Nasty smells from the Brewery

[dishwasher]

I worked with somebody who was married to a person who worked at Wards at the time it closed, and although I can't remember all the details of the closure, it was an absolute scandal.

 

A group of top brass from Wards thought they had secured it to continue brewing the beer but they had the rug pulled from under their feet when another group persuaded shareholders - who were not interested in beer or local jobs - that more dosh was to be made if the site went for residential use.

 

Low and behold what do we have now? Trendy flats on Ecclesall Road, a restaurant waiting to be filled and Sheffield minus a great ale.

 

Something along those lines anyway. I'm not sure of all the ins and outs but, I think, that is how it was summed up to me. I stand to be corrected.

 

The only compromise, as far as I can remember, was that planners insisted that the Wards tower be kept as part of the town scape

 

 

Wards was a classic brew, a premier cru, a delight to drink but having been weaned on it I'm baised. Sheffield has lost a gem.

 

Can you imagine somthing like that happening in France? If they'd made a distinctive and popular wine in a region since 1840 and big business shareholders shut it down in the name of profit?

 

It wouldn't happen.

 

The new Wards is nothing like the old stuff. It could be any beer.

 

On the Exchange Brewery front, I always though the smell was a delight and I miss it.

 

By the way, does any one remember the old brewery tours that they used to do at the Exchange brewery and the Stones one on Rutland Road?

 

They were excellent. They'd show you round and then there was a free bar!

 

I was always told not to ask the tour guide any questions as a shorter tour meant more time to sup free beer!

[algy]

Originally posted by Ousetunes

I'm afraid I have to admit that I loved that smell. To me it was a pleasant aroma and probably explains why years later beer became a good buddy of mine.

 

Wards at the bottom of Ecclesall Road is the one I remember most, alongside Whitbreads near Lady's Bridge. I think it is the smell of the hops in the mashing tuns that creates the smell.

 

Like sticking your nose into a freshly opened jar of Horlicks - lovely!

I must admit Iliked the smell too. My Gran lived on Clarence street (now disappeared under the ring road) and you could smell the Wards brewery. It didn't remind me of horlicks though, I thought it smelled like Weetabix.

[pinhead]

Originally posted by algy

I must admit Iliked the smell too. My Gran lived on Clarence street (now disappeared under the ring road) and you could smell the Wards brewery. It didn't remind me of horlicks though, I thought it smelled like Weetabix.

 

I hated the smell of the Wards brewery when I was a kid. Now I would give almost anything to smell those hops today.

[Tazz070299]

Originally posted by Tony

Errr, that's not how I remember it...

 

Wards was bought by Vaux who then decided that they would concentrate on their Swallow Hotels business rather than brewing. The property was sold rather than the business for various reasons including the Governments Beer Orders and the tangled web that is international brewing conglomerates and competition.

 

But Vaux then went under, and the Swallow hotel chain was broken up. Some bought by the Marriot chain, and others independents.

 

There was some thing decidely dodgy (allegedly) about how Vaux senior management and their principle shareholders handled the whole affair.

[dowkeruk]

I liked the smell. Used to get a whiff every morning

on the tram on the way to school (fare 1/2d). Talking

about smells, does anyone recall that of roasting coffee

beans in the morning from Davy's cafe on Fargate? I got off

the tram there on my way round to Leopold Street to catch the bus on the second leg of my journey. Also the alarm on H L

Brown's `The Jewellers' on the corner would be going off.

I could go on and on.

[hazel]

Hi Dow

I went to school on the tram everyday. We all used to sit in the bay.

I hated the smell of the brewery.

I remember the wooden seats and how at the terminus the driiver used to click them all the opposite way.

Yes the coffee beans roasting/ grinding in Davys window And after the tram I also caught my bus on Leopold St.

 

Hazel

[BrainThrust]

Just being pedantic but the smell isn't the hops, which only have an effect on the smell and taste of the beer, not the surrounding area.

 

I think you'll find that the smell is sugar depleted malt left sitting in a mash tun after the water for brewing has stewed/passed though it.

 

It stinks, doesn't it? I remember when I used to have to shovel the stuff into big farmhouse bags. It makes excellent compost material but put me off horlicks for life.

 

Wilf

[BILDEBORG]

How right you are Brainthrust.....it was the MALT that you could smell and not the hops.

[Fareast]

I know this is only a , "loose " connection but does anyone remember the malt that was like a dark treacle ?

It was a lovely taste and mothers often gave it to kids after they'd had to take some awful -tasting medicine.Well . mine did at any rate !

The malt concoction was , I think , in squat -shaped brown -coloured jars. What made it all the more attractive , is at that time , after the war , sweets were on ration and malt was , to us , a sweet !

Only one teaspoonfull allowed !

[hazel]

I rememeber it I loved it. I think it was codliver oil and malt. Perhaps supplying vit A & D

 

It was provided by the health clinic. My sister and I used to be sent to get it and you had to exchange it for stamps. First we had to go to the Post Office at Intake, then Manor Clinic then back to Arbourthorne Rd wherre we lived at that time.

There were bottles of thick orange juice to. I suppose together with the malt we had our vits A D & C

 

Not sure now whether the stamps were for the baby food called National Dried in huge tins as we fetched that too

 

We once accidently dropped a jar of ithe malt in the middle of the road and ran.

 

hazel