History behind the Tall Fount
The distinctive Scottish system of dispensing cask-conditioned beer through tall founts (referred to originally, and majestically, as counter fountains) to which the beer has been raised by air pressure is a traditional method well over a century old, dating back, many believe, to the 1870s with the introduction of water engines (hydraulic pressure engines); the required air pressures ranged from 12 psi to as much as 40 psi, depending upon the available mains pressure. One firm long. regarded as having taken advantage of hydraulic pressure engines was Hugh Ballingall & Son, Pleasance Brewery, Dundee.
It appears, however, that the system may be even older. According to a paper delivered by James Auld in November 1925 to members of the London Section of the Institute of Brewing (and printed the following year in the Institute’s Journal) the principle of using air pressure can be traced back to about 1814, when a fairly crude apparatus was devised to raise beer from the cellar to small taps in the counter. However, once the principle was established, more ingenious and efficient devices were produced to provide the air pressure and Auld mentions three: the ‘Bruce’, manufactured by Archibald Bruce; another by McCallum & Harris; and the ‘Albany’, invented by John McGlashan — all water engines — the most satisfactory, in his opinion, being the ‘Albany’ (1876).
Other air-pressure water engine and tall fount (the ‘u’ is silent) systems followed, such as the Allan & Bogle (1885), Laidlaw (1935), Gaskell & Chambers ‘Dalex’ (1946) and the Aitken Mark 1 (1962) to Mk 3 (1980s) — the last of which are used to excellent effect in, for example, the Bow Bar, Thomson’s Bar and the Athletic Arms (‘Diggers’) in Edinburgh and Geordie’s Byre in Ayr.
The original Aitken Founts at The Bow Bar, Edinburgh
Other firms included Gillanders, Mackie & Carnegie, Bowman & Webster and Reid. Tipton-based Cornwallis Ltd are currently exploring the redesign of their ‘Balmoral’ tall fount to include sideways action handle for manufacture for the Scottish Licensed Trade.
There is even an American connection: the first electric air compressor, known as the ‘Scottish Champion’, which came on the market about 1905, was made by the Century Electric Company of St Louis, followed a few years later by American water engines, known as ‘Big Wonder’ and ‘Little Wonder’, manufactured by Bishop & Babcock of Cleveland, Ohio, and distributed in this country by Bowman & Webster of Aberdeen.
No matter what system of dispensing beer is used, the most important consideration for the brewer, the publican and, above all, the discerning customer, is that the beer should be presented in perfect condition with an individual flavour and agreeable aroma. On this score, the redoubtable James Auld was in no doubt about the superiority of the air-pressure system in producing a pint of beer in prime condition with an enticing, naturally produced creamy head.
RAISING BEER BY AIR PRESSURE
‘Raising beer from a lower to a higher level by means of air pressure appears to have been first used in Scotland about the year 1814… The difference between beer drawn in this way and the suction method suggests a comparison between a bottle of beer in good condition and the contents of the same bottle when allowed to stand exposed to the air for some time. If two glasses of beer, one drawn by air pressure and one drawn by the pull, be allowed to stand side by side for a few minutes it will be found that the head on the pressure-drawn beer is thick and creamy, while the head on the pull-drawn beer consists of large coarse bubbles. When the glasses have been emptied, the side of the glass containing the pull-drawn beer is quite clear, or almost so, while on the glass that contained the beer drawn by the pressure system the froth has adhered to the sides of the glass, following it right down to the bottom, leaving a thick creamy film. This proves that the beer drawn by the pressure system contained its full complement of [naturally produced) gas, and possessed all the properties required of beer in first-class condition…When beer is drawn by the pull the natural gas is allowed to escape through the spile pins to the atmosphere, and as the beer is drawn quicker than the gas is liberated from the beer, the contents of the cask become flat and insipid. Any surplus of carbon dioxide that may fill the barrel during the time it is standing in the cellar is allowed to escape through the spile hole and is lost. When compressed air is used, however, the pressure on the surface of the beer keeps the carbon dioxide in solution and very little is lost…The natural gas of the beer being thus kept from escaping, it will be obvious that the beer has every chance of remaining in its natural first-class condition to the end of the barrel.’
James Auld, ‘Raising Beer by Air Pressure’, lecture of 9.11.1925,
reprinted in Journal of Institute of Brewing (1926)
Traditionally, from the turn of the century at least, beers have been dispensed in Scotland by way of tall founts and water-engines. Tall pillar beer founts were a familiar feature of many Scottish pubs, allowing the pint to be poured above bar-level in full view of the customer.
The practice in Scotland has always been for beer to be raised from the cask by air pressure giving a creamy head which every self-respecting, beer-drinking Scotsman demands as his right.
(The Scotsman, 1974)
In Scotland the almost universal method of handling beer differs from that mainly used in England, in that beer is served at the counter by “pushing” the beer by air pressure, as compared with the English method of drawing it by suction.
(Brewers’ Guardian, 1950)
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re talking about methods of dispense, the tall fount is the best method. It would be a great sadness to see them go.
(The Scotsman,1992)
Credit to Duncan McAra (Scottish Tall Fount Supporters) for the above information.
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