The Farsons Brewery Experience

Sarner, in collaboration with RFK Architects, are delighted to announce the successful completion of The Farsons Brewery Experience project. This captivating and immersive brand experience is located at The Brewhouse in Malta and serves as a remarkable showcase of the social and industrial history of the Farsons Group, Malta's leading brewery and food and beverage conglomerate, with a history dating back to the 1920s.

Location

Malta

Services

- Project Engineering & Technical Design - Writing & Content Development - Media & Film Production - Audiovisual Technologies - Show Control Specification - Show Programming - Technical Installation & Commissioning - Smell - Construction & Installation - Support & Maintenance - Training - Consultancy

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The Farsons Brewery Experience

Client's brief

Established in 1928, Farsons Brewery holds a significant place in Malta's heritage. Renowned for its iconic CISK lager beers, along with its Classic Ales, the company takes pride in its commitment to sustainability and innovation, and its contributions play a vital role in Malta's thriving economy.

The Client wanted to celebrate the bond between its popular brands and the local community and inspire a sense of pride and belonging by celebrating traditional know-how and local skills involved in the industry. The Farsons Brewery Experience was envisaged as a key destination for anyone curious to learn the rich backstory to Malta’s leading brewery and its incredible evolution into a modern and forward-thinking food and beverage conglomerate. An essential aspect of the project was to celebrate the brews produced by Farsons, asserting the reputable and leading credentials at the same time. The project also made it a priority to ensure accessibility for all visitors.

Our solution

The Farsons Brewery Experience traces the history of Farsons as a brewery business within the wider context of Malta and its history through to the present day. Here history, present and future blend, creating an entertaining yet educational environment. The brand centre stands as a must-visit attraction for both tourists and locals who are eager to delve into the rich story behind Malta's favourite beers and award-winning brands. The average dwell time in the visitor experience is 45-60 minutes, indicative of a comprehensive and captivating journey.

The Farsons Brewery Experience uses original artefacts to emphasise the message of authenticity while using innovative display techniques to engage visitors with the story. The immersive experience features multiple audio-visual installations which Sarner was responsible for. Our team created live action footage, animations, and special effects as well as audio soundscapes to bring both historic instances and brewing processes to life. As well as producing all of the audio-visual content, our engineers also designed, acquired and installed all of the audio-visual hardware.

Features

Discover a Brewing Legacy

The first exhibition zone provides an historical context, presenting in an engaging mix of display methods, the Maltese story of real people, who through resilience, hard work and entrepreneurship made beer the most popular beverage on the Islands. Using a combination of after effects, original drawings, historical photographs and documents, the captivating film introduces visitors to the Simonds Farsons Cisk brands, and the three entrepreneurial families who invested in brewing and eventually merged to form the Islands' leading brewers.

Establishing a Beer Culture in Malta

Beer was not always the drink of choice. This zone invites visitors to discover how the arrival of the British Armed Forces ingrained a trend that tipped the balance of the Maltese drinking habits forever. Visitors are introduced to Strait Street, a place known for its pubs and bars. The experience highlights the importance of this street in the social life of Malta and its connection to the brewery. Using original black and white 2D photos of people and places in Strait Street, our editors added a 3D effect and some movement to produce a fully immersive experience. The surround sound audio-visual installation transports visitors back in time, giving them a sense of being in Strait Street, a boisterous and lively environment filled with swing, jazz, and cabaret – with drinking, scuffles, military police and sounds from the harbour.

The Brewing Process

The opening of the brewery at Mriehel in 1950 signified a huge investment in the company and a new level of industrialisation for Malta. Built in just 4 years, the 7,000 sqm Mriehel brewery made use of the most forward-looking material of its day – reinforced concrete – becoming the first building in Malta to do so. A true feat of engineering and architecture, the Mriehel brewery was designed with a single objective in mind – to brew the world’s finest beer, in the most efficient way possible. The design of the Mriehel brewery, now referred to as the Old Brewhouse (the building in which visitors are standing) is as significant as the machinery. This zone gives an overview of the old brewing process, showing different stages taking place in different parts of the building. It explains why vats, pipes, and coppers can still be seen throughout the building. The 6 minute film uses original blueprints brought to life with some clever editing and a combination of archive video, animation and sound, to show how the building operates as a machine. Visitors also get to explore the four key natural ingredients of the brewing process.

Meet the Master Brewer

This zone introduces and explains the vital role of the Master Brewer, the skills required and the need for quality control. It contains interviews with the current Master Brewer cut with contemporary and archive footage.

The New Brewhouse

The final zones showcase the dynamic environment of the modern brewing processes. Visitors learn about all the processes that go on behind the scenes to deliver the product to the consumer: from the unloading of grains to the brewing, fermenting, and bottling, until finally the crates of beer are loaded onto a truck ready to be delivered locally or exported internationally. Visitors also learn about Farsons' prominent advertising campaigns and the awards and medals received since the 1950s. Last but not least, visitors are invited to enter The Brewhall, a magical space inhabited by the silent majestic brewing vessels, also called kettles, witnesses to a great brewing legacy.

'Our Farsons Brewery Experience got truly enriched with Sarner’s input. The historical artefacts and their chronicles and our evolving story are brought to life with Sarner’s professionally produced audio-visual content and hardware installations. While all our visitors have positively commented on this, we are glad to have worked on this project with such a professional team.'