Stockbridge Tap Mini Beer Festival

We’re rightly proud of our home city when it comes to decent real ale opportunities, and the other night a select band of BeerCast panellists headed out to a new local. Well, not exactly new – the Stockbridge Tap was renamed after Bert’s was sold, and it became a freehouse. There’s another Bert’s in the city, over in the West End (see our second Edinburgh pub guide). So maybe Edinburgh wasn’t big enough for two of them, after all. The Bert’s that went was pretty plain but always had a varying selection of beers on – and it seems the Stockbridge Tap has picked up the baton, with seven pumps proudly on display. Also, they are currently offering a mini beer festival, so that was even more reason for us to pop in on a chilly Thursday night.

First on the list was Valhalla Brewery’s Simmer Dim (4.0%). We featured Britain’s Northernmost producer on our Northern Isles special back in January last year, and commented that they certainly impart an unusual flavour into their beers. Simmer Dim – although it was almost totally flat – was a pretty decent malty bitter, even if it did smell like a football stadium toilets, according to an un-named BeerCaster. Fireside (4.7%) is one of the lesser-known of Arran’s ales, one of the few that missed our Arran Special. As it happens, that was probably a good thing as it weighed uncomfortably towards the 80 shilling end of the spectrum.

After that, we sampled Homecoming Ale (4.2%) from the Perth-based Inveralmond Brewery. Begun in 1997, they bottle classics such as Ossian and Lia Fail, and cask Thrappledouser that the Hopmeister is so fond of. However, Homecoming was a new one to us, and after a bit of Googling (it’s not referred to at all on their website) we discover that it is practically brand new, having been released to co-incide with Homecoming Scotland 2009, an events programme of Scottishness. Given the brewing history in this country, it makes sense to have an offical beer – an Homecoming Ale is fantastic. All were in total agreement, it was dry and biscuity with an almost raw oat taste. Similar to the nuttiness of Ossian, it got nicer the more it went down – whoever decided to get Inverlamond to brew the celebration beer for Homecoming 2009 should be congratulated.

Next up we moved on to Derventio’s Cupid (4.1%), a beer for the romantics in time for Valentine’s Day perhaps – although nothing says romance quite like portly men in pubs. Derventio began in 2005 in Trusley Brook Farm in Derbyshire, midway between Derby and Burton on Trent. I can’t say we know too much about them, but Cupid was also biscuity, but a bit too watery and with less body than the Homecoming. After checking online, apparently it’s a honey ale – although we were hard-pressed to find any. Finally we plumped for a bottle of something imported – Denver’s Flying Dog Old Scratch (5.3%), a strong amber lager that reminded me of Old Peculier without the dark body, almost like tree sap. Nice, though.

And with that we staggered out into the Edinburgh night – having not even tried some of the beers on offer. We’re all massive fans of the Stewart Brewery, but not particularly their 80/-, and likewise the Black Isle Brewery and their Organic Wheatbeer. I attempted a pint of Little Valley’s Stoodley Stout, but it tasted badly of vinegar (I’ve had it before and was looking forward to it). Full marks to the Stockbridge Tap’s staff though, they took it back without protest and gave me a refund, plus a free pint of something else (Homecoming Ale), and then immediately changed the barrel. Later on when our last round drained Inveralmond’s final cask we had a pint that was a finger short given free, with a free pint to make up for the missing centimetre of ale. If they keep this level of customer service up, they might need more than seven pumps, but we’ll keep coming back…