20 things we learned after touring Brewers Quay

The site used to house two breweries. Fresh plans were on display earlier this summer to regenerate the site. Developers wish to bring flats, shops and restaurants to the area.

Whilst businesses continue to trade in the complex today, much of the building remains unused with shadows of its former self still prevalent.

We were taken on a tour of the building and shown the nooks and crannies that still remain, as well as where potential for a new development lies.

1) If you didn't know, this is Brewers Quay.

2) And this is our tour guide, site manager Roger Dalton.

3) Brewers Quay is a converted complex that used to house the Devenish Brewery and the Groves Brewery.

4) The two breweries once stood separate to one another. Roger led a redevelopment of the site in 1989 that brought the two together. The Devenish Brewery, which went on to incorporate the Groves Brewery, closed in 1985.

4) On the first floor of the Devenish building, some of the old winding gear that powered the brewery still remains. It ran all the way through the building.

6) Malt would be taken up through the building via a Jacob's ladder system. It would be deposited into the revolving kiln to start the germination. In the potential redevelopment, these will feature as part of the amenity space.

7) The fermentation process would take place in this second-floor room, which features two big copper instruments. Hops and sugar would be added to start the brewing process, which would take around five days. This will also be included as part of the amenity space.

8) This is the former tasting spa, which featured as part of the old Timewalk Exhibition on the site. Visitors were able to sample tasters from a micro-brewer.

9) The tasting spa lies next to the connecting floor between the two buildings. Roger said: "The Groves side is a lovely Victorian tower built brewery and the Devenish one is a it of a mixture of independent buildings." A redevelopment would see the outside of the building partly restored.

10) The brewing hall, in the Groves building, still features a number of large fermenters. Don't be fooled by the Devenish sign. It's currently used as a storage area.

11) The hall features water pipes disguised as handrails. This would flush out the fermenters for the next brew so they weren't contaminated.

12) This room will be going to the Weymouth Museum. It's yet to be confirmed if these mascots will as well....

13) The Lantern Room sits on the fourth floor on the Groves building and used to be full of water tanks. Roger admits part of the timber work is rotten and a lot of the masonry has cracks.

14) This could be a penthouse flat, however. Roger said: "It's linked to the tower across to the left and there would be two other rooms adjacent to it."

This is the view.

15) This isn't the highest accessible point in the complex, though. This is.

16) There is a questionable, dark path to reach this room....

16) This half-floor features a cast iron water tank in a dark and somewhat abandoned room. It also has 'one of the largest ballcocks in the world', according to Roger.

17) An attempt was made to remove the tank several years ago but contractors were forced to give up. This would still have to be removed as part of any redevelopment.

19) Any conversion of the two listed breweries is going to be complex. Roger said: "We've got listed interiors that have to be kept and preserved. They either have to stay as museum or amenity areas, and therefore can't be converted to any commercial or residential use."

20) Any redevelopment would have to be built in a careful, sensitive way. Roger said: "It simply isn't a flat site you can develop on. This brewery site is going to be particularly tricky, and that's where the costs will be absorbed very, very quickly."