I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

Brewing is as ancient as distilling, and generated a major industry in the lowlands, closely associated with agriculture - from which its derived its most important raw material - barley. Before the eighteenth century brewing was widespread. The city of Aberdeen alone had nearly 150 brewers in 1693, and at the same time there were over 500 in the county of Fife. Most publicans were brewers, and even the houses of the gentry brewed their own ale - seen in a fine survival at Traquaire House, Peebleshire, which maintains the tradition. Much of the beer offered for sale even to "the better sort of citizens' was so bad that it would 'distemper a stranger's body'.

In the aftermath of the Treaty of Union there was a major revolt against the Malt Tax - and the increasing efficiency of the customs wand excise accelerated a trend towards larger, mass-production breweries at eh expense of the small producer. Several important breweries were established during the eighteenth century - notably J. & R. Tennant of Wellpark Brewery, Glasgow (1745) and William Younger of Holyrood in Edinburgh (1749). These became large and important firms - dominating the Scottish industry virtually from the outset.

During the Industrial Revolution the Scottish brewing industry expanded to meet the needs of a growing population - both in country towns and the cities. Beer - a bulky commodity - was expensive to transport, hence the size of a brewery invariably reflected the size of its local market. Edinburgh became an important brewing centre - thanks to good water and grain supplies from nearby Lothian and Fife, which were in the vanguard of improvement. Elsewhere the industry was important in Alloa, Falkirk and Glasgow. By 1800 there were over 200 public breweries and output was 400,000 barrels, paying £75,000 in excise.

During the nineteenth century brewing underwent continuous expansion, thanks to rapid advance in science and technology. The trend after 1850 was towards larger breweries in the main centres of Edinburgh, Alloa and Glasgow. The capital of the industry rose from £600,000 in 1859 to over £6 million in 1900. Breweries got larger and that number fell from 220 in 1860 to 125 in 1900. The 'Brewery Boom' of the 1880s and 90s brought several important firms into being notably William McEwan of Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. Despite the activities of the temperance movement a record 2.2 million barrels were brewed in 1899. by this time large scale brewing. Had been pioneered by Tennant in Glasgow and Jeffrey in Edinburgh and a long-term shift towards bright beers had begun.

After World War I the number of breweries continued it steady decline: by 1930 there were 45, producing 1.3 million barrels. Amalgamations and rationalization became a major feature of the industry, especially in the 1950s and 60s. By the 1970s a hugely expanded market was met by only a handful of large-production companies, although several of the traditional breweries survived - partly thanks to the resurgence in demand for traditional cask-conditioned ales of the kind produced in Victorian times.

CONNACHIE, I., A History of the Brewing in Scotland, John Donald, 1979
MCMASTER, C., Alloa Ale: A History of the Brewing Industry in Alloa, Alloa Brewery Co. Ltd, 1985.

Now lets look at some specific dates:

1884 - March 5
Education officials ordered an end to the practice of administering caster-oil as a punishment in the School at Lochgoilhead, Argyll.

1719 - March 9
James Stuart, the 'Auld Pretender" arrived in Spain to give his support to a Jacobite invasion force equipping at Cadiz.

1188 - March 13
Church in Scotland declared independent of the See of York by Pope Clement III.

1936 - March 18
'Immoral behavior', including nude bathing along the East Lothian coast, caused anxiety to the authorities and to local residents.

Source - Scotching the Myths by Jim Hewiston can be found in the History Book Section of Scottish Radiance.

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

Money

Whenever I think about budgetary problems, I think of Errol Flynn.... reconciling net income with gross habits.
Malcolm Rifkind, Conservative politician.

No complaint is more common than that of scarcity of money.
Adam Smith, An Inquiry in the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Its not as easy as it used to be to make a buck.
Gordon McDonald, Grampian councillor on the region's economic fortunes, 1995

Ma tha mo chuid airgid anns a' chapall, thig e dhachaigh uaireigin

If my money is in the mare, it will come home some day.

You can find more articles in the archive under Scottish Flotsam.