"Bob" Fermann, Of

Tahiti

■ • TjREWMASTER of Paradise” would be 15 a fitting title for Henry Robert (“Bob”) Permann, brewmaster of the brewery on the South Sea island of Tahiti, who has been spending a holiday in Los Angeles, UJS.A., with his brother (says the American Journal -Western Brewing World”).

Down there on a coral island in the middle of the Eastern Pacific he brews

1,200 barrels of beer a year. There’s not another brewery within 2,000 miles (the nearest one is in New Zealand) and Fer mann’s territory covers all the islands within a radius of a thousand miles.

Most of the output of the Tahiti brewery (“Brasserie de Tahiti”) is in big 22 oz. bottles. It’s all bottled beer, no draught, and usually taken warm. Ice is not so common in Tahiti. Mr. Permann is taking back with him an electric refrig erator—that and a radio about the size of a pulp washer.

The water supply comes right down out of the clouds—mountains grow high on those volcanic islands—and drops in an 800 ft. waterfall almost right into Papeete, the island’s principal town. In place of rice or com, Mr. Fermann uses a native product called “manioc” which is similar to arrowroot. His malt comes from Aus tralia and from Germany, just half way around the world, come his hops.

Once in a while a steam pipe breaks, otherwise Sunday, when the plant is idle, is this brewmaster’s busiest day.

During free hours, he works on the lathe —a favourite pastime. He is his own en gineer, mechanic, plant manager bottle house superintendent and does his own arc welding. His helpers are 14 natives, who are very good workers, he explains, except that you have to tell them all over again each day just what to do and then do half of it yourself!

“Bob” Fermann was bom in Chicago in 1883 and it is just 18 years ago, while he was with a Mexican brewery that he picked up a “National Geographic” maga zine, read an article about the South Seas and decided that there was the place for him.

Mr. Fermann relaxes, Tahitian-style.