WHISKY HISTORY
The links between whisky and beer are many and varied, and as Gavin D Smith reports, many distilleries started out life as breweries – while others combine to produce both drinks
From beer to whisky and beyond…
At its most basic, whisky is a distillation of beer and the worlds of distilling and brewing share many terms, such as ‘tun’, ‘wort’ and ‘back’.
It follows that historically the locations for distilleries and breweries shared a number of factors, including access to reliable local supplies of pure water, good transport links for the input of raw materials, fuel and casks, and carriage to markets for the finished product.
So it comes as no surprise that a number of distilleries started life as breweries. Perhaps the best-known example is Glenmorangie, which was established in 1738 as a brewery for Messrs McKenzie and Gallie.
So it comes as no surprise that a number of distilleries started life as breweries. Perhaps the best-known example is Glenmorangie, which was established in 1738 as a brewery for Messrs McKenzie and Gallie.
The distinctive stills of Glenmorangie, which started life as a brewery
The Victorian whisky boom saw the distillery converted into Glen Moray distillery during 1897, with the buildings remaining largely unchanged
Robin Laing at Tullibardine
Beer continued to be brewed there until 1831, and the buildings were converted into Glenmorangie distillery in 1843.
Across on Speyside, Glen Moray distillery in Elgin began in 1815 as Henry Arnott & Co’s brewery, one of around 80 in the area at the time. The Victorian whisky boom saw the distillery converted into Glen Moray distillery during 1897, with the buildings remaining largely unchanged.
In Perthshire, Tullibardine distillery was established in the village of Blackford during 1949, using the site of a former brewery. According to legend, King James IV of Scotland stopped to buy a barrel of ale there, following his coronation at Scone near Perth in 1488. Later known as the Gleneagles brewery and owned by the Sharp family, this was one of three breweries, along with a maltings, to be located in Blackford.
Over on the west coast, brothers Hugh and John Stevenson founded the Oban Brewing Company in 1793, producing Cowbell Ale, in what was at that time little more than a hamlet besides an inviting natural harbour. They began distilling whisky the following year, making Oban one of the oldest operational distilleries in Scotland.
However, other distilleries have fallen by the wayside, while Oban has survived and thrived. In Inverness, Glen Albyn failed to escape the Distillers Company Limited’s major closure programme of the 1980s, ceasing distillation during 1983 and subsequently being demolished. Glen Albyn had started out as the Muirtown brewery, established by brewer and corn merchant Alex Fraser in 1826, and converted to whisky making two decades later.
From an architectural viewpoint, one of the saddest brewery/distillery casualties was undoubtedly Lochside, located in the east coast port of Montrose. A brewery had been established on the site in 1781, and was subsequently rebuilt during 1889 to the design of the great Elgin distillery architect Charles Doig. It was a classic Germanic ‘Brauhaus’ style tower brewery, painted cream, and served as a distinctive landmark in the local landscape.
From 1926 it was operated by Wearside-based James Deuchar, but closed after Deuchar was taken over by Newcastle Breweries 30 years later. During 1957, it reopened as a combined malt and grain distillery, owned by colourful whisky entrepreneur Joseph Hobbs, through his Macnab Distilleries Company.
By 1992, Lochside was part of of Allied Domecq, which had a surplus of distilleries, and production ceased in spring of that year. Despite it being an architecturally rare and historic structure, Lochside had no ‘listed’ status to protect it, and the buildings were demolished during 2005 to make way for residential development.
A number of breweries and distilleries operate in tandem, including Eden Mill in Fife and BrewDog in Aberdeenshire, plus Suffolk-based Adnams
PICTURED: BrewDog stills
Boann distillery in Ireland produces both whisky and beer
Today, a number of breweries and distilleries operate in tandem, including Eden Mill in Fife and BrewDog in Aberdeenshire, plus, south of the border, Suffolk-based Adnams. In Ireland, County Meath’s Boannn produces both beer and whiskey, while near Killarney in County Kerry, €24m has been invested in what will be Ireland’s largest independent brewery, distillery and visitor centre when it opens in the near future.
Staying in Ireland, Waterford distillery was converted from a former Guinness brewery, and retains the brewery mash filter rather than a conventional mashtun. A mash filter is also a feature of Scotland’s newest distillery, 8 Doors at John O’Groats, in Caithness. Bespoke stills were commissioned by founders Derek and Kerry Campbell, but the rest of the production equipment was sourced from a brewery in Edinburgh that was closing down.
A mash filter produces very clear wort and is ideal if using grains such as rye, which conventional mash tuns find difficult to process. 8 Doors hopes in time to put its filter to good effect using locally grown bere barley, as previously distilled by Bruichladdich on Islay.
Bere is a heritage six-row barley variety long abandoned by most producers because of its comparatively low yields. However, the malting firm of Simpsons Malt Ltd, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed, provides another link between whisky and beer-making, reporting that:
“The barley has enjoyed something of a minor renaissance in the worlds of brewing and distilling as both brewers and distillers look towards increased experimentation with ingredients and production techniques.”
Waterford was converted from a Guinness brewery into its present incarnation as a distillery