Bottled BeerCast Awards – 5% and over
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
