Edinburgh gains own beer style

Move over, London Murky.

Some extremely interesting news to report today; Scotland has a new collaboration. In a bid to reclaim the capital for modern styles of beer (last seen in the glory years of Edinburgh Pale Ale), the beermakers of the festival city have banded together to launch a new beer style; Edinburgh Reeky.

Channelling the creative spirit, brewers here joined forces to draw a line in the sand of torn up Fringe flyers and launch a strike for people making aggressive, on-trend beer who don’t live in East London. Move over Hackney. Newington’s angry.

I caught up with a few brewers from the Lothians to gauge opinions on the fate of Edinburgh Reeky, and why they believe it can take on London Murky, Juicy Bangers and all that other assorted bollocks people pay £6 a pint for down south.*

*As opposed to £5.50 in Edinburgh

Benjamin Bullen of Elixir Brew Co was his usual circumspect self, gauging how successful the new beer style would be. “On the brewday we were flat out like a lizard drinking,” he said. “But she’s a little ripper mate. A real beaut,” he added, despite the fact that as a gypsy brewer, he was restricted within a roped-off area at all times during the brewday.

So what is the actual beer? In a bid to one-up the hooray-hazy-henrys of London, Edinburgh Reeky is not only unfined and unfiltered; it is also unwaxed, unsparged, not lautered, barely mashed and thunderously hopped with Fuggles residue.

Matt and Pat Sharp of Pilot Beer were quick to praise the idea, whilst also noting they had been trading on the same premise since their first day of operation (before they became sherbet commodity traders). They confirmed a Leith-only double-unfined version.

The only absentee from the invited attendees on the brewday were Steve Stewart and his new barrel army from Loanhead; apparently their van mysteriously broke down the instant it crossed over the bypass into the city limits – I mean, further into the city limits (#Edinburgh).

The first Reeky release is due next month, although Craig Garvie has already rated it [soft tooffee and too fizzy…not me]. Make sure you head down to your local craft beer bar to sample some – or if one of those isn’t available, your nearest pub. It all comes out the same tap.