Malt mill’s story is steeped in history

Almost without exception, the starting

point of any whisky distillery tour is the malt mill, which filters and grinds the malt to grist to feed the mashtun and get the whole production process up and running. For generations, distillery and brewery malt mills had one of two names on them – Porteous of Leeds or Robert Boby of Bury St Edmunds.

Their history embodies both the glory and the decline of British engineering.

Porteous mills were said to be so robust and reliable (Glencadam in Brechin has one 100 years old and still going strong) that they never needed repairs or spare parts – which is one of the reasons why the firm folded as it eventually ran out of breweries and distilleries to sell to.

Established in the 1850s, Robert Boby made elevator and conveyor systems as well as grain and malt mills and was acquired by engineering and defence giant Vickers in 1925. Its mills were also robust but its dated 1880s design, using cumbersome phosphor-bronze bearings, saw demand decline over the decades.

Vickers closed Boby’s in the early 1970s, putting nearly 400 men out of work, but two employees, one of them Alan Ruddock, continued to service, repair and rebuild Boby mills and other plant for many years.

Then in 1986, Alan started his own company, Alan Ruddock Engineering, which in 1999 made the first of many compact, efficient mills (best known are the AR2000 and AR3000) using modern metallurgy and technology. They are now widely installed, as well as Ruddock conveyors, hoppers and other plant, in many UK distilleries and breweries, especially among the new independents on the scene.

Among many distillery installations in Scotland, Ruddock currently lists Edradour, Ballindalloch and Bonnington, as well as the Isle of Skye Brewery at Uig. Another client is St Austell Brewery in Cornwall, showing the firm’s repute has spread the length and breadth of the UK.

Interestingly, Ruddock – based at the village of Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds – can still rebuild Boby mills and produces a special modernisation and conversion kit to improve their durability, reliability and ease of operation. A remarkable example of making older and newer technology compatible. And it all seems to be grist to the Ruddock mill.

The mill filters and grinds malt to feed the mashtun in a distillery.