Glen Albyn Distillery Logbook 16th January 1925

 

Welcome to the newest entry in the Glen Albyn logbook, marking the first of 1925 as we delve into the distillery itself.

First and foremost, my thanks to Alan Winchester for his invaluable help with this fascinating entry. The sketches he kindly provided in this article pertain to Longmorn distillery on Speyside rather than Glen Albyn, unfortunately. Regrettably, the Stills at Albyn remain somewhat of a mystery, but I am optimistic that we will unearth this topic in due time.

I should also mention that these drawings were of low resolution, so we utilised AI technology to enhance them to the quality you see here.

What’s intriguing, as you will discover in this entry, is how we frequently neglect the supporting infrastructure surrounding a Still. The challenges posed by direct heat and their effects on the shell and inner workings that essentially support what is, in reality, a massive kettle. 

Hold that thought for now, let’s proceed to the transcription and discuss it afterwards.

'Glen Albyn Distillery

Inverness

16th January 1925

Sir,

I have to report receipt of the following notice from Messrs Mackinlay's Birnie Ltd, Distillers, Glen Albyn. 

1925 Jan 10th: Remove part of brick work from Wash Still to repair flue plate. 

The removal of the brick work was desired  as a small crack had appeared on the underside of the Wash Still. 

This crack was attributed to excessive heat bearing on that part of the still and caused by the flue being built on too abrupt a curve. It was desired to patch the crack and to rebuild the flue at this part on a more gradual curve. 

The removal of the brick work was allowed to proceed during the brewing period as one of necessity and urgency.

(this line was scored through but we can still read it): A circular copper patch about 9 inches in diameter was/

The real cause of the crack was found to be a flaw in the copper and the faulty piece was cut out. A new circular copper patch about 9 inches in diameter was put over the opening and securely rivetted to the underside plate of the still, and the brickwork of the flue rebuilt.

There has been practically no change in the constructor connection, position capacity or security.

Your obedient servant, 

G.W. Peterkin, officer.

19/1/25 Approved JWA Coll.'

This entry struck me as particularly compelling due to its reference to a sudden bend and the enduring remedy implemented to address the underlying problem. The timeline might trace back to 1884-1885, when Glen Albyn was rebuilt and revived under fresh ownership, bolstered by the expertise of John Birnie and William Grant. It could equally mirror the ramifications of heightened output and the inevitable deterioration of infrastructure.

To gain deeper understanding, we're forever grateful for the opportunity to direct such entries toward Alan Winchester, whose observations proved invaluable: 

'Interesting, I may run that by a coppersmith.

The furnace heat below the still is carried out to the chimney in a flue, hence the shape of the pot in a direct fire is sloped, for the heat transfer, where the flue starts it’s called the throat and can be vey hot, and liable to burn onto the still, so as well as weak copper it could be a badly constructed flue. I remember it was important the sides of the stills had to be kept clean and burnt areas cleaned. These flues plates would be quite thick copper.'

My thanks to everyone once again, and we move onwards to the next page which may reveal more still-related issues, who knows? That's a joy of this project.  

The Glen Albyn logs are held at the Highland Archives Centre in Inverness (HCA/D31/4/1/23 and HCA/D31/4/1/24) and I'm thankful to the Archive and HMRC for access to these incredible resources and bringing them to life.