We had a very nice visit to Arbikie Distillery near Dundee, Scotland. I highly recommend a visit here if your travels take you near Dundee.

Arbikie is situated on a 2500 hectare farm. Equipment has been sourced form German still maker Carl – and we are taking some BIG equipment.

Whisky wash runs and spirit runs are done on the pot stills. When making Vodka, distillate vapor stream is diverted through 2 columns with 20 donut & disc type plates. What I failed to photograph was the de-methylization column with its partial reboiler.

The Potato Vodka was exquisite. When I sip Potato Vodka I look for the elegant silky texture on the tongue and Arbikie’s product delivered that texture in large measure. The Gin made from this Vodka was by far and away the best Gin I have had in the UK on this trip.

Add Arbikie to your travel list. You will enjoy it.

We had a fantastic visit to the Diageo copper works in Alloa the other day. This facility is dedicated to ensuring the copper stills at all of Diageo’s European distilleries are kept in good working order.

We learned that it takes 4 years of apprentice time to qualify as a coppersmith.

There was a point in time when copper stills were made by the hot rivet method as this photo of an old still section shows.

Today, the 6 mm copper sheeting is oxy-acetylene welded with copper rod. At the time of welding, two welders work in tandem. One person welds the top side of the seam while his co-worker does the underside. Take this bit of trivia seriously. If a stillmaker tries to tell you that he cannot offer you 6 mm copper because it is too light to weld, you are dealing with the wrong supplier. Find a stillmaker who can do oxy-acetylene welding on 6 mm copper.

We also learned that copper is essential in removing sulfides from the material being distilled. A visit to the Scotch Whisky Research Institute has confirmed this. What’s more, we learned that people who are using a stainless steel pot and a copper column will make OK spirits, but to make exceptional spirits, a full copper system is needed. Sadly, I am seeing a lot of suppliers providing craft distillers with stainless pots and copper columns or sacrificial copper in the column. Why would a person opt for stainless so they can make just OK spirits. If you are getting into the craft business, why not aim to make the best possible product ?

Here are 3 copper still destined for Ireland. Why 3 you ask? That’s because Irish Whisky is triple pot distilled.

Here is a shell-in-tube condenser. Diageo has 9 distilleries that use the worm tub type condensers. All their other operations use shell in tube. We learned that the lesser surface area of a worm tub will give a distillate that is heavier and potentially with more sulfur notes than shell in tube.

And lastly – what happens when you weld copper? Yep – it gets hot all over because copper is a heat conductor. This heat anneals the grain structure. We learned that soft copper will be prone to erosion from stripping runs. At Diageo copper, all copper sections are hand hammered to “work harden” the copper grain structure. This prolongs the life of the still. If you are ordering a copper pot, ask the supplier if they have hammered the surfaces to harden the copper structure. If they look perplexed at that question, you are dealing with the wrong supplier.

Take caution if you are shopping for stills. There is a lot more to the structure of the metal than I ever imagined.

In the course of my studies here at Heriot Watt, I stumbled upon some Journal articles that referred to Japanese Whisky and how the Japanese are adding Lactobacillus bacteria to the latter stages of their ferments. The precise science, I am still trying to learn but as I understand it, the bacteria create lactic acid which decarboxylates the COOH end of fatty acids. Alcohol molecules then append themselves to this severed end and the next result is an ester.

One of the Japanese whiskies I had while at the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie was Yamazaki Distillers Reserve. Every sip of this nectar was fruity and elegant thanks to the esters.

Prior to coming to Scotland in late July, I did a series of mashes using my Bourbon recipe involving Malt Rye. I obtained some Lactobacillus bacteria from yeast company Lallemand. I conducted a mash and double pot distillation of a batch with no bacteria. I conducted a similar run where I added bacteria for a set amount of time. Lastly, I did a third run where the becteria had been added for a longer time. I can tell you that the new make coming off my pot still for the 3rd batch (longest bacterial residence time) was fruity and wonderful. I am now a firm believer in adding bacteria to the ferments. My hope now is that I can find some craft distillers that are curious enough to try this technique.

I first was introduced to McCallan way back in 1990, so when I had a chance to visit the Distillery just recently in early August 2018, I bought the 15 Pound ticket.

In a word – stunning! Edrington Group has spent 140 million Pounds to create what is without doubt the most elegant visitor experience I have ever encountered.

From the collection of old bottles on the walls to the building itself that has been designed to blend into the hillside to the herd of Scottish long-haired cattle, this is a great way to spend a day. You will learn some new technical details, especially about wooden casks. You will emerge a wiser Scotch Whisky consumer.

Today, I did a VIP Tour of Speyside Cooperage. This company is owned by French multinational TFF and in fact here is what I learned (I was shocked!!):

TFF has a cooperage in Ohio somewhere. At this cooperage they make new oak barrels which are rented out to Bourbon distillers for 4 to 6 years. After the Bourbon distillery is done with the cask, TFF reclaims their barrel and ships it to Scotland where it is re-furbished in Craigellachie before being sold to a Scotch distillery.

In addition, some of the barrels here at this cooperage are outright owned by big Scotch whisky makers who give careful instructions as to how to refurbish them. I was under the impression that all barrels were given a shave and a re-toast and a re-char. Not necessarily. Some are just given an inspection for cracks and a re-char. Some are just given an inspection only. In all cases, the metal hoops are re-furbished by removing the rivets and drilling new holes are inserting new rivets. This is to ensure that the barrel remains tight once it is filled again with distillate. The lids when applied again are fitted with a length of river reed which acts as a seal to prevent any leaks from the lid area.

TFF also has a facility in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. A craft distiller can contact this location to buy re-furbished barrels.

What follows are some pics that I took. These hardly do the subject justice. You really need to be here boots on the ground and literally 3 feet away from the cooper as he plies his trade before your eyes. I have also learned that it takes 4 years to become a cooper. Many of the coopers I saw working today have been there for decades. One gentleman had 44 years seniority. Apparently the one issue that can end a career is a back injury. Constant movement, twisting and turning can take their toll on a man’s back.

I also learned that the coopers are paid by the barrel. To get paid, their barrels made in a day all have to pass a pressure test. If getting paid piece-work sounds like a bad deal, it is not. I was told that these coopers make 3 times as much money as the average working person in the Craigellachie area.

A short walk along the road from Craigellachie will take you to the facility. On their website they talk about tours, but it is best to email Gillian Reid and ask her about the VIP 30 Pound option.

Barrels, barrels. Gaaaad!! Piles of the damn things!!

In my book Field to Flask, I try to describe how the oak logs are quarter-sawn. This photo explains it better.

A shot of the production floor.I took a lot of video footage and will be creating a video presentation.

FIRE !!!! I learned that a #4 alligator char is a 160 second computer-timed burn. A #2 char is something like 75 seconds. After flame-out, water is sprayed inside to stop the burn.

The cooper uses a tool to insert a length of reed into the “croze” joint around the lid.

New lids are made on site in the event that the barrels arriving on site have bulged or cracked lids.

The taller barrel is called a Port pipe.

These smaller barrels are called quarter-casks. ( Hint – Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Malt….)

As noted in a previous post, a tour of Glenfiddich is a must. What follows are some pics I took while on tour along with brief comments…

The grounds are immaculate. This kind of care and attention speaks volumes about the organizational culture that has been created at Glenfiddich, which speaks further to the quality of their products.

Mash vessels and a shot of the rakes inside the vessels. Each mash comprises 10 tons of grain and up to 60,000 liters of water. The method is the standard “3 water mash” procedure.

Sparged wort passes through plate heat exchangers to cool from 85C to 17C.

There are 32 fermenters on site. All are the wooden Douglas Fir construct. Lactobacillus bacteria are resident in the tiny cracks in the wood. These bacteria thrive during the ferment and decarboxylate fatty acids which leads to creation of fruity esters after the 72 hr ferment cycle. In fact – the new make spirit is exceptionally fruity and almost worthy of a wee dram in itself.

On site there are 10 wash stills 9100 Liters in size and 18 spirit stills 4550 Liters in size.

The bottling line was operating while I was there. Off to one side there were some bottles set up for hand filling and hand labeling. These, we were told, were 50 year old Whisky destined for China. They will sell for $26,000 per bottle to wealthy Chinese businessman. Time to make friends with a Chinese business-man !!!

There are so many aging warehouses on site, I lost track. Note the black staining on the exterior of this building. That is the classic black mold that loves to grow on alcohol aging warehouses.

These few pictures only provide you with a visual. To get the whole experience, you have to be here boots on the ground. Truly a remarkable experience.

If you are thinking of venturing into the craft distilling business, before you make any decisions or buy any equipment, a trip to the Speyside region of Scotland is critical.

To get to these parts, take a train from Edinburgh to Inverness and then on to Elgin. From Elgin, catch Bus #36 to Craigellachie and exit there (hint – there is only 1 bus stop in the wee town..). Another hint – this bus runs 7 days a week, despite claims to the contrary on the Internet (fake news). Stay either at the Highlander Inn or the Craigellachie Inn. To give you an example of how traditional this area is, the Highlander website had no on-line reservation function. I had to do the old fashioned method of phoning them to reserve a room (just like we used to do in the 1980’s !!!).

From Craigellachie, a 1 mile jaunt will land you at Speyside Cooperage. You can do the cheap 4 Pound tour or you can pay 30 Pounds for the VIP version. I did the VIP one and got 2 hours on the floor with the coopers watching in intricate detail how they refurbish barrels for various distillery customers. This place is owned by French company TFF who also have a sister facility in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. A further 2 miles along the road will land you at Glenfiddich Distillery. By far and away the BEST tour I have ever had anywhere ( I did the 50 Pound Solera Tour which includes a full distillery tour plus a detailed intro to their Solera method which is used in their 15 Year Old expression). You can walk to the Cooperage from Craigellachie, but be sure to take Bus #36 to Glenfiddich.

Going the other way, you can walk the path along the Spey River that used to be the old rail line. There is an odd Canadian connection here. In the mid-1800s in Canada, there were some 70 distilleries making whisky for export to the UK. This Speyside Railway is what started to bring Speyside Whisky to the rest of the world thanks to its links to the port city of Glasgow. By the 1860s, many of these Canadian distilleries were defunct as demand for their exported Whisky had all but dried up.

It is 2 miles along this path to Aberlour (or you can hop Bus #36). In Aberlour you will find one of my favorite companies – Walkers Shortbread. You will also find the Aberlour Distillery – home to one of my favorite Whisky’s, Aberlour A’Bunadh which is aged in ex-sherry casks for its entire life.

Once you have tasted so many fine Whisky’s (the Highlander Inn has 400 on offer), you will start to understand why for so long now I have been screaming at the top of my lungs that proper Whisky should be double pot distilled. None of this column and plate bullshit. Columns and plates explain why our Canadian commercial whisky is what I term “brown piss in a bottle”. Craft distillers who insist on using columns and plates will be making – brown piss in a bottle. Does the Canadian consumer really need more brown piss? I say no. A craft distiller can make a great name for himself/herself by focusing on the double pot method.

Before I get too agitated and go off on a long rant, I will wrap it up here. This is a fantastic part of the world and you owe it to yourself to make the trip.

Greetings from the Highlander Inn in Craigellachie, Scotland. Add this place to your bucket list if you are a whisky lover. This wee town is in the heart of Speyside. The bar here at the Highlander has near 400 expressions of whisky, so needless to say, I have been doing ample research.

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First up….(and not shown here) is Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Cask. Finally!!!!
I understand this process thanks to a chance encounter with a Glenfiddich Brand Ambassador in the bar a few moments ago. How it works is, Glenfiddich is aged in 3 different cask types for 15 years. This aged material is then dumped into an 11,000 gallon vat where “marrying” takes place. About 1/2 of the vat is emptied for bottling. The vat is then re-filled with more 15 year old product. Half is emptied off and bottled….and so on…repeat….repeat….

In my other research, I have found that I quite enjoy Tomintoul 16 year old. This distillery is Japanese owned and not open to the public.

I am starting to dip a wee toe into the Islay peated category. I quite enjoyed Ardbeg Uigedail. The peat is nicely balanced by the sweetness picked up from aging in ex-sherry casks.

The Bowmore 15 year old is also an Islay product but the peat is toned down a bit. A very nice dram to finish a meal with.

The Dalmore 12 year old is likewise a nice product that displays excellent balance on the palatte.

Lastly, in another chance encounter, I met the Brand Ambassador for Balvenie. Yes, we get Balvenie in Canada, but we do not get Peat Week. What happens at the distillery is there is an annual shutdown for maintenance. Prior to this event, the distillery runs batches of highly peated malt through the process. The result is Peat Week Whisky. I tried the 14 year old expression and 30 minutes later I am still savoring the profound balance of peat and sweet on my palate. A very nice pre-bedtime dram to be sure.

I will wrap up these thoughts by saying that if you are contemplating a craft distillery – you have got to make good whisky. Otherwise, don’t make it at all. As I stress in the Workshops, adding sticks and cubes and chips to make a distillate turn brown just ain’t gonna’ cut it. We live in a global society where goods and services flow back and forth. If the consumer does not like your product, it will not matter that it is local. That consumer will go back to his/her big name brand whisky in a big hurry.

Whisky is 500 years ols and Speyside is where it began. Treat yourself to a wee trip here and sample what real whisky is all about ( or as I am reminded….all abooot in my Canadian accent).

Until Next Time….

Cheers

The next time you taste a Japanese whisky – like Nikka Malt whisky – you will note the distinct fruity, estery flavors. As part of my studies at Heriot Watt University, I have come across some journal papers that point out the Japanese deliberately add Lactobacillus bacteria towards the end of the fermentation. These microbes feast on whatever may be left of the fermentable sugars in the fermenter plus they feast on the dead carcasses of yeast cells that have expired. What these microbes generate is lactic acid. According to the literature, this acid can alter the structure of fatty acids in the fermented wash to generate lactones plus they can combine with alcohol molecules to create esters. Net result – better mouthfeel and better flavor. I recently saw an add in a magazine for a Lallemand product called Sour Pitch which is Lactobacillus Plantarum microbes. This product is aimed at craft brewers seeking to make sour beers. I contacted Lallemand and they graciously provided me with some Sour Pitch. I have now completed 3 mashes using one of my Bourbon recipes. In one mash I added zero microbes. In the 2nd, I added a measured quantity after 84 hrs of fermentation and left the bacteria to grow in the fermenter for 24 more hours. In the 3rd, I let the same measured dose of bacteria grow for 48 more hours. I have now done A’Lembic pot distillation strip runs and spirit runs. I will be sending samples to Lallemend for GC analysis.We hope to be able to identify the presence of esters on the GC plots and we hope that the 48 hrs sample will have a greater ester profile. Stay tuned for the outcome….

Back in February when I was in Scotland I toured Glengoyne Distilling just outside the Glasgow suburb of Milngavie. I was seriously impressed with how open and welcoming the team was at Glengoyne – in particular my tour guide Jo-Anne.

I learned that many Scotch distillers use something called Distiller’s Malt – which is a malt barley more highly modified than the usual 2-row pale malt commonly available in North America. A higher degree of modification means that the sprouted grains have been dried “low and slow”. The naturally occurring enzymes in the grain thus are more apt to survive the drying process. In the typical Pale Malt, the drying process is quicker and many of the natural enzymes are killed off, save for Alpha amylase and Beta amylase.

Back in Canada, I recently approached my grain distributor ( Western Malt Distributors in Saskatoon) to inquire about Distiller’s Malt. I soon learned that it is available through Cargill (USA) – so I ordered 6 bags. More costly than the regular Pale Malt – but such is the tuition cost of learning. Upon opening the first bag – I was hit with beautiful malty, biscuit-like aromas. For sure – different than the standard Pale Malt.

As I sit here on this Saturday morning, I am doing that final 2 mashes from these 6 bags. My arms are sore and so they ought to be. Hand-cranking 300 pounds of grain through my little roller mill is a lot of work. No need to visit the gym this month!

Each mash was remarkably consistent giving me 21 Brix after a 63C rest and a 72C rest. What’s more the sweet goodness of this malt was beyond beautiful. To add to the flavor, I included in each mash some Simpson’s Smoked Malt (27 ppm phenol) and some Chocolate Malt.

I fermented all my mashes with Lallemand MW yeast for 5 days. I then did stripping runs on my 60 L A’lembic still and ran each run until my hydrometer read 10%. In other words, I stripped everything out.

The stripped distillate was then re-distilled in my 20L A’lembic. The majority of these spirits runs came off at 85% and towards the end of the run, tailed off. I stopped collecting when my hydrometer read 55-60%. each spirits run yielded on average a distillate that was about 72-75% alc. It was interesting to taste these late runnings when teh hydrometer was at or near 60%. The notes of chocolate (from the Chocolate Malt) were very evident.

I have now about filled a 56L barrel at 58% alc and that barrel shall rest for at least 3 years. I think this is going to be a fabulous product.

If you can get your hands on some Distiller’s Malt, give it a go. I think you will be impressed.

Oh…and by the way…if you are curious about the next 5 Day Distillery Workshop – it is set for the week of Sept 11th at Urban Distilleries in Kelowna, BC. See their website for registration details. There might be one more in late October – but my Heriot Watt M.Sc. school work is going to again take priority for me….. I have one more course to do this Fall and will be starting my thesis project as well.