Scottish Real Ale Festival 2014 Preview

Posted by on Jul 9, 2014 in Beer Festivals | 2 Comments

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The Scottish Real Ale Festival is almost upon us once again, with doors opening at noon tomorrow (the 10th) at the Corn Exchange out in Slateford. The all-important beer list is pretty much finalised; if everyone comes through with the casks, this time there will be 53 different breweries present at the Corn Exchange – up from 48 last year, 41 in 2012, 37 in 2011, and 32 in 2010. For the first time, over fifty different Scottish breweries will be presenting their wares to the public.

This is indicative of the fact that Scottish brewing is currently in great shape – as I was mentioning only the other day (warning: contains graphs). In terms of the overall lineup, it’s good to see two breweries returning to the festival after missing last year; Dave White’s DemonBrew re-start, following the cessation of his brewing at the Prestoungrange Goth, and the Spey Valley brewery, whose stout was as good as anything I had at the SRAF two years ago. The re-branded Black Wolf Brewing will also be on-hand, bringing three of their new range to the festival.

If everything in the provisional list makes it, the 2014 SRAF will see a beer selection roughly the same as last year – just over 150 different beers on offer. Again, this is in no way at the expense of variety – alongside Black Wolf and the two returnees, a hugely impressive twelve producers will send their beer to the SRAF for the first time (up from nine, last year). Expect to sample the wares of the Abbot Brewhouse, Andrews Ales, Brewmeister, de Brus, Freewheelin’ Brewery, Jaw Brew, Pilot Beer, River Leven, Speyside Craft Brewery, Strathbraan, Top Out and Windswept. For a single festival, that’s a great haul of new Scottish breweries.

As a result, you’d probably expect a reasonable amount of new beer on offer, compared to what was available last time around. You’d be right; 72% of the beer on the provisional list is different to last year (an increase of about 20%, as it was the year before). In fact, not one of the fifty-three breweries are bringing the same lineup; even the larger producers are shuffling their entrants. In terms of numbers, as you’d expect with more breweries but the same number of spots, most will be tapping fewer casks than in previous years; yet top of the class are Stewart Brewing, bolstered by the wares of the Craft Beer Kitchen, they have pencilled in eight different beers.

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Some of the festival must-try’s include five cask ales from Fyne Ales (Jarl*, Maverick, Rune, Weaver’s Point and Superior IPA), Abbot Brewhouse’s 6.5% ‘CV’, apparently brewed with ‘a record 105 hop varieties’ (and new Champion Beer of Fife). Inveralmond’s lean to the Germanic continues with Marzenfest, Pilot Beer are serving their hugely successful Unfined Blønde, and Tryst will be letting go a cask of their Double Chocolate Stout. Knops Beer will also have a cask of the East Coast Pale on offer, which should go really well with the outdoor beer-garden (new this year); should the Edinburgh weather co-operate.

*Argyll’s finest will hand back the crown of Champion Beer of Scotland, having won the accolade at last year’s Scottish Real Ale Festival, from Cairngorm Black Gold in second, and Highland Brewing St Magnus third. Who will win CBoS 2014? Fyne were the first non-island producer to win since Kelburn in 2006, when Carte Blanche took the prize. Will Rob Hill and his team come back and take yet another best in show?



For those that think CAMRA festivals are a drudgery of golden ales and milds, there’s former Champion Beer of Scotland Cuillin Beast from the Isle of Skye (7%), the 8.5% legend that is Orkney Skullsplitter, Highland’s twin cannons Orkney Porter and Old Norway barley wine (both 9%), and big-hitting IPA’s from Broughton, Stewart, Windswept and Eden. Rarest beer of the festival goes to the unmissable Ola Dubh; Harviestoun’s barrel-aged game-changer making a welcome appearance on cask.

Aside from bang-for-your-buck drinking, the best thing about beer festivals is taking a punt on the unknown. Kinneil Brew Hoose Wayfinder Pale, de Brus Ancestral IPA, An Teallach’s Beallach Na Ba, Stewart Cherry Wheat, and the brilliantly-named Spey Valley ‘Sunshine on Keith’ would certainly fit that particular bill for many. It should also pay to keep a close eye on the new producers, if you’ve not had the chance of sampling anything from Andrews Ales or East Lothian’s Freewheelin’ Brewery, for example. And finally, seeing as the beer is just about to celebrate its twenty-fifth birthday; the irrepressible Williams Bros Fraoch Heather Ale will also be in attendance.



The Scottish Real Ale Festival is being held at the Corn Exchange, New Market Road, Edinburgh from Thursday 10th July to Sunday 13th July (following last year’s first-ever opening of the doors on Sunday). Opening hours are 12pm-11pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 12:30pm-4:30pm on Sunday (or whenever the beer runs out). Entry is £4 for CAMRA members, £6 for non-members, but keep hold of the glass given out and you can get free re-admission over the other days. Due to the expected depletion of stock, Sunday entry prices are £2 for CAMRA members, £4 for non-members. 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, my reports on the previous SRAF years are here –
2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

2 Comments

  1. Pat Hanson
    July 9, 2014

    Yup I was helping to set up the stillage and casks on Monday and it’s a great line-up. Freewheelin’ Brewery is in Peebles (Borders), by the way, not East Lothian.

  2. Neil
    July 9, 2014

    Was just about to post about freewheelin being from my neck of the woods but beaten to it !!! Hope their cask offerings are better than the bottles I’ve tried so far which have been very very disappointing ……. And still on a borders note look out for traquair house having its own borders brewery’s and food beer frstival this summer……

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