In 1516 the Bavarian Duke Wilhelm IV passed the Purity Law. To this day, it lays down that in Germany beer can only contain the natural raw materials malt, hops, yeast and water.
For us, this standard is as much an obligation as the exclusive use of particularly high-quality varieties of malt and hops.
Together with specially selected pure-culture yeasts and crystal-clear, spring-fresh water from our own deep well, Zoller-Hof beers, which have become famous for their fine wort, develop and mature from recipes handed down through many generations.
Zoller-Hof has a two-unit brewing plant controlled entirely automatically using a Siemens S 5. Here the barley and wheat malt grain is coarsely ground, mixed with mash liquor, and the substances contained in the malt - starch and protein - converted to malt sugar. The resulting malt sugar solution - known by the brewer as wort - is boiled in the copper with the addition of the fine hops. After approximately 1 hour the boiling phase is complete. The wort is cooled to approximately 6oC. The fermentation process can now begin.
The modern beer lover simply no longer questions the quality of his beer. He just takes it for granted!
To satisfy these expectations fully we carry out careful checks during the entire brewing process. The journey of the beer from the brewing room to the bottle is always accompanied by test methods evaluated using biological as well as chemical criteria.
During biological testing, attention is paid to the purity of the beer. During chemical testing, the actual analysis of the beer, we check the original gravity and the alcohol and carbonic acid content.
a glimpse down below
Main fermentation takes place in the fermentation cellar. By adding yeast - bottom or top-fermenting yeast depending on the type of beer - the malt sugar solution (= wort) is split into alcohol, carbonic acid, heat and residual extract (= fermented).
Post-fermentation then takes place in the storage cellar. Here the beer matures at an excess pressure of 0.5 bar. As a result, the carbonic acid combines strongly with the beer. Storage and maturation at low temperature (0 to + 1oC) over 4 - 5 weeks ensures a rounded, harmonious taste and the superb head associated with fine beers.
Absolute cleanliness is the number 1 rule in the production of beer and soft drinks. Without exception, Zoller-Hof drinks contain no preservatives. Spotless hygiene is therefore a must. The filling plant is thus a very important stage in the progress of the beer from the brewing room to your glass. It consequently takes up a large area of the production operation.
The unpacking machine - it has its work cut out!
The cleaning tank awaits.
The empty bottles arrive in crates from the warehouse.
The unpacking machine takes the bottles out of the crates.
The washing machine - essential here too
Now things get hot!
In the lye bath, heated to 80oC, the labels are detached. Then the bottles are washed using various hot water sprays and flushed out with cold water. The washing machine can clean over 36,000 bottles an hour.
The bottle inspector - it misses nothing!
And when the cleaning's successfully completed?
Tests are now carried out to determine whether the mouth of the bottle and the bottom are intact, the sides undamaged and neither any residual liquid nor other particles of dirt remain in the bottle.
The inspector is also tested: the machine is regularly checked with test bottles to ensure it's in good working order.
Freshly filled and firmly closed
In the filling machine, fresh beer or soft drinks are put into clean bottles: first the air is removed from the bottle via a vacuum. Then it's rinsed and pre-stressed with carbonic acid. Only now does the valve open to fill it with a choice of either beer or soft drinks.
The closure machine adds the finishing touch: the bottles are closed with either crown caps or screw closures.
What's inside also has to be outside!
The labelling machine provides all the bottles with the details essential to our customers. At Zoller-Hof, no bottle leaves the plant "unadorned“. Only those with a neck, body and back label are completely and properly turned out. Our "little ones" naturally come specially trimmed - in white, silver and gold.
The large keg plant cleans and fills up to 70 barrels per hour. First of all the outside is cleaned with brushes and high pressure, followed by the cleaning of the inside with lye, acid, hot water and steam. Finally, we check the pressure density and only then does the beer flow into the barrel.
Its little sister, our so-called "keggy" plant, cleans and fills 40 - 50 keggys an hour. We fill them with 12.5 litres of Fürsten pils or yeast wheat beer and, as required, also with Fidelis, the dark yeast wheat beer, or Special Export. The integrated carbonic acid chamber filled with 85 grams of carbonic acid ensures you also enjoy dispensing the beer at home. Fresh from the barrel to the glass - for your drinking pleasure.
