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Supplying yeast to distillers - A visit to AB Mauri at Hull
By: Roy Lindsay
01/09/2008
AB Mauri may be found on a six acre site in Hull previously known as Worlds End Farm. The name seemed very appropriate as I searched the ends of the earth to find it in the depths of winter earlier this year! I had been invited by Supply Chain Manager, Alan Storr.
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Tiny stills at Aultbea
By: Frances Oates
01/09/2008
The minimum size of still usually designated for whisky distilling in the UK is 1800 litres (240 gallons). New builds at Daftmill in Fife, Kilchoman on Islay and St Georges south of the border use stills of at least that size. This minimum size was presumably introduced to make them less portable and thus preserve government revenue. The Loch Ewe Distillery stills named MacAulay and McKenzie have an approximate volume of only 180 litres. Frances Oates explains how permission was granted for the use of these small stills and the small-scale distilling at Drumchork Lodge on the shores of Loch Ewe in Wester Ross.
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Getting ’em back, Jack - Good practice container repatriation
01/09/2008
Empty containers awaiting return are not only vulnerable to opportunist theft because of their scrap value, but also cost the brewing industry thousands of pounds each year as they stand idle. Over recent years the supply of beer to pubs has become increasingly complex with the creation of large ‘independent’ distributors, much higher levels of wholesaling and the more diverse distribution of brands on a national basis.
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Solution for the future is in the past - Butanol fermentation for biofuel
By: Martin Tangney, Jane White
01/09/2008
There are few subjects as topical as global warming and the associated importance of reducing carbon emissions. The development of the biofuel industry has been touted as the possible solution. Against this background, much of the world debates the relative merits of biofuel while under the misconception that biofuel is a new idea designed specifically to combat global warming. In reality, biofuels are the original liquid transportation fuels and the one true driver that relentlessly accelerates development is the inescapable fact that our oil resources are finite. The real question is therefore, which of the current biofuel developments will ultimately prevail?
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Biofuels update
By: Alastair Dickie
01/09/2008
Sincemy last update on biofuels published in thismagazine in June 2007 a lot has happened. High oil prices, food shortages and higher food prices have fuelled the arguments over whether it is sensible to use crops such as wheat and oilseed rape for the production of biofuels.
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The High, the Old and the Distinguished
By: Frank Robson
01/09/2008
Brewster is the word for a female brewer; but what do you call a female distiller? Well one answer is Pru Jowett! There are of course a number of ladies in the Scotch whisky industry today and lady distillery managers are nothing new. Elizabeth Cumming, the widow of the owner of Cardhu, took over the business in 1872 and eventually sold it twenty one years later to a certain John Walker of Kilmarnock.
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Dewar’s prepares for the future - Matching production to warehousing capacity
By: Iain Lochhead
01/09/2008
The past couple of years have witnessed an upsurge in production volumes for most Scotch Whisky companies and Dewar’s has been no different. In some ways the distillery output was easier to achieve because in reality it was more to do with maximising the hours the distilleries were in operation. Moving to a seven day production cycle from the traditional five day cycle gave an immediate boost to production volumes.
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Whisky with Hornsey - A visit to English Whisky Co. in Norfolk
By: Ian Hornsey
01/09/2008
Surely, one of the many delights of those long winter nights is to curl up in front of the fire with a good book and a nice glass of Scotch. Well, in a couple of years time, we’ll still be able to do that very thing, but, if one was minded, one would be able to relax with a glass of ‘English’ instead. Let me explain.
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The Future of Distilling
By: Gordon Steele
01/09/2008
Today’s distilling industry is a multi-million pound global concern dominated by large brands controlled by international companies. The industry, thankfully, has been going through a period of sustained growth. Recent years have seen steady increases in sales due both to the emergence of new markets in countries such as India and China and the revitalisation of some traditional markets. Distillers have strived to position themselves so that they can capitalise on these opportunities by supplying the increased demand without compromising flavour or quality.
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The GVA
By: Michael Parsons
01/09/2008
The principal role of the Gin & Vodka Association is to ‘promote and protect’ the interests of the members world-wide, which at once appears as a very satisfying and worthwhile task. However things are not quite that simple, the reality is that the Association finds that its assault is confronted by a mass of fiscal barbed wire and well dug-in regulations – an analogy that could just roll on and on.
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The importance of wood
By: John Ramsay
01/09/2008
The Scottish Section of the IBD spent April 1st learning about how critical wood choice is in the production of spirits. A visit to Speyside Cooperage at Craigellachie showed manufacture of casks and two back to back papers from Edrington’s Master Blender John Ramsay and SWRI’s Research Scientist Dr John Conner went into detail from felling timber to what happens in the cask at the molecular level. Two papers well worthy of a wider audience.
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Living the Kentucky dream ... in California
By: Craig Pakish
01/09/2008
Craig Pakish and Charlie Bowman, the founders of C&C Shine LLC were predestined to meet in a small California town, where Charlie sold furniture and Craig was the town’s Deputy Sheriff. Both men were born in Fort Knox, Kentucky in the early 1950s; then they went their separate ways for the next 40 years.