By Emma Campbell There was only one way Brakspear's one-tonne fermentation vessels were coming into Wychwood Brewery - and that was through the roof. They're the best part of a century old. First installed in Henley in around 1910, they've been re-lined, re-clad, and are ready to go. The vessels are key to the production of Brakspear beer. "What is unique about this," said Wychwood chief executive Rupert Thompson, "is the double-drop system. "It's very, very rare. "It's an old-fashioned process, where you hold the beer in one vessel for 12 to 24 hours, and then drop it into another. "We couldn't have brewed Brakspear quite like it was before without either having the double-drop system or having a process that replicated it." With only an inch and a half clearance between the fermentation vessels and the brewery's beams, there was no room for error when the vats were lowered in. A few last-minute adjustments were called for - involving a hammer. The engineering consultant, Tom Sawyer, told BBC Oxford: "There's a lot of preparation involved because obviously we've got an existing building and some of the equipment is existing - so it didn't match when we started. "We just had to make sure that it did match when we'd finished." Bringing Brakspear back to Oxfordshire has taken more than a year of planning, and has meant the brewery closing for four weeks for the refit. But will the beer taste the same brewed in Witney as it did in Henley? Jeremy Moss, the head brewer, said, "We'll have a panel of about four or five people who know the product well and those people will hopefully aim this towards where we should be. "Brakspears is an Oxfordshire beer. It should back in Oxfordshire. This is where it started - this is where it should be. "Oxfordshire's its home, at the end of the day." | 
