Beer of the Week – Cromarty Ghost Town

Beer of the Week, take two that is. Sadly I ran out of time to post one last week so this is a double-edition, and following along from Swannay’s outstanding Sneaky Wee Orkney Stout we remain on the dark side but flick over to its other half and talk about another porter. I say another, as this series has already featured the enveloping charms of Williams Midnight Sun and Black Isle Porter. So let’s make it a triumvirate.

Cromarty’s porter is a bona fide classic – in thinking why this might be it struck me that the ten-malt payload makes it very similar to one of my favourite beers of all time (and a slam-dunk for unsung beers of the UK – but that is something for another time) Summer Wine’s Teleporter. Cromarty’s is just as good, so it deservedly has a place in my fifty-two Scottish beers that need a little more love – and let’s face it, with less than ten to go, there aren’t many more opportunities for these beers to shine. So let’s shine a light on Ghost Town.

43. Ghost Town (5.8%)
Cromarty Brewing, Cromarty
Style: Porter
330ml bottle

Pick it up here:
At Cromarty’s online shop (as individual 330ml bottles)

Unexpectedly the first thing that hit me from this porter was liqourice, which I wasn’t prepared for at all. After that the flavours mellowed into the dryer, roasted elements from the different malts but the finish then revealed a bitter, resinous element which rounded things off in fantastic fashion. I know Cromarty already make a Black IPA (Black Hop Down) but this is as near to an IPA-Porter hybrid as you can get, and all the better for it. It’s an absolute masterpiece.

Beer of the Week Series:
1. Fyne Ales Highlander
2. Swannay Old Norway
3. Broughton Old Jock
4. Traquair House Ale
5. Tempest Easy Livin Pils
6. Cromarty Brewed Awakening
7. Fallen Chew Chew
8. Black Isle Hibernator
9. Isle of Skye Red
10. Harviestoun Old Engine Oil Engineer’s Reserve
11. Orkney Skull Splitter
12. Windswept Wolf
13. Kelburn Dark Moor
14. Alechemy 5ive Sisters
15. Loch Ness Light Ness
16. St Andrews Eighty Bob
17. Harviestoun The Ridge
18. Orkney Dark Island
19. Williams Bros Seven Giraffes
20. Cairngorm Black Gold
21. Strathaven Craigmill Mild
22. Black Isle Red Kite
23. Spey Valley Spey Stout
24. Top Out Schmankerl
25. Cross Borders Braw
26. Williams Bros Midnight Sun
27. BrewDog Kingpin
28. Fyne Ales Hurricane Jack
29. Deeside MacBeth
30. Drygate Ax Man Red Rye IPA
31. Swannay Orkney Session
32. Fallen Platform C
33. Black Isle Porter
34. Top Out Altbier
35. Black Metal Gates of Valhalla
36. Fierce Beer Cranachan Killer
37. Loch Lomond Southern Summit
38. Tempest Old Parochial
39. Williams Bros Profanity Stout
40. Windswept Tornado
41. Campervan Pacific Zest
42. Swannay Sneaky Wee Orkney Stout