Scottish Real Ale Festival 2012 Preview

The beer list for this year’s SRAF is in draft form and still taking shape, but thanks to organiser Owen we managed to secure a sneak peak at what will be on offer in June. At the time of writing this preview, not every producer has confirmed their attendance, but hopefully this time there will be 41 different breweries present at the Corn Exchange – up from 37 last year, and 32 in 2010.

Scottish brewing really is in great shape – whilst the levels may reach critical mass at some point in the future, on this evidence there’s no sign of that happening yet. Another positive is that, for the first time, every brewer who sent beer along in 2011 will be doing so again this year. With five new producers slated to appear as well, it could be a great festival.

For that to happen, the venue will need to have a positive impact. Since the redevelopment of the Assembly Rooms, the SRAF needed a new home. Last year’s site at Adam House was hired through necessity, but proved – despite some hard work – to be wholly unsuitable. Long queues, multiple staircases, and a stifling temperature met with plenty of criticism.

For 2012, the festival has relocated to the Corn Exchange in Slateford – a much larger venue, which should give the organisers plenty of scope to make things work. It may not encourage walk-ins – but most people travel for good beer these days, and with plenty of options to get out to the area, it should be a huge improvement.

Of course, the big draw is the beer. If everything in the provisional list makes it, this time around will see a bumper selection of 184 on offer (up from 148 last time). Around a third of that is new beer, or beer that wasn’t on offer in 2011, as some of the larger producers shuffle their entrants. Top of the class are Highland, who have pencilled in eleven different beers (pretty much everything they make, I think).

Some of the festival’s rarer offerings include two must-try’s from Stuart McLuckie – his Dark Mild and American Style Porter are without doubt on my list. Black Isle Export Scotch makes another appearance, and Tempest will be bringing four beers – including the much-heralded Cresta Black). Lovers of wacky weirdness will, once again, be revelling over Tin Pot. No Marmalade beer this year, but ingredients include raspberry, rhubarb, ginger and five spice.

The new debutants for 2012 are Alechemy, Cromarty, Loch Lomond, Loch Ness, and Spey Valley. I’ve tried most of them – apart from the latter. Ex-Heriot-Watt graduate Stefan Masson has three beers on offer from Speyside (as does his classmate Craig Middleton from Cromarty). Alechemy are the nearest new brewer to Edinburgh, whilst Loch Lomond have four beers confirmed for the festival.

The best thing about beer festivals is taking a punt on the unknown. Broughton Willicade, Deeside Abhainn, Houston Slainte, and Sulwath Cuill Hill fit that particular bill for me. I’ll also be keeping a close eye on Ayr’s Dr Hornbook Blonde Stout, DemonBrew Redline and Barney’s Red Rye (from Edinburgh’s latest brewery – having recently relocated to the Meadows).

There will also be a few special beers on offer for the very keen, so be sure and get over to the Corn Exchange as soon as possible once the festival gets underway in the last week of June. As you can imagine, being our local festival the BeerCast will have it covered from every angle – check back daily for our reports on the beers, follow our live tastings on twitter (@thebeercast), and keep an eye out on Thursday for the Champion Beer of Scotland (CBoS) announcement, as once again we’ll hopefully be on the judging panel.*
The Scottish Real Ale Festival is this year being held at the Corn Exchange, New Market Road, Edinburgh from Thursday 28th June to Saturday 30th June. Opening hours are 12pm-11pm Thursday and Friday, and 12pm-9pm on Saturday.

Entry is £3 for CAMRA members, £5 for non-members, but keep hold of the glass given out and you can get free re-admission over the other days. As this is a preview, breweries and beers submitted may change – visit the official website to keep up with any amendments.

For more on what to expect at this year’s Scottish Real Ale Festival, our reports on the previous SRAF years are here – 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.
*will a mainland brewer take back the Champion Beer of Scotland prize in 2012? Last year, the shock victory for Skye Cuillin Beast meant the last non-island producer to win CBoS was Kelburn Cart Blanche, in 2006…
EDIT 11/05
The full beer list is now up on the official SRAF site – link
EDIT 25/06
Unfortunately, Stuart Mcluckie has got in touch to say his beers will not be at the SRAF – which is a real shame.