New Knops beer revealed
A few months ago we reviewed Knops Brewing Company California Common – a brand new beer from Scottish brewer Robert Knops. Produced using Traditional Scottish Ales’ equipment in Bridge of Allan, Robert’s first release was unusually a steam beer in the grand Californian tradition. After plenty of experimentation his second issue is something more distinctly Scottish – a malty, low hopped ale in the small beer tradition. Last Friday we were invited to a focus group tasting session at Cornelius Beer & Wine on Easter Road so Robert could get the final recipe fine-tuned. That now done, TSA’s facility is this week brewing up the resulting product – which we can exclusively reveal will be called Musselburgh Broke.
Robert is one of the many UK brewers who came from the esteemed Brewing and Distilling degree course at Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University. After several years working in production – most notably with Whitbread and Loanhead’s Stewart Brewing – the desire to branch out alone became overwhelming. However, economics often crushes desire – and Robert had to make the difficult decision that the fledgling Knops Beer Company would not be based in a bespoke facility, but would have to contract brew using someone else’s equipment. Cuckoo brewing is an unfortunate term – it always seems to imply some malicious intent – but often is the only way for small-scale producers to make the leap from homebrewing into something more sustainable.
California Common was generally very well-received – and obviously Robert will be hoping Musselburgh Broke will be as successful. The unusual name derives from a local story/fable detailed by WH Roberts in his 1847 book “The Scottish Ale Brewer and Practical Maltster”. He attributed the creation of Scottish table beer to a brewer’s drayman in East Lothian, who whilst on his rounds in Musselburgh managed to spill some from a cask. Thinking quickly, he topped the barrel up with water from a stream, and delivered it as normal. The next time he passed that pub, the landlady asked what they had brewed – as it had been more popular than any others. As Roberts reports:- “…she had never had a beer that took the bottle so soon, and was so fine, sharp and brisk”. The drayman owned up to the brewer, who soon put this amended recipe into production, and from then on local table beer was termed ‘Musselburgh Broke’.
The tasting session at Cornelius was to determine the specifics of the final brew, based on the slight variation in ingredients and techniques. Robert had trial-brewed four alternatives with a selection of malts – and hopefully no stream water – and the panel gave their feedback. As small beer traditionally has little hop profile, it was the proportions of Pale Ale, Crystal, Chocolate, Wheat and Black Malts that had the most influence. Of the four test brews, one had a noticeable banana-ish fruit tang from the higher quantity of wheat malt. Another was lacking in any real bitterness. The two stand outs were cryptically termed MB2a and MB2b – the first with a much higher alcohol content (6.5%) than was aimed for. Co-incidentally (I’m sure) it was the pick of the bunch – and would make a great Christmas ale with a touch of tweaking.
Speaking to Robert the day afterwards, it seems MB2b came out on top, having the prerequisite balance of malts at a suitable strength for cask and bottle. The final recipe for Musselburgh Broke will change slightly in production, but the table (i.e. session) beer strength and balanced malt character will be retained. As we write this, the beer is taking shape up in Bridge of Allan, and should be available for tasting in a couple of weeks. It was an unusual step for a new Scottish producer to launch with a quintessential American style – but the success of California Common will hopefully be reflected in the reception given to Robert’s second beer, something more in keeping with local tradition. We’ll be on hand at the first tasting of the finished Musselburgh Broke, and will report back on how it has developed.
