The BeerCast

Last week here on the BeerCast we shortlisted some fantastic Scottish bottled beers, in our alternative SIBA Awards. That followed the actual SIBA awards, which took place in Edinburgh on the 21st of January (read our report here, and the full list of winners here). Judging the awards prompted a debate about what other class winners there might be out there, and every day last week we listed our thoughts for each category. Well – it’s now time to reveal the winners*.

Bottled Bitters up to 4.9%
First off are the lighter ales – bottled bitters up to 4.9%. Our shortlist contained ten beers, all of which have that sessionability (if that’s a word). Out of the twelve, there are three that on their day are just above the others – Fyne Ales Maverick (4.2%), Harviestoun Schiehallion (4.8%) and Highland Scapa Special (4.2%). It’s extremely hard to pick between them, but for me I prefer the zingy bitterness that you get with the lager as opposed to the other two.

BeerCast Gold – Harviestoun Schiehallion

Bottled bitters 5% and over
Next up, another really tough call. Bottled bitters 5% and over sees the introduction of BrewDog and the IPA’s. It also contains the overall SIBA winner, Stewart Hollyrood. Tryst Raj IPA (5.5%) made our recent Beer of the Year podcast, so deservedly makes our final three – as does BrewDog’s amber ale 5am Saint (5.0%). The third beer that stands out from the excellent pack is Highland Orkney Blast (6.0%), a cracking beer. On balance, the hop profile of BrewDog’s offering – in the bottle – gives it the advantage.

BeerCast Gold – BrewDog 5am Saint

Gold Beers
Gold beers was our third shortlist – Scotland has a great tradition of golden pale ales, to my mind there are three that clearly edge out the others in our highlighted listing. First of these is Fyne Ales Avalanche (4.5%), the second BrewDog Trashy Blonde (4.4%), and the third Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted (4.2%). The problem is picking between them. However, Avalanche is one of my favourite beers of all time, and sums up what – to me – a gold beer should be.

BeerCast Gold – Fyne Ales Avalanche

Speciality Beers
On Thursday we entered the wide-ranging world of Speciality beers. Picking eleven for the shortlist was easy enough – narrowing them down to a final three is certainly not. BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04 (15.0%) has to be on there though – and keeping on the darker theme Harviestoun Ola Dubh 40 (8.0%) makes it two for the aged beers. On a different note, Stewart Brewing’s Hefeweizen (5.5%) really impressed us when it was released a few months ago. Of those three, the variety of flavours from BrewDog’s fourth Abstrakt release put it on top.

BeerCast Gold – BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04

Milds, Old Ales, Porters and Stouts
Darker beers are always left to the end, and the shortlist for Milds, Old Ales, Porters and Stouts was our final selection. Of the ten we listed, the actual SIBA winner Williams Bros Midnight Sun (5.6%) deserves to be in our final three as well – it’s a fantastic beer. As is the Scottish classic Sinclair Orkney Dark Island (4.6%) – a roasty, easy drinking delight. Less easy drinking, but still delightful – Highland Orkney Porter (9.0%) rounds out our three for the dark final. As good as the first two are, the strong porter is just too good.

BeerCast Gold – Highland Orkney Porter

So there you have it. Again, this is purely my personal selection – I’m sure you may have a different choice for every category. I’m sure the rest of the BeerCasters do as well – but narrowing down the fifty we shortlisted into a final five takes some doing – if I did the same thing next week I’d probably come up with a different lineup. But as it is, our class winners in the Bottled BeerCast Awards are:-

Harviestoun Schiehallion
BrewDog 5AM Saint
Fyne Ales Avalanche
BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04
Highland Orkney Porter

Put any one of these in front of me with a bottle opener and the appropriate glassware and I’d be happy. Very happy, in fact. But we’ve come this far. SIBA select a Gold, Silver and Bronze award from the category winners, so in reverse order…

Bronze – Highland Orkney Porter
Drinking Rob Hill’s signature strong porter brings to mind many words – classic, roasty, traditional, smooth. It’s exactly how a strong porter should be, and rivals most of the uber-hyped US Imperials for depth of flavour. Just a great beer.

Silver – Fyne Ales Avalanche
The perfect thirst quencher – possibly my favourite Scottish beer on cask. Of course, these aren’t the cask awards – in the bottle it’s practically as good. Fyne Ales’ newest offerings like Jarl and Hurricane Jack may come to rival the master one day, but Avalanche is about as good as it gets.

Gold – BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04
I took a bottle of this, the fourth limited-release speciality beer from BrewDog, home for Christmas – and was amazed. As a 15% Imperial Stout with added coffee, cocoa and naga chillies it would have been easy to overload one or the other – but the balance is outstanding. There’s a earthy richness like 100% dark chocolate, and a hot mouthfeel from the 15% alcohol and the chillies. It’s really warming, a perfect evening beer – and the best Scottish bottled beer around at the moment.

* There is no actual BeerCast award – other than the rosy glow of recognition…

One of our shortlistees – Highland Orkney Porter

Day five and we reach our final alternative SIBA Awards category. Each day this week we’ve shortlisted our personal highlights from the world of Scottish bottled beer – designed to complement the official SIBA awards. The final section for us to look at is Stouts, Porters, Old Ales and Milds – or as my co-judge Ashton from Appellation Wines described it after a long day of sampling – Pouts and Storters…

The SIBA winner last week was Williams Brothers Midnight Sun (5.6%) – their third class winner out of the five. I was judging this category on the day, and Midnight Sun is a cracking beer – in fact, I remember first sampling it on cask at the 2008 Scottish Real Ale Festival just after it had been released, and liking it then. However, last week I placed it behind Highland Orkney Porter (9.0%) on my judging sheet.

Orkney Porter is an outstanding beer, one that gets the Scottish beer fans excited when a new vintage arrives. It packs a punch, has a wonderful, almost silky complexion, and a really long finish. I can see why some of the judges may have underscored it in favour of a more sessionable example, but I just had to (respectfully) disagree.

That’s not to say there aren’t any great bottled dark Scottish beers at session-strength – Cairngorm Black Gold (4.4%), Black Isle Organic Porter (4.5%), Sinclair Orkney Dark Island (4.6%) and Stewart St Giles (5.0%) are four such examples. All have that tight roastiness coupled with an alcohol content that means you can have several in one session.

But big-hitters are where it’s at for us – if you want to revel in that dark maltiness, then get a boozy hit to back it up. BrewDog Rip Tide (8.0%) is a fantastic bottled imperial stout, and their re-launched Tokyo* (18.2%) takes some beating. Hibernator Oatmeal Stout (7.0%) from Black Isle is also a sherry-esque fruity hit – each sip of these three beers passes all kinds of flavours over your tongue, which is surely reason enough to reach for the bottle opener.

It’s not just dark beers that fill out this category, of course. Sinclair Orkney Skullsplitter (8.5%) is a classic dark amber barley wine, and takes the final spot in our shortlist. Long exported to the US, it may have fallen foul of the Portman Group in 2008 over perceived aggressive branding – but don’t let that put you off what is a great example of an evening beer.

So here’s our final shortlist – Stouts, Porters, Old Ales and Milds…which would be your choice? Depending on the occasion I’d maybe go for Dark Island or Orkney Porter. Or Rip Tide. Or Hibernator. Or…

Speciality Beers (in abv order)
Cairngorm Black Gold (4.4)
Black Isle Organic Porter (4.5)
Sinclair Orkney Dark Island (4.6)
Stewart St Giles (5.0)
Williams Bros Midnight Sun (5.6)
Black Isle Hibernator (7.0)
Sinclair Orkney Skullsplitter (8.0)
BrewDog Rip Tide (8.5)
Highland Orkney Porter (9.0)
BrewDog Tokyo* (18.2)

* Let us know if you agree or disagree with our choices! If a beer isn’t in this list, it may have been in one of the other categories as there’s plenty of crossover. Hope you enjoyed reading our shortlists – most of these beers are readily available throughout Scotland, many throughout the UK and several online.

One of our shortlistees, Heather Ales Kelpie

We’re four categories in to our daily alternative SIBA Awards here on the BeerCast – where we take a look at some other great bottled Scottish beers that could have made the finals. Our section today is that enormous beery catchall – Speciality Beers – any drink that has something added to it to differentiate from the norm. The SIBA winner was Williams Brothers citrusy Seven Giraffes (5.1%) – brewed with seven varieties of malt, lemon zest and elderflower.

The addition of this last ingredient turns many a Scottish session beer into something more interesting. Cairngorm’s Trade Winds (4.4%) is a good example – wonderful on cask (at Edinburgh’s Blue Blazer, for example) – but also pretty good in the bottle. Tryst Blathan (4.0%) contains elderflower too, and really benefits from the added botanicals.

The aforementioned Williams brothers Bruce and Scott began their brewing careers by reviving Scotland’s most traditional style of beer with Fraoch Heather Ale (5.0%), which they now also age, to great effect. Their seaweed-infused Kelpie (4.4%) is another great speciality beer, and makes its way onto our shortlist. Bladder wrack from Argyll gives an ozone tang to the aroma and flavour.

BrewDog have their differences with SIBA (although they are members, to use SIBA’s Direct Delivery Scheme). Several of their beers could – and should – be shortlisted in these alternative awards (they didn’t enter the actual competition). You could take any of their fantastic Abstrakt series, such as AB:01 (10.2%) and the mighty AB:04 (15.0%). Their Bashah Highland Park Black Raspberry Reserve (8.7%) is also surely the very definition of speciality.

Our final shortlistees are two very old beers, and one very new. Traquair Jacobite Ale (8.0%) contains a mix of spices, and has a tremendously complex flavour. Stewart Brewing’s newest signature beer, Stewart Hefeweizen (5.5%) is one of the few authentic wheat beers produced in Scotland. I actually judged it at the SIBA awards (placing it second in my section of the Speciality category, behind Harviestoun’s magnificent 8.0% Ola Dubh 40).

So here’s our shortlist for best bottled Scottish Speciality Beer…which would be your choice? It’s the toughest category to call as they are all so different – comparing Trade Winds with Abstrakt AB:04 is almost impossible (although I know which order I would drink them in)…

Speciality Beers (in abv order)
Tryst Blathan (4.0)
Heather Ales Kelpie (4.4)
Cairngorm Trade Winds (4.4)
Heather Ales Fraoch (5.0)
Williams Bros Seven Giraffes (5.1)
Stewart Hefeweizen (5.5)
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 40 (8.0)
Traquair Jacobite Ale (8.0)
BrewDog Bashah Highland Park Black Raspberry Reserve (8.7)
BrewDog Abstrakt AB:01 (10.2)
BrewDog Abstrakt AB:04 (15.0)

* Let us know if you agree or disagree with our choices! If a beer isn’t in this list, it may be in one of the other categories as there’s plenty of crossover – check back tomorrow for the final category – Stouts and Porters

One of our shortlistees, Arran Blonde

King Midas and Spandau Ballet always believed in it – and our third daily series of alternative SIBA shortlistings concentrates on Gold Beers. Golden ales, golden pale ales – light, hoppy thirst quenchers that were born for cask but do just as well in the bottle. The actual SIBA winner was Colonsay IPA (3.9%) – a subtle island beer which to my mind always tastes outdoorsy and sea-like (in a good way).

But what about other beers that could go in this category? Some of the potential ‘Bitters under 4.9%’ could fit into the Gold Beer pigeonhole – such as the mighty Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted (4.2%), one of the most widely-praised Scottish beers around the world (I’ve met more than one overseas beer drinker who stated it was their highlight of their beer trip to this country).

If we’re looking for Gold Beers, then what about Williams Brothers Gold (3.9%), Stewart Edinburgh Gold (4.8%), Fyne Ales Piper’s Gold (3.8%) and Broughton Border Gold (6.0%)?? All extremely good, summery Scottish bottled beers (if we can use ‘summery’ and ‘Scottish’ in the same sentence).

Two 5%abv offerings should also take place on our shortlist – Arran Blonde and Sinclair Atlas Nimbus, the former another great island beer, the latter still hopefully available following the closure of the Kinlochleven facility – production switching to Sinclair’s other brewery on Orkney.

Our final two Gold Beers are, for me, two of the very best that Scotland produces at the moment, in any bottled category – both head up this shortlist as great examples of the type. BrewDog Trashy Blonde – which people forget is only 4.1% – is fantastically hoppy at a strength that cries out for a session, and is really well balanced.

Fyne Ales Avalanche (4.5%) is probably in my top three Scottish beers of any description, and is simply stunning. A fantastic blend of citrus hop aromas and flavours, when I think of Gold Beer that’s what comes to mind. To me it’s the equal of Hop Back Summer Lightning, and is an absolute must on any alternative list of bottled Scottish Gold Beers

So here’s our shortlist for best bottled Scottish Gold Beer…which would be your choice? All are drinkable and moreish, and as you can probably tell from the previous two paragraphs I might lean towards Trashy Blonde and Avalanche…

Gold Beers (in abv order)
Fyne Ales Piper’s Gold (3.8)
Colonsay IPA (3.9)
Williams Bros Gold (3.9)
BrewDog Trashy Blonde (4.1)
Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted (4.2)
Fyne Alves Avalanche (4.5)
Stewart Edinburgh Gold (4.8)
Arran Blonde (5.0)
Sinclair Atlas Nimbus (5.0)
Broughton Border Gold (6.0)

* Let us know if you agree or disagree with our choices! If a beer isn’t in this list, it may be in one of the other categories as there’s plenty of crossover – check back tomorrow for the penultimate one – Speciality Beers

One of our shortlistees – BrewDog 5am Saint

The next in our series of nominations for the BeerCast’s alternative SIBA awards ramps up the alcohol as we move into the second category – Bitters 5% and over. In the actual SIBA competition, that prize went to Stewart Brewing’s Hollyrood (5.0%) – which of course went on to take overall Gold for the Scottish region, and will be representing the country at the national SIBA awards next month.

Hollyrood is a great beer and definitely worthy of a place on the shortlist – but what about some others? Talking about Scottish bottled bitters at around 5% leads us on to Cairngorm Wildcat (5.1%) and Sinclair Orkney Red McGregor (5.0%) – both have that nice malty component to them and they are both drinkable session beers.

But let’s leave the bitters behind and embrace the hops. Again, there may be some overlap between categories here, as some Pale Ale style beers could verge into the Gold Beers section (which we’ll be shortlisting tomorrow). But we’re big fans of the humble hop here on the BeerCast, so we’ll augment our selection with some of the best bottled examples from Scotland.

At the moment if one thinks of those two subjects (hops and Scotland), one’s mind probably turns to Fraserburgh. BrewDog Punk IPA – either the old 6% or the newly re-launched 5.4% version – has to feature in a shortlist, as does their mighty Hardcore IPA, weighing in a long way above 5% at 9.2. They deserve another place in the list with (in my opinion) the peerless 5am Saint (5.0%) – an amber with a fantastic dry hop blend.

Staying in the far north of the country we have Highland Orkney Blast (6.0%) – another one of the best we have to offer. Last year it was named as Champion Beer of Scotland (on cask) – the third time in four years Rob Hill and his staff have won that award (and with three different beers). Blast is a terrific strong ale in the bottle as well, having a great blend of fruity hop flavours, with a warming boozy caramel finish.

Moving to central Scotland, two modern British India Pale Ales that round out our 5% and over selection are Williams Brothers Joker IPA (5.0%) and Tryst Raj IPA (5.5%). The former is one of the most consistent of the modern wave of IPA’s, and the latter made it to our recent 2010 Beer of the Year show – both are citrusy hop delights, at a session strength. What more could you want from a bottled beer?

So here’s our shortlist for best bottled Scottish bitter 5.0% and over…which would be your choice? 5am Saint and Orkney Blast would head my personal selection – but all of them are highly impressive…

Beers 5.0% and over (in abv order)
Stewart Hollyrood (5.0%)
Sinclair Orkney Red McGregor (5.0%)
Williams Bros Joker (5.0%)
BrewDog 5am Saint (5.0%)
Cairngorm Wildcat (5.1%)
Tryst Raj IPA (5.5%)
Highland Orkney Blast (6.0%)
BrewDog Punk IPA (6.0%) (5.4%)
BrewDog Hardcore IPA (9.2%)

* Let us know if you agree or disagree with our choices! If a beer isn’t in this list, it may be in one of the other categories as there’s plenty of crossover – check back tomorrow for the next one – Gold Beers