Malthouse - Haven Road

This pub and family restaurant is situated in an old Malthouse that dates back to the 18th-century. Brewing was well established in Exeter, probably because of the proximity of the ingredients to make beer and a growing urban population. At its height, there were 15 breweries in the city.

A brewery and cellar were built in 1789 by the St Thomas' Brewery. The original building was a basic rectangle in design, with one long side built as a convex wall. Three parallel, tiled roofs were built over. Two years later, a malthouse was added to the straight, long side of the original brewery.

Producing Malt

Malt is an important ingredient in the brewing process. Grain is slowly dried in store, before being steeped in water for two to three days and spread over a frame to begin gemination - this is when the starch in the grain is converted into maltose. The germination takes four to five days in a cool atmosphere. The sprouted grain is then heated in a malt kiln, which halts the germination and dries the grain to between 3 to 6% moisture. The last process is removing the tiny rootlets that sprouted in the germination.

Both brewing and malting continued in the enlarged complex and in 1833 the whole was incorporated into the City Brewery. By 1850, brewing had ceased and malting had taken over the whole of the premises.

In 1876 two small conical malting kilns were installed in the building on the opposite side to the river bank. Extra floors were also added internally. In 1900 three larger conical malting kilns were built, one replacing one of the 1876 kilns. The kilns were finally closed in September 1949.

Before the building was converted into a family pub, it was used as a bonded warehouse for a time. In 1989, Lovell Urban Renewal of Swindon submitted plans to turn the building into a hotel. In the event it was in 1995, that Exeter Archeology investigated the site before Brewers Fayre took it over. The main bar, eating areas and children's area are housed in the original maltsters built in 1791.