WHEN Tuckers Maltings, Newton Abbot, opens its door to visitors today, staff and ale drinkers alike will be able to celebrate the 175 years the malthouse has been producing top-class malt to breweries nationwide. Tuckers Maltings, the only remaining Victorian family malthouse in the south-west, and one of only four left in the whole country, has indeed a lot to celebrate. Perhaps its biggest achievement is that it has managed to resist the sweeping tide of mass production, in favour of more traditional, labour intensive techniques to achieve its quality end product. Brian Gates, project manager, plans to mark the occasion in a way that, not only acknowledges the company's past, but which also looks towards its future. The 175th anniversary has prompted Mr Gates to look over artifacts, documentation and pictures, some of which date back to the early 1900s, to try and appreciate the scale and success of the Tuckers Malting's business operations. 'These bits of paper really bring history to life. It's fascinating because this information shows us how Tuckers Maltings has changed, and in what way the business has stayed the same,' said Mr Gates. Ledgers indicate the level and profit of the company's trade, and one such piece of documentation even details a quantity of seed being sold to the architect and designer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Photographs provide some visual evidence of what the building and machinery looked like, and are some reminder that, in essence, Tuckers Maltings has maintained its traditional approach to the malting process and to its business. Mr Gates is busy collating the wealth of artifacts to present in a public display at Tuckers, which he hopes to have ready by June. His enthusiasm for the company's past extends to an interest in past employees. Using a letter written by Ray Tucker, grandson of company founder Edwin Tucker, he hopes to trace the families of the workers mentioned within it, in particular Bill Stanbury, who was the foreman maltster prior to the first world war. Other former former employees include Henry Truscott and Tom Perriam. Mr Gates said: 'I would really like to trace some of the some the families of the people mentioned in the letter, to see if I can find out any more information about them and Tuckers, and to discover how those former employees lives panned out.' There will be a limited edition ale, aptly named 175. Even its bottle label draws upon past logos and typefaces to give it an olde-worldy feel. The ale embodies celebration as it pays reference to Tuckers' past while at the same time hinting of its place in the future. And that, says Brian Gates, is definitely something to drink to.
