Brewery

Ebba Brahen puistikko 12A Pietarsaari

North of Piispanmäki there is a residential building that was part of the brewery built in the early 1850s. The pharmacist Victor Schauman was probably the initiator of the enterprise. The brewery specialised in Bavarian beer but also produced other drinks, such as mead. The brewery courtyard featured several buildings, cellar facilities and equipment that were needed in the multiphase production process of drinks. In the early stages, the brewery had about thirty employees, later fewer. In 1853–1862, tens of thousands of litres of beer and soft drinks were produced every year at the brewery.

Under a shelter in the brewery courtyard, horses would turn a mechanical wheel that powered the pump lifting fresh water from the well. This water was led to the brewery pool along a duct. The wheel device also powered a mill bolted to the wall, which was used to crush malt. Many kinds of skills were needed; for example, a barrel-maker was ordered from Stockholm because ordinary piny tar or salt-fish barrels were not suitable for preserving and transporting drinks.

Large consignments of drinks were delivered in barrels or bottles to retailers and nearby towns by horse cart and, in the winter, by sleigh. It was important to protect the products from freezing during winter transport. The brewery also had a shop that sold beer and other drinks directly to customers, either to be consumed in the shop or for take away. The brewery sold yeast to bakeries as well as empty bottles and packing cases to anyone needing them. The pigs raised in the courtyard piggery were fed on malt waste. This auxiliary manufacturing was also utilised by selling pigs to slaughterhouses.

Stories

When the brewery was built, two boilers were ordered from the Fiskars ironworks. Transporting the big boilers was in no way simple in those days. It was agreed that they would be transported on the galleass Josefina. In the late autumn, the shareholders of the brewery heard a rumour of Josefina being shipwrecked in front of Vaasa. One of the shareholders, sea captain Adolf Humle, was quickly sent to Vaasa to check whether the rumour was true. He found out that Josefina had actually stayed at the harbour of Pori because the ship owner did not want to endanger the ship in the autumn storms. That is why the boilers had to be brought to Pietarsaari by horse. (Björklund 1993, 14)

Photos

Brewery house a long time ago (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)

Brewery house a long time ago (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)

Brewery (ölbryggeriet) on the old map (Pietarsaaren kaupunginmuseo)

Map