A promotional film produced by Turners Film & Video Productions for Camerons Brewery looks at the process of producing beer at one of the North East’s most famous breweries. The film features broadcaster and botanist David Bellamy who takes the views through the processes and finishes with him enjoying a pint of Cameron’s beer at the Spotted Cow public house at Elswick, near Hartlepool. The film opens with the Cameron’s Ales logo. The film cuts to the interior of a public house where...

A promotional film produced by Turners Film & Video Productions for Camerons Brewery looks at the process of producing beer at one of the North East’s most famous breweries. The film features broadcaster and botanist David Bellamy who takes the views through the processes and finishes with him enjoying a pint of Cameron’s beer at the Spotted Cow public house at Elswick, near Hartlepool. The film opens with the Cameron’s Ales logo. The film cuts to the interior of a public house where David Bellamy leans on the bar watching the barmaid pull a pint of beer from a hand pulled pump. The barmaid places the drink on the bar, giving the camera a close up of the glass. Sitting on a bar stool David Bellamy, takes a drink from the glass of beer, wipes his beard and speaks to camera. The film cuts to men sitting around a board playing dominoes. David Bellamy places his pint at one corner of the board. He then picks it up and speaks to camera. He explains that great care goes into producing a pint of beer. He lifts his glass and the frame freezes and a title appears superimposed on the picture. Title: Bellamy on Beer, At Cameron’s Brewery, Hartlepool The film continues with David Bellamy taking a drink from his glass. The film cuts to a field of barley swaying in the wind, a brief shot to clouds over a blue sky, then back to the field of barley. David Bellamy appears in the field of barley, and explains, using an ear of barley, the constituent parts of the plant. An external shot follows showing the exterior of Cameron’s brewery in Hartlepool. A sign on the wall reads: ‘Lion Brewery A.1892.D.’ David Bellamy stands in front of the brewery building, just a behind him a Cameron lorry is parked. He explains that the water used at Cameron’s brewery is drawn from its own well. A shot of the brewery’s Victorian chimney follows. An old photograph shows a horse pulling a dray outside the brewery, with groups of men looking at the camera. A panning shot from right to left shows the present day brewery. A sign reads ‘The Home of Strongarm’. The film cuts to the sample cellar within the brewery, various pump labels on a bar show off some of the brewery’s products including ‘Cameron’s Best Bitter’, ‘Cameron’s Strongarm’ ‘Cameron’s Mild Ale’ and ‘Crown Naturally Strong Ale’. David Bellamy walks away from the bar and towards the camera and leans forward. In front of him are the three main ingredients of beer, yeast, barley and hops. He talks a little about each ingredient. The film cuts to a control room, with large areas of wall space given over to control equipment, showing lots of dials and switches. David Bellamy picks up a clipboard on which are sheets of paper, one of which is headed ‘Today’s Brew’ and shows details about the hops being used. He explains that the ingredients for any particular brew can be sourced from any part of the country. He then crosses the brew hall, walking past huge metal vessels, then walks up steps to an area where machines blend the malted barley. David Bellamy picks a handful of the malt from the bottom of a malt blender which is now known as grist. He eats a mouthful from his hand. He then opens an inspection hatch on a conversion vessel, into which the grist is poured and is mashed with Cameron’s own well water. The water temperature is controlled as the malt sugar dissolves. Two metal paddles rotating in the base of the conversion vessel are soon covered in foam, produced by the mixture, this is now called the mash. David Bellamy closes the hatch lid on the vessel. He walks over to another large steel vessel where the mash will be transferred. He opens the inspection hatch of the vessel known as a strain master which strains off the sweet mash. The spent grains of the malted barley are left behind after straining. David Bellamy descends some more steps into another part of the brewing hall, where an intermediate liquid pours from steel nozzles into a trough. This liquid is called wort and at this stage is very sweet. David Bellamy takes hold of a tall thin sampling jug and takes a sample of the wort. He tastes it and confirms it is sweet. A brewer also tests sample with a hydrometer. The camera zooms in on the wort in the trough. Next the wort is transferred to copper vessels for boiling. A brewer adds some Irish Moss to the wort at the boiling stage. This ingredient is derived from seaweed and helps clarify the wort. The inspection lid is closed on the copper. The film cuts to David Bellamy sitting on a sack of hops. From an open sack he sieves some of the hops through his hands, as he explains how the addition of hops give beer particular qualities. A shot follows of huge sacks of hops stacked vertically. A brewer carefully blends some hops and another brewer adds blended hops to the copper from a plastic sack. The film cuts to an electronic display showing two coppers and their associated pipework. After two hours boiling the spent hops are separated from the brewing liquid. The hops will be recycled on farmland. A close up follows of dials on a control panel and a brewer pressing buttons. In front of a similar control panel David Bellamy explains the next stage of brewing. The film cuts to him entering a laboratory, where a microbiologist is studying something under a microscope. David Bellamy takes her place at the microscope and explains what it is she has been looking at and why it is so important. It is the strain of yeast that Cameron’s have been using for over forty years. He looks down the microscope. The film cuts to David Bellamy looking at an overhead pipe which is clear and contains a fast flowing liquid. Another pipe joins it at a ‘T’ junction, this is where the yeast is mixed with the wort. David Bellamy then goes into another room lined with large white storage tanks or vats. In a large square stainless steel container, known as s a fermenting vessel David Bellamy leans over it explaining that there are thousands of potential pints within the vessel. The yeast and the wort are now producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. From another fermenting vessel a  HM Customs and Excise officer measures a sample of beer, to work out how much excise should be paid. Standing next to another fermenting vessel David Bellamy describes the next stage in the process. The vessel will be drained and any unwanted residue will be left behind. A close up shows of a large transparent pipe containing fast flowing liquid, which is being transferred from the fermenting vessel to another container on the floor below. The still fermenting mixture produces more of the yeast the company uses for brewing, this can be used again. More shots follow of fermentation vessels containing a ‘mat’ of yeast on the surface of the liquid. The film cuts to the huge conical closed vessels where container beers are brewed. These vessels hold a thousand barrels of beer. Another cut to an external shot of the Spotted Cow publ at Elwick, near Hartlepool. David Bellamy walks towards the doorway and enters. The film cuts to a man tapping a keg of beer. Other shots in the cellar shows a number kegs with pipes coming from them feeding the beer to the pub bars above. A close up follows of pump signs on the bar, similar to those seen at the beginning of the film, Camerons Best Bitter, Crown Naturally Strong Ale, Cameron’s Mild Ale and Strongarm. Cut to the barmaid pulling another pint and handing it to David Bellamy. He describes the qualities of the pint to camera. He sits again with the domino players and takes up his hand of dominoes. A brief shot of another customer taking a drink follows as the end music plays out. A shot of David Bellamy as he takes a drink from his glass, the frame freezes and superimposed on the still picture is: Title: A Production for Camerons of Hartlepool Title: By Turners Film & Video Productions, Newcastle Upon Tyne’ Title: Presented by Professor David Bellamy, BSc, PHd, FLS, FI Biol, FRGS End Credit: Written by John Grant End Credit: Photography Peter Brock End Credit: Editor David Middleton End Credit: Produced and Directed by Peter Brown Credit: Camerons Ales (logo), J W Cameron & Co. Ltd. MCMLXXXI (1981) Credit: Camerons Acknowledge the Co-Operation of Their Staff in The Production of Bellamy On Beer’