Strong expansion
for Douala brewery
Hop extract plant in Spain
Van Gogh 1990
Heineken introduces 'Tap Quartet'
-!!■*
International Brasserie cant keep pace with demand for Amstel and MUtzig
Another new chapter can be added to the success story of
International Brasserie in Cameroun. As we wrote earlier, this
brewery (in which Heineken has a 34% stake) has been achiev
ing increasingly higher sales results despite a declining beer
market. For the third time in four years International Brasserie's
brewing capacity needs to be expanded. Heineken Technisch
Beheer (HTB) has been planning these expansion projects
which are scheduled for completion in May/June.
Heineken is one of the four main sponsors of 'Van Gogh
1990'. This cultural event will take place next year to mark the
centenary of the death of this world-renowned artist. The reason
why Heineken is sponsoring this event is the clear link between
the Dutch background of both Vincent van Gogh and Heineken
and the quality image and worldwide fame and appreciation of
our product.
Beer dispensing can be
greatly simplified in future in
Dutch bars which have a high
beer turnover. During the
'Horecava', Holland's biggest
trade fair for the hotels, restau
rants and catering industry,
Heineken launched a new
invention: the 'Tap Quartet'.
Tucked away in a corner of the big brewery site at Algete
(Spain) is El Aguila's hop extract plant. Since 1970 seventy per
cent of the hop extract requirements of El Aguila have been pro
duced there from Spanish-grown hops. After a production pro
cess lasting 24 hours the hop extract is packed in cans with con
tents of one and three kilos. In earlier days only the three-kilog
ram cans were used. To simplify the proportioning work for the
brewers the one-kilo can was introduced in May last year. Since
1982 the hops have also been processed into pellets.
Apart from a technical contract
for the regular assistance to the brew
ery, International Brasserie has also
commissioned HTB to carry out this
extension work. Because of the
urgent need for the bigger capacity,
the work had to be completed in a
very short space of time.
Under the supervision of project
leader A.G. Dorrepaal from HTB,
workers are busy expanding the
brewery in Douala, the capital of
Cameroun. The brewery is being
expanded on all fronts: the
brewhouse, the cooling installation,
the storage cellars, the bottling line,
etc. The aim is to raise the brewery's
total output to 680,000 hectolitres
Work in progress on expanding the
cooling installation.
The first of five 1500-litre fermenting tanks arrives at the brewery.
this year. In Douala they expect that
this will provisionally be enough to
keep up with consumer demand.
But they are not absolutely certain
about this; so far, all the optimistic
forecasts have had to be adjusted
upwards, as sales have outsoared
expectations each time.
To support the local team, two
HTB employees have been detached
to Douala specifically for the expan
sion project.
The compressed hops are unbaled and ground before undergoing fiirther
processing.
The centenary's principal fea
ture is a major special exhibition in
two Dutch museums. This time the
works on show will not be those best
known and admired by the public,
but the paintings which Vincent van
Gogh himself regarded as the
essence of his oeuvre. Art experts
will compose the exhibition on the
basis of various studies, including
an analysis of the letters that Vincent
van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo.
At the double exhibition works will
be on display which are already
owned by the two museums, whilst
pictures will also be brought to the
Netherlands from New York, Paris,
London, Boston, Tokyo and Mos
cow.
The Tap Quartet is a fully auto
matic installation which the bar
keeper can use to dispense beer from
four kegs in succession. Once one
keg is empty, the following keg is
broached automatically. So the pub
lican no longer has to uncouple each
keg, clean the beer pipes and con
nect up a new keg each time. In
brief, a faster and more efficient
operation. And the customers don't
have to be kept waiting.
The new invention offers even
more benefits. The Tap Quartet
ensures optimum monitoring of the
quality and freshness of the beer.
Only the keg being tapped from is
The Heineken 'Tap Quartet' has been specially developed for Dutch barkeep
ers with fast-moving draught beer sales.
broached. The other three are still
sealed. The Tap Quartet is fitted
with an easy-to-use cleaning sys
tem. When the first keg is empty, the
beer line is flushed through with
water. Then a new keg is broached.
Heineken has meanwhile applied
for a patent for the new invention
which has been on trial at a number
of establishments for quite some time.
Reactions to it were all positive.
El Aguila's hop processing plant is hidden away in a corner of the brewery
site in Algete.
El Aguila's hops are supplied in
pressed bales by an organisation in
which all Spain's breweries are rep
resented. In that central organisation
El Aguila has the majority. The or
ganisation supplies hops to the brew
eries on the same terms. Each brew
ery notifies the organisation about
what quantities it wishes to buy in
the coming year. On the basis of
those figures the Spanish growers
know how big a hop crop they have
to produce.
This year it is expected that 200
tons of hops will be processed into
pellets and 350 tons into hop
extract. The hop extract plant oper
ates for about ten to eleven months
in the year. During that period its ten
operatives work in three shifts.
