewing process, for mixing the malt with the water and later on for cooking the hops. The cooking process is extremely important as enzymes only work at certain temperatures. Every brewmaster has his own technique of cooking the liquid. The other tank (2), which has a giant filter in its floor, is used for separating the malt from the liquid. There are glass pipes (3) on the side of the tank that indicate the pressure under the floor, which is crucial. I use pressed hops (4) from east Kent and six different types of malt (5) from Nottingham. I need to take samples (6) throughout the process to check sugar levels. We gauge the sugar content with the use of a hydrolater (7) which you float in the liquid to check its weight. I check the ph value of the water with a ph meter (8). A lot of the brewing process is now controlled by computers but fortunately you still need a brewmaster to write the recipes."

Interview by Aoife O'Riordain

Photograph by Dominick Tyler