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OUGS Journal 20(2) Symposium Edition 1999 Cover Illustration Open University Geological Society Journal Symposium Edition 1999 The Caledonian Connection University of Aberdeen Contents Whisky and Water: the Essence of Scotland 1 Dr Stephen Cribb, Author, Broadcaster and OU Tutor Geology on the Scottish side of Iapetus: links with Greenland, Scandinavia and North America 4 Dr Cornelius Gillen, University of Edinburgh New finds in the Hopeman Sandstone 10 Carol Hopkins, Open University Earth Sciences Undergraduate The Elgin Marvel 16 Dr Neil Clark, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow The Aftermath of the Groningen Gas Discovery: 19 History of North Sea Exploration 1964-1999 in 30 minutes Dr K W Glennie, University of Aberdeen The Aberdeenshire Gabbros. a tale of two plutons 29 Sue Hay, OU Graduate and PhD Student, University of London Palaeoecology of Old Red Sandstone Fish Beds of Scotland 37 Dr Nigel Trewin, University of Aberdeen A Caledonian Scottish Assembly: 41 Dr Phil Stone, BGS Edinburgh Book reviews 9, 15, 18, 28, 36, 40, 45, 46 It is the responsibility of authors to obtain the necessary permission to reproduce any copyright material they wish to use in their arti- cle. The views expressed in this Journal are those of the individual author and do not represent those of the Open University Geological Society. In the opinion of the author the description of venues are accurate at the time of going to press; the Open University Geological Society does not accept responsibility for access, safety considerations or adverse conditions encountered by those visiting the sites. ISSN 0143-9472 © Copyright reserved OUGS Journal 20(2) Symposium Edition 1999 Cover illustration Thin sections of several different habits of barite. Photographs: Jane Clarke. Botryoidal barite Acicular barite Poikilotopic barite Mag 538; ppl. Mag 549; xpl. Mag 530; xpl. Bladed barite (white) Botryoidal barite Spherulitic barite Mag 580; ppl. Mag 538; xpl Mag 584; xpl. Fasicular-optic barite Banded barite Banded barite Mag 549; xpl. Mag 538; xpl. Mag 538; ppl. Whisky & Water – the Essence of Scotland Dr Stephen Cribb, Geologist, Author and Broadcaster Firstly I would like to thank OUGS for inviting me. I have been allowed to pass through the grain. This peat reek is absorbed by associated with the Society for a very long time. Nearly twenty the malted barley and the flavour imparted ranges from almost years ago I led and attended London Branch trips, I have done a nothing to quite strong. trip for East Midlands and have another next Easter and now that The shape and type of the still I live in the far north of Scotland I am a member of the West of The height of a still controls the amount of aromatics that pass Scotland Group. Despite what I have just said about my connec- into the final distillate. Tall stills produce a lighter cleaner spirit tions with OUGS, I have never been to a Symposium before, so I whereas smaller dumpy stills allow a lot more of the heavy aro- have assumed that it is something like Summer School. matics to pass through. My original interest in the geology of brewing and distilling came The type of barrels when I was an S238 tutor. Whilst demonstrating at the Traditionally these are used sherry barrels from Spain but Nottingham Summer Schools it was easy to show people how Bourbon barrels from America are also used. These provide the aggregates were produced from the original quarry source, but colour to the whisky as well as influencing the maturation not as easy to make water interesting. The detail of this talk is the process. result of that attempt and has also given rise to the book Whisky On the Rocks – origins of the ‘Water of Life” (Cribb S & Cribb The process waters J, 1998, BGS, 72pp) which my wife and I recently published. This is the water that is used for the mashing process and is the subject in which I am particularly interested. It has been known To continue the Summer School metaphor I guess that this talk for a very long time that in the brewing of beer the differing should be something like a tutorial. So, is it to be remedial or chemical content of the process waters exert a significant effect enrichment? Looking at the delegate list I feel sure it has to be on the type of beer that can be brewed. It is exactly the same remedial! brewing process in whisky, just a lot more subtle. Researching and writing the book itself was quite fun. I would like to read you the first two lines from a poem called ‘A Commissioned by BGS the original name was to be Scotch on the Glass of Water’ by May Sarton. I first saw this in London as one Rocks but we were beaten to that title by Lord (Douglas) Hurd of the Poems on the Underground series and it sums up my inter- who used the title for a reputedly racy novel. We also had an est in the subject: interesting battle with the previous BGS director Peter Cook, an Australian, who was very unwilling to allow me to include the “Here is a glass of water from my well. Northern Irish whisky Bushmills as he said it was Irish and thus It tastes of rock and roots and earth and rain”. unfair to Scotland to mention it. This is the key to the production of different whiskies and it is this Whisky-making is essentially a brewing process followed by dis- area in which the geology of the water sources becomes relevant. tillation of the brew. The first stage is called Malting. This is The knowledge of the effects of water chemistry within the indus- where barley is sprinkled with water and allowed to germinate. try is surprisingly poor. If you ever visit the premier research This starts off enzyme processes which break down the starch in department of distilling and brewing in this country, the Institute the grain to sugar. After a few days this process is halted by heat- of Distilling and Brewing at Heriot Watt University, you will find ing the barley and allowing a certain amount of peat smoke to library shelves full of books and papers describing different types pass through the barley. The second stage is called Mashing. The of wood, different designs of stills, the effects of copper and the- malted barley is ground and mixed with hot water during which ses on fermentation, but you will find virtually nothing on the time the sugar and other substances are extracted from the grain. subject of water and water chemistry. My book is, to date, the The resulting liquid is then cooled and left to ferment using a most scientific text that has ever been published concerning the mixture of brewing and wine yeasts which results in a beer-like role that water plays in distilling! liquid with an alcohol content of about 7%. The liquid then goes into onion-shaped copper stills where it is heated and the vapours Distillers are often reluctant to talk about the chemistry of their that are produced pass up and over the top of the still into a con- process waters. Some are happy to say that the water source has denser. The distillation process is normally repeated to produce a no effect at all. Yet they jealously guard their unique source and, spirit of about 65% alcohol content. The raw whisky is then put if asked to change, always reply “impossible”. There is a mys- into oak barrels and left to mature for at least the legal minimum tique, which is not clearly understood. Even their knowledge of of three years; though single malt whiskies remain in the barrel geology is amazingly thin at times, and this is often the same for for much longer, commonly between 10-25 years depending on whisky writers. I have seen in an authoritative whisky book ‘the the distillery. Highland Boundary Fault is an imaginary line between Stonehaven and the Clyde’. Imaginary? Rubbish! It is all very In the manufacturing process there are four crucial factors and it real. You can see it and you can walk along it if you wanted to – is the variability of the dominance of each of these factors which there’s nothing imaginary about it at all! makes each malt whisky unique. Tradition in the industry states that the best water for distillation The degree of peating of the malt is ‘soft water through peat over granite’. That seems fine, but in As the barley is being malted a certain amount of peat smoke is the current 100-110 malt whisky distilleries operating in this OUGS Journal 20(2) Symposium Edition 1999 1 country only around 20 use water of that description. The geolo- valley and the high calcium carbonate content caused the prob- gy of Scotland is remarkably variable and therefore in reality so lems. This has happened elsewhere. If we go to the north coast are the rocks from which the waters flow. Any geologist recog- west of Port Soy there is a distillery called Glenglassaugh which nises that there will be a significant difference in the chemistry of has struggled on for years with water problems, and at one time waters sourced from granite, sandstone, schist or quartzite. even tried importing water from elsewhere. To we geologists the However, when I talk to people at distilleries they are often obliv- reason for the problems is obvious. The water source lies inland ious to this fact. in a narrow valley behind the distillery which is formed from a limestone similar to that in the Dufftown area.
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