The BeerCast

A city needs plenty of good bottle shops, and Edinburgh until recently had only a few – led by the standout Cornelius Beer & Wine on Easter Road. But towards the end of last year a new establishment opened across the city near Haymarket. Appellation Wines on Dalry Road also offer something slightly different – guided beer tastings. That’s something the BeerCast is all for, so recently we went along to a tasting hosted by Ed Quinn of Cairngorm Brewery. Founded in 2001 in Aviemore – the capital of the Cairngorms – they have a twenty barrel plant and a range of eight core beers, both bottled and casked. We sat down with Ed and sampled seven of them over the course of an enjoyable hour.

Sheepshaggers Gold (4.5%)
First up was the rather awkwardly-named Sheepshaggers, poking fun at the taunts given to Highlanders from those further south in Scotland. Ed acknowledged the controversy over this – apparently there’s at least one publican who won’t take the beer due to it’s name – but it is also marketed as Cairngorm Gold for the people who can’t see the humour. With Bobek and Saaz hops it’s golden and slightly spicy, but with a touch of honey sweetness to it as the hops fade. Very drinkable at a perfect session strength, it was a great one to start with.

Trade Winds (4.3%)
Cairngorm’s flagship beer, Trade Winds outsells all of their other beers several times over. The simple reason for this is it’s fantastic – and is possibly my favourite session beer, something reliably good on cask and pretty good in the bottle. An old recipe from the Tomintoul Brewery (precursors of Cairngorm), Perle hops are combined with dried elderflower to give a tremendously fruity, almost tropical taste. CAMRA Champion Speciality Beer of Britain for three years out of the last six, and deservedly so.

Stag (4.1%)
Stag is Cairngorm’s 80/- style ale, and pours the expected mahogany brown with the musty dry Fuggles tang augmented by Challenger hops. It’s pretty dry for it’s type, there’s very little sweetness that you usually find. This may or may not be a good thing depending on your love of Scottish ales – for me Stag is drinkable and pleasant, but lacking a defined aftertaste – there seems to be something missing.

Nessie’s Monster Mash (4.4%)
Next up was another beer named after another one of Scotland’s famous animals – Nessie. About 30 miles separate Aviemore from Loch Ness, but there’s much less distance between this beer and the last one. A nudge up the abv meter, maybe a little more malt on the palate, but that’s about it. I asked Ed if Cairngorm didn’t yearn to create a 12% walnut-aged imperial balsamic porter rather then several similar types. His diplomatic reply highlighted their small size and lack of space – but we can dream, I guess.

Wildcat (5.1%)
Outside of their seasonal Christmas beer, at 5.1% Wildcat is the strongest beer Cairngorm produce. I remember having one on cask a couple of years ago and struggling with it – there is a convoluted flavour going on, no question – initially a strong malty whack, followed up by fruit and more malt, with a touch of toffee towards the end. I think it’s a grower, which explains why a single pint probably could repel some – but persisting with it would probably pay off.

Blessed Thistle (4.5%)
Ed then brought out a couple of other beers not on our tasting list – starting off with the one I really wanted to sample – Blessed Thistle. Named after the herb it contains, the predominant flavour is of the other added ingredient – ginger. Light and refreshing, with some flowery notes – to be honest I have no idea what thistles taste like so I was struggling to pick them out. But it was drinkable even as a slightly spiced ginger ale.

Black Gold (4.4%)
In true BeerCast fashion, we finished on a dark note with Black Gold, their Scottish stout hinting at one of the main industries in the north-east of Scotland. Highland CAMRA’s reigning beer of the year, it combines Challenger and Fuggles hops with Chocolate, Crystal and Pale malts and a touch of lactose. It’s pretty smoky, the lactose not coming to the fore like in a milk stout, but making the beer very smooth. With the roasty smokiness at the same time, this is a seriously good stout, and a great note on which to finish.

Thanks to Ed from Cairngorm for showing us the beers, and Ash at Appellation for hosting. We’ll be back for another tasting event, and will of course post our findings.

Cairngorm Brewery
Appellation Wines, 43 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh

Our 47th podcast sees the joining up of the two studios, as Andy and Jess travel north from London to sample four beers with Richard and Grant in Edinburgh. We try four beers from very different stables, beginning with a coriander and vanilla-infused wheat beer from Cornwall – St Austell Clouded Yellow (4.8%), before something more classically British (despite the name) – Kamikaze Bitter (5.0%) from Dent in Cumbria. Next is a strong IPA from the North East of England – St Cuthbert (6.5%) from the Durham Brewery, before we finish on a darker note with the 5.0% Burton Bramble Stout. This podcast features not one but two exploding beers, questions to keep you interested during the breaks, and numerous butterfly and moth facts…

1. Clouded Yellow (4.8%abv)
St Austell Brewery, St Austell, Cornwall. 500ml glass bottle

St Austell are no strangers to the BeerCast, with their flagship Tribute featuring in the most recent Beer of the Year show, having scored 81% in our South West Special, BeerCast #33. It finished tied for second behind the eventual winner – the awesome Stone Ruination IPA. Of course, the Cornish concern are far from being a one-trick pony – so we got hold of their vanilla infused wheat beer Clouded Yellow (4.8%), named after a migrant butterfly often found in southern parts of Britain during the summer. Bottle-conditioned, unfortunately it erupted out of the bottle on opening, losing about a third over the table.

What They Say -
“Pale yellow in colour and naturally bottle conditioned, ideally served cool in a long glass to experience the true citrus overtones which have been delicately flavoured with whole spices and vanilla.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Grooben – One of the nicest wheatbeers I’ve had, shame it exploded 7
Jess – Refreshing light nature, an 8 if not for the kerfuffle 7
Richard – Potpourri aroma, taste is heavy vanilla, it’s interesting 6½
Andy – Looks like Appletiser and is pretty refreshing 5

2. Kamikaze (5.0%abv)
Dent Brewery, Dent, Cumbria. 500ml glass bottle

Dent is something of a Geographical oddity, being within the boundaries of the Yorkshire Dales National Park yet not actually in Yorkshire. Located in a corner of south-eastern Cumbria, the small village is home to a thriving brewery, one of the remotest in the UK. Originally established to provide cask ale for the local pub, the Sun Inn, demand quickly outgrew their facilities and landlords from the Dales to the Lake District were asking for supply. All of their beers have a sheep theme, reflecting the traditional local industry, many having tongue-in-cheek names such as Golden Fleece (a Golden Ale) and Rambrau (a German-style lager). Kamikaze – maybe that should be Ramikaze – is a 5% bitter.

What They Say -
“Hops and fruit dominate this full-bodied, gold coloured strong bitter with a pleasant dryness. A hint of citrus and honey in the finish lead to a bitter aftertaste.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – More hop than malt, but it’s dry like a golden ale 7
Jess – I don’t get any sweetness from the honey but it’s nice 7
Andy – Hoppiness cancels out the mustiness of some bitters 6
Grooben – Nice quaffable bitter, would be even better on cask 6

3. St Cuthbert (6.5%abv)
Durham Brewery, Bowburn, County Durham. 500ml glass bottle

We’ve talked about IPA’s many many times – and particularly about their history and the very Britishness of the style (even though others have since made them much livelier). But putting together a style show without an IPA wouldn’t be right – so we got hold of St Cuthbert (6.5%) from the Durham Brewery. This one is unusual as it has a totally different identity and branding depending on your method of purchasing. In the bottle, it’s badged with a celtic-style label and named after the patron saint of Northumberland. However, in a pub if you saw Durham Magnificat on cask and decided to order it, you’d get exactly the same beer. But would you get a nice beer? Names don’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things, after all.

What They Say -
“Fresh and clean tasting with citrus notes, this beer is dangerously drinkable. Our interpretation of an India Pale Ale featuring Challenger, Target, Columbus, Golding and Saaz hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Dead-on strong IPA – citrus, hops, alcohol backing 7½
Jess – Just a bit muddy for me, I like refreshing beers 4
Andy – Some orange citrus but it’s hidden by other flavours 4
Grooben – Doesn’t sit right, there’s an unpleasant metallic taste 4

4. Burton Bramble Stout (5.0%abv)
Burton Bridge Brewery, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. 500ml glass bottle

Burton is where it all began in many respects, being the symbolic heartland of British brewing. The soft hills surrounding the River Trent made the perfect water for brewing, and an industry was born. Burton beer was transported around the country on the railways, and around the globe on ships. Today there are still a few producers in the Staffordshire town, one of which being Burton Bridge. Begun by two brewery fitters who realised they could do a better job than many of their clients, they renovated the derelict Fox and Goose pub before starting down the path that would lead to numerous awards. Their Bramble Stout won SIBA’s national bottled beer of the year in 2005.

What They Say – “Brewed as Top Dog Stout with the addition of blackberry juice to add a faint sweetness. Challenger hops and Pale and Chocolate Malts, Burton Bridge Bramble Stout has a strong chocolatey aroma with a hint of fruit, full bodied with a smooth bitterness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy – Has the potential to be nicer but I think they need to smooth out the rough edges a bit 6
Grooben – Light and bitter on the palate, it needs more brambles 6
Richard – A blackberry tartness at the end, but maybe not enough 6
Jess – It’s too medicinal for me, nothing like I expected 5

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Richard, Andy, Jess, Grooben

BeerCast panel verdict
Dent Kamikaze (26/40)
St Austell Clouded Yellow (25½/40)
Burton Bramble Stout (23/40)
Durham St Cuthbert (19½/40)

Stay tuned for our next podcast, as BeerCast #48 features four beers around the theme of the railways – our LocoCast is up next, boarding in a couple of weeks…

On a recent trip to London I needed to seek refuge from a crowded and extremely wet Covent Garden, when I managed to scurry to nearby Maiden Lane and into the Porterhouse – billed as Ireland’s largest ‘genuine Irish’ brewery (who can they be getting at there?). From the outside it looks like part of Aintree has been erected to keep the punters out, but once you get over the fences the inside is enormous – many levels, several bars, and all kinds of different historic beer bottles in wall-mounted cabinets.

Porterhouse are a chain, having been founded in Bray, County Wicklow in 1989. Four more have since opened, three in and around Dublin, and the one I scuttled into in London, which has been there since 2000. To me, it looked like an American-style brewpub (which may or may not be their intention), with long tapped bars and chrome and tile fittings, everyone there was very friendly. My visit coincided with their seventh annual Irish Beer Festival, which meant there were things on offer from other producers, as well as their own hefty range. I had a couple and then left, definitely to return at some point in the future. Although they serve their beers nitro’d under pressure (so are not classified as real cask ale), they are more than worth a visit.

Porterhouse Red (4.4%) Porterhouse Brewing Company, Dublin
Leaving aside stout for a moment, red ales are a classic Irish style produced by many breweries, the roasted barley giving a distinctive deep colour. Porterhouse’s ‘house red’ is served with a creamy head which takes some getting through, but the sweet caramel flavours come out eventually once the beer warms. As it does so, more bitterness becomes apparent as well – it’s pretty good, and was a favourite of legendary beer writer Michael Jackson, who remarked “It makes Caffrey’s taste like Tizer”

Galway Hooker Dunkelweiss (4.8%) Galway Hooker, Galway
As the festival was on, for my second I sampled a guest from the Galway Hooker brewery. I would have tried their Pale Ale – apparently modelled on the peerless Sierra Nevada – but alas it wasn’t on yet, so I went for their Dunkel Weissbier instead. It poured with a large head, but one that dissipated very quickly. It was very roasty on the palate, but not thick or chewy, with a nice touch of fruit at the beginning. Malt takes over in the aftertaste, and rounds off the flavour, which is extremely refreshing indeed.

Porterhouse Brewing Co
Galway Hooker Official Website

Collaborations are without doubt a great idea when it comes to brewing – two different mindsets, two different approaches, many different flavours. The US Craft Brewing scene in particular embrace the sharing of ideas when it comes to one-off specials – Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head with their ‘Life & Limb’ series, New Belgium and Elysian’s ‘Trip’ beers, not to mention many from Stone done in conjunction with others. Back in BeerCast #42 we featured Bashah, a black double IPA from Stone and Fraserburgh’s BrewDog – so it’s good to see the British brewers getting in on the action. Speaking of which, BrewDog have also joined up with Denmark’s Mikkeller, a very similar producer (both have the word uncompromising in prime position on their mission statements).

The result of this particular co-operation is Devine Rebel, an oak aged barley wine which was first released in 2009 following a Mikkeller visit to Aberdeenshire. That vintage weighed in at 12.1%abv, the 2010 version tops out at 13.8% in the 330ml bottle. Speyside whisky barrels provide the punchy flavours, with a further period of maturation in stainless steel tanks to give extra weight. It’s clearly highly carbonated, a furiously fizzing head disperses within seconds to leave a continual rising carbonation in the glass. The colour is wonderful – deep hazy raspberry, almost an opaque burgundy red. The smell is very tart, bitter, with some tobacco smoke mingling with the dark woody aromas from the Speyside casks.

On the taste, peaty smokiness comes out, with a long, lingering finish that becomes almost rauchbier-like (although not as intense). It reminded me of their first foray into record-breaking, Tactical Nuclear Penguin (32%) – but with everything dialled back a couple of notches. It’s more drinkable than other oak-aged beers as there’s no caramel sweetness that can make other notable examples extremely cloying. It’s still a challenging beer however, the alcohol burn would make it overpowering after a while. As it warms, this becomes more and more apparent – at room temperature the strength really comes out. Oak-aged beers are difficult to balance, but Devine Rebel really benefits from the double helping of know-how imparted by BrewDog and Mikkeller.

BrewDog
Mikkeller

Sitting on the bottom of the beer shelf at my local Sainsbury’s the other day was a newish-looking beer I didn’t recognise, with a dark green and silver hop-covered label. The rather lengthy title of ‘Natural Brewing Company Irresistible Premium Ale’, and the limited information on the bottle gave little away. But as it was an unknown quantity, into the basket it went, along with the seven packets of Super Noodles and the toilet roll. At 4.3% it screams session ale, and the description on the back of …“Barley, hops and spring water – and nothing else” throws up the prospect of a Reinheitsgebot-style offering, particularly as it is apparently gravity tower-brewed. Despite the rather ridiculous title, NBCIPA seems to talk the talk.

After a bit of digging, the sideways-scrolling website lists the three founders of the NBC (Mark, Julian and Gary) as your typical ‘chuck the city jobs and start a brewery’ types – which is always pleasing to read (even if it makes one envious). I guess those who can, brew, and those who can’t, start a beer website. The NBC seem to trade heavily on their environmental credentials, and the site is full of admirable pledges about saving the planet, carbon footprints, and community wells in India. They have some serious brew knowledge behind them too however, as their Julian is Julian Herrington, who spent 15yrs as master brewer of Shepherd Neame before joining London’s Meantime. It seems he’s now coupled with the marketing and business brains of Mark and Gary to go it alone.

Anyway, the pour is highly carbonated, very frothy, and extremely clear, with a light amber or very pale chestnut colour. The aroma is mostly citrus – First Gold giving their characteristic zesty orangeyness. The taste is really surprising – for such an unknown quantity it’s extremely nice – bitter, fruity and with a simple flavour. That’s not meant as a slight at all – simplicity can work when the mild components are balanced correctly. A rising bitterness comes through at the end after a while, as the hops nudge their way to the top on the palate. It’s highly sessionable, and is a classic example of that easy-drinking style. I had no idea what this would be like, but was very pleasantly surprised. I’m not so sure about the name, but that’s something I can live with when you have a beer as well constructed as this.

Official Website