The BeerCast

The concept of seasonality is now one of the hallmarks of modern cooking, pushed to the general public by the ranks of TV chefs and foodie magazines. Everything has a ‘time of year’, whether it’s the British asparagus, salty samphire, or humble mackerel (as one BeerCaster asked for in a fancy Edinburgh fishmonger’s, only to be embarrassed in front of a queue of shoppers when told there were none in the sea at that time of year). But can this approach be transferred to beer? Hops are seasonal, certainly, but after the harvest they can be dried and used at any time. It’s down to the styles and types of beer that can be varied depending on what the calendar says.

Now that Autumn is on us, it’s time to change the attitude and go for something different. The long summer (or in our case, short summer) is over, so the time for light hoppy pale ales is over. No need for urgent, tingling refreshment on a hot day now the clocks have gone back (or forward, as I put mine by mistake). Autumn brings crunchy leaves, darker nights, cool windy afternoons – and should be celebrated by the glorious British bitter. There can’t be another brewing nation on earth that can put out a finer nutty, foaming brown ale than us Brits – and now’s the time to partake.

So until the winter arrives and we all move on to warming stouts and porters, and then Christmas beers with alcohol and spice (before celebrating the return of Spring with zesty golden ales), take time out for a fruity, toffee-ish best bitter. Let the rich mouthfeel and malt characteristics reward you after that long Autumnal walk, or spot of Christmas Shopping (it’s never to early – and most breweries have online stores). Here are five choice Scottish beers for the season – Bitters, Ruby Ales, ESB’s, Amber Ales – all styles are well suited to this time of year. As we head towards November – have a seasonal beer on us.

1. Maverick (4.2%abv)
Fyne Ales, Cairndow, Argyll.
Classic fruity mahogany ale from BeerCast favourites Fyne Ales.

2. Red Kite (4.2%abv)
Black Isle Brewery, Munlochy, Black Isle.
Technically an amber ale, organically brewed north of Inverness.

3. Red Squirrel (3.9%abv)
Arran Brewery, Brodick, Isle of Arran.
Nutty, malty beer that donates to Red Squirrel charities on Arran.

4. St Magnus Ale (4.5%abv)
Highland Brewing Company, Swannay, Orkney.
Another nutty one, but with more roast than the Red Squirrel.

5. Red MacGregor (4.0%abv)
Sinclair Orkney Brewery, Quoyloo, Orkney.
Fruity ruby ale, current silver medal Champion Beer of Scotland.

(looking slightly further afield, five English beers that would go down very well on an Autumn evening are Bath Ales Barnstormer, York’s Yorkshire Terrier, Bristol Beer Factory No.7, Fuller’s ESB, and Daleside Old Leg Over).

We’re rightly proud of our home city when it comes to decent real ale opportunities, and the other night a select band of BeerCast panellists headed out to a new local. Well, not exactly new – the Stockbridge Tap was renamed after Bert’s was sold, and it became a freehouse. There’s another Bert’s in the city, over in the West End (see our second Edinburgh pub guide). So maybe Edinburgh wasn’t big enough for two of them, after all. The Bert’s that went was pretty plain but always had a varying selection of beers on – and it seems the Stockbridge Tap has picked up the baton, with seven pumps proudly on display. Also, they are currently offering a mini beer festival, so that was even more reason for us to pop in on a chilly Thursday night.

First on the list was Valhalla Brewery’s Simmer Dim (4.0%). We featured Britain’s Northernmost producer on our Northern Isles special back in January last year, and commented that they certainly impart an unusual flavour into their beers. Simmer Dim – although it was almost totally flat – was a pretty decent malty bitter, even if it did smell like a football stadium toilets, according to an un-named BeerCaster. Fireside (4.7%) is one of the lesser-known of Arran’s ales, one of the few that missed our Arran Special. As it happens, that was probably a good thing as it weighed uncomfortably towards the 80 shilling end of the spectrum.

After that, we sampled Homecoming Ale (4.2%) from the Perth-based Inveralmond Brewery. Begun in 1997, they bottle classics such as Ossian and Lia Fail, and cask Thrappledouser that the Hopmeister is so fond of. However, Homecoming was a new one to us, and after a bit of Googling (it’s not referred to at all on their website) we discover that it is practically brand new, having been released to co-incide with Homecoming Scotland 2009, an events programme of Scottishness. Given the brewing history in this country, it makes sense to have an offical beer – an Homecoming Ale is fantastic. All were in total agreement, it was dry and biscuity with an almost raw oat taste. Similar to the nuttiness of Ossian, it got nicer the more it went down – whoever decided to get Inverlamond to brew the celebration beer for Homecoming 2009 should be congratulated.

Next up we moved on to Derventio’s Cupid (4.1%), a beer for the romantics in time for Valentine’s Day perhaps – although nothing says romance quite like portly men in pubs. Derventio began in 2005 in Trusley Brook Farm in Derbyshire, midway between Derby and Burton on Trent. I can’t say we know too much about them, but Cupid was also biscuity, but a bit too watery and with less body than the Homecoming. After checking online, apparently it’s a honey ale – although we were hard-pressed to find any. Finally we plumped for a bottle of something imported – Denver’s Flying Dog Old Scratch (5.3%), a strong amber lager that reminded me of Old Peculier without the dark body, almost like tree sap. Nice, though.

And with that we staggered out into the Edinburgh night – having not even tried some of the beers on offer. We’re all massive fans of the Stewart Brewery, but not particularly their 80/-, and likewise the Black Isle Brewery and their Organic Wheatbeer. I attempted a pint of Little Valley’s Stoodley Stout, but it tasted badly of vinegar (I’ve had it before and was looking forward to it). Full marks to the Stockbridge Tap’s staff though, they took it back without protest and gave me a refund, plus a free pint of something else (Homecoming Ale), and then immediately changed the barrel. Later on when our last round drained Inveralmond’s final cask we had a pint that was a finger short given free, with a free pint to make up for the missing centimetre of ale. If they keep this level of customer service up, they might need more than seven pumps, but we’ll keep coming back…

After the success of our first brewery showcase spectacular a few weeks ago, we decided to return to the same format once again for our 24th podcast. At the moment there can be fewer more deserving candidates than the Arran Brewery, given that until recently it looked like they might slip into the murky waters of brewing history. As we wrote back in May, after an increasingly successful eight year production span the financial climate conspired against them and they went into administration. Thankfully however, after a nervous couple of months a buyer came forward (the rather shadowy-sounding ‘Marketing Management Services International Limited’), and the beer started flowing again.

So as you can now once again find Arran’s beers in UK stockists, we thought it was high time to feature their wares on the BeerCast. Panellist Grooben made a recent visit to what is Great Britain’s ninth-largest island, and stocked up at the brewery shop. First on the menu for our special showcase is Arran Ale, followed by their seasonal beer for Spring – Sunset (as you’d expect from the BeerCast, we try this one rather than their more timely Autumnal seasonal Fireside). The third of their beers is the very popular Arran Blonde, which had previously been described by MrB as one of his favourite beers. Will it be as well received this time? Finally, the beer to close out the episode is their malty offering – Arran Dark. On the panel this week are Shovels, Grooben, Richard and MrB.

1. Arran Ale (3.8%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Previously known as Arran Light – Arran Ale is pale coloured and a refreshing session bitter. Best served slightly chilled it’s great with a Ploughman’s Platter or just with a fresh baguette and a good mature Cheddar” [Official Website]; “An amber ale where the predominance of the hop produces a bitter beer with a subtle balancing sweetness of malt and an occasional hint of roast” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
MrB – You can quaff this constantly for 24hrs – don’t sip it 8
Shovels – Gets better the more you drink it 7½
Richard – Light in colour and taste, it’s your classic ’7′ beer 7
Grooben – Something of a companion piece to Deuchars 7

2. Arran Sunset (4.4%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A golden ale – a delicate balance of malt and fruit, with a dry hop finish. This is a light mid amber summer beer. It is great if drunk with the good old British sausage, Ploughman’s Lunch or any good Mature cheese” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – I love the slight golden ale bitteryness to this 7½
MrB – More of a bitter, with a taste I don’t like so much 6
Grooben – A notch below the Ale but nice all the same 6
Shovels – I’m not keen on the bitter flavour compared to the Ale 5

3. Arran Blonde (5.0%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “A floral hop and new mown grass aroma, the taste is well balanced with citric fruit. A clear tasting pale golden beer in a continental style” [Official Website]; “A hoppy beer with substantial fruit balance. The taste is balanced and the finish increasingly bitter. An aromatic strong bitter that drinks below its weight” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
Richard – There’s a great hoppy tartness to this 8
MrB – I still prefer the Ale, but would choose this often 7
Shovels – Sweeter and more lagery compared to their others 7
Grooben – A bit underwhelming compared to the cask variety 6

4. Arran Dark (4.3%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Cladach, Isle of Arran.
500ml glass bottle

What They Say – “Rich aroma of malt and hops with ripe fruit, the palate is velvety, and the taste is of full malt with a deep bittersweet finish. A traditional smooth drinking Scottish heavy beer.” [Official Website]; “A well-balanced malty beer with plenty of roast and hop in the taste, and a dry bitter finish.” [Good Beer Guide]

What We Say…
MrB – I’m a bit disappointed with the creamy 80 shilling thing 5
Richard – One of those beers that should just be a porter 5
Grooben – Too much sweetness to it, almost cloying 5
Shovels – Combines the smokeyness of a porter with the rubbishness of an 80/- 4

BeerCast panel verdict
Arran Ale (29½/40)
Arran Blonde (28/40)
Arran Sunset (24½/40)
Arran Dark (19/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Shovels, MrB, Grooben, Richard

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #24 – Arran Beers
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our final ‘normal’ podcast of the year, before we break out the Christmas beers and build up to our Beer of the Year show. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

We don’t often bring you beer news here, primarily as there are plenty of other websites that do a far better job (such as Beer Today, Beer Pages, Stonch’s blog and of course CAMRA). But then there are plenty of others who do reviews of beer better – and that doesn’t stop us. After returning from an enjoyable but real ale-free trip to Spain (hola Cruzcampo!), we discovered with a shock that one of the BeerCast’s favourite Scottish brewers had gone into administration with debts of over £1 million.

The Arran Brewery featured in our very first BeerCast – before we started scoring beers, and before we recorded the episode that you could actually hear properly and which became our debut podcast. Pictured above, with Atlas’s Three Sisters ale and Black Isle’s Organic Wheat Beer (which unsurprisingly looking at the photo was over three months out of date), is Arran Blonde – the standout beer from the island producer. Also in their highly drinkable range are Arran Ale, Dark, Fireside and Sunset. I use the word is rather than the word was, but it’s not looking good.

Opened in 2000 and employing 11 people, rising costs of transportation, distribution and bottling have taken their toll. The plight of Scotland’s island breweries is one we’ve featured before on the BeerCast, with beers from producers on Colonsay, Unst (Valhalla), and Orkney (Sinclair); (Highland), being featured in various episodes. The changing economic climate must be seriously testing these producers, who by their nature are smaller than mainland breweries and are sited in areas with more expensive resources.

Hopefully a solution can be found to the situation in Arran. Their website currently has only a terse statement from the receivers about the change of ownership, and the closure of the online shop. Over the last few days I’ve tried to find some of their beers in Edinburgh for a special podcast edition, but without success. We can only hope to try Arran’s beers again, as they were really something – but the ‘closed’ sign hung on the door there doesn’t bode well. In the meantime, here’s the review of our sampling of Arran Blonde, recorded on the 3rd of May, 2007.

3. Arran Blonde Premium Beer (5%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Brodick.
500ml glass bottle

There are only 621 people in Brodick, but they are lucky to have a brewery right on their doorsteps. Arran (not to be confused with the sweater-loving Aran in Ireland) is Britain’s ninth largest island, an hour’s ferry ride from the mainland. Production started in early 2000, and now outputs 200 barrels a week, plus additional bottles for the busy supermarket trade. They have an amber ale, a malty dark, and a hoppy blonde in their range – the last one of these was sampled by the panel.

What They Say – “Arran Blonde has a floral hop and new mown grass aroma, the taste is well balanced with citric fruit and a good hop character. A clear tasting pale golden beer in a continental style.” [Arran Brewery]; “A hoppy beer with a substantial fruit balance, the finish is increasingly bitter. Aromatic, it drinks below it’s weight.” [The Good Beer Guide]

What We Say – “One of my favourite beers. Not as nice a smell as others, but easy to drink quite a lot of this in a night.” [Mr B]; “Hoppy, not malty. It looks like a lager and goes down much easier than the other two. It’s my favourite so far.” [Richard]; “This is quite tasty, despite the smell. It’s better than any lager out there.” [Shovels]

UPDATE – Happily the situation has now changed. Arran managed to find a buyer, and according to their (now functioning) website are going to begin production again very soon. Great news!

Still no takers for the Arran Brewery [The Arran Banner, 24th May]
D-Day for the Arran Brewery [The Publican, 19th May]

Old Engine Oil not pictured

As soon as we decided to divide our beery adventures into country-specific chunks, we could only really start in one place. With over eighty years of cumulative ale drinking between us, Scotland had to be the first stop. The four beers chosen for the debut edition are from some of the most respected brewers to be found here. But they have some standards to live up to – their predecessors have been producing beer for over 5,000 years. Before the hop era dawned, they were using heather and herbs as main ingredients. Afterwards, the industry prospered – in 1509 Aberdeen had over 150 brewers, all of them women (the original Alewives). When joined to England in the 1707 ‘Act of Union’, taxes on Scottish beer were reduced dramatically, and taxes on Malt removed completely. Brewing flourished, and Scottish beer drinkers still enjoy the results today.

1. Three Sisters Scottish Ale (4.2%abv)
The Atlas Brewery, Kinlochleven.
500ml glass bottle

The Atlas Brewery sits on the site of an old aluminium smelter in the town of Kinlochleven, a few miles south of the Highland town of Fort WIlliam. The brewery was founded on the site after it ended its 75 years of production, in 2002. Using local water with five varieties of imported hops, they have several seasonal beers and three favourites – Latitude, Nimbus, and Three Sisters Ale. The latter is named after a mountain range in nearby Glencoe. You can contract Atlas to brew a personal beer for you, which they will produce to your specifications and either bottle or put in kegs before delivering it to your door.

What They Say – “A lightly malted beer with a short, hoppy, bitter finish.” [The Good Beer Guide]; “A dark, fruity, refreshing ale with chocolate and crystal malts to give it a dark ruby colour, and a characteristic toasty and liquorice flavour.” [Atlas Brewery]

What We Say – “It’s bitter but flavoursome, smells malty, tastes malty. It gets better the warmer it gets.” [Shovels]; “First off it smells of whisky, but it tastes darker than it looks. It’s a grower, not a pub beer as it’s got a strong taste – but it’s nice.” [Mr B]; “It tastes of chocolate, but is very bitter – and it doesn’t keep it’s head. It’s an acquired taste, not immediately drinkable. Not really sure I like it.” [Richard]

2. Old Engine Oil Dark Beer (6%abv)
Harviestoun Brewery, Alva.
330ml glass bottle

Originially sited in a 200yr old stone barn, Harviestoun now produce their wares in a modern site on an Industrial Estate in central Scotland. They have been lavished with awards, the undoubted pundit’s favourite being Schiehallion, which has won seven CAMRA British champion medals in the nine years it has been produced. They won the Champion Beer of Britain in 2003 for Bitter and Twisted. Their brewery is sited in Alva, a small town of 5000 in the foot of the Ochil Mountains, near Stirling. It was founded by Ken Brooker, a former worker at Ford’s Dagenham motor plant – hence the name given to their darkest product.

What They Say – “A near black brew with a silky-smooth rummy aroma, a coffee-ish palate, and a suggestion of the darkest chocolate.” [Beer Hunter]; “The palate is full and malty, with dark burnt fruits and the promised liquorice and chocolate in abundance, with a slightly wine-gum-like quality offset by a bracing coffeeish hop bitterness.” [Oxford Bottled Beer Database]; “Strong and dark but wickedly, wickedly smooth. Chocolate dominates the flavour, which is nicely balanced by the bitterness of the hops. A delicious “after dinner” beer which leaves a bittersweet aftertaste to savour.” [Harviestoun Brewery]

What We Say – “Not fruity at all, there’s all kinds of things going on. Jet black – there’s no light coming through it. Big coffee/liquorice flavour.” [Richard]; “It really looks like oil, it’s blacker than Guinness. Very syrupy – it’s stronger than the last one.” [Shovels]; “It doesn’t smell of anything much, but there’s a bit hit on the back of the tongue. I get some rummyness and coffee – it’s nice.” [Mr B]

3. Arran Blonde Premium Beer (5%abv)
The Arran Brewery, Brodick.
500ml glass bottle

There are only 621 people in Brodick, but they are lucky to have a brewery right on their doorsteps. Arran (not to be confused with the sweater-loving Aran in Ireland) is Britain’s ninth largest island, an hour’s ferry ride from the mainland. Production started in early 2000, and now outputs 200 barrels a week, plus additional bottles for the busy supermarket trade. They have an amber ale, a malty dark, and a hoppy blonde in their range – the last one of these was sampled by the panel.

What They Say – “Arran Blonde has a floral hop and new mown grass aroma, the taste is well balanced with citric fruit and a good hop character. A clear tasting pale golden beer in a continental style.” [Arran Brewery]; “A hoppy beer with a substantial fruit balance, the finish is increasingly bitter. Aromatic, it drinks below it’s weight.” [The Good Beer Guide]

What We Say – “One of my favourite beers. Not as nice a smell as others, but easy to drink quite a lot of this in a night.” [Mr B]; “Hoppy, not malty. It looks like a lager and goes down much easier than the other two. It’s my favourite so far.” [Richard]; “This is quite tasty, despite the smell. It’s better than any lager out there.” [Shovels]

4. Black Isle Organic B.C. Wheat Beer (4.5%abv)
Black Isle Organic Brewery, Munlochy
500ml glass bottle

Whilst Arran is an island (and two islands if you count Irish Aran), the Black Isle isn’t. Surrounded on three sides by water (the Moray, Cromarty and Beauly Firths), the other side is a river. North of the highland capital Inverness, the Black Isle Organic Brewing Corporation started in 1998, and are based in an 18th Century building. They only use locally malted organic barley and wheat, and four of their six regular beers are bottle conditioned – live yeast ferments for a second time after production, resulting in a thicker brew with some sediment, but also more taste.

What They Say – “A semi-cloudy Belgian-style wheat beer brewed with orange and coriander. Delicious served with mussels and crusty bread.” [Black Isle Brewery]

What We Say – “It smells like a root vegetable, tingles the top of the mouth.” [Shovels]; “There’s a cooked garden pea/cabbagey smell to it – but it’s very refreshing. If you get the dregs it’s a bit chunky.” [Mr B]; “This smells quite bad, and it looks like bathwater. But it’s really good.” [Richard] *

* We found during tasting that we were actually drinking a bottle almost three months out of date. This possibly made it taste better, but smell worse…

So based on the three-member panel, it would seem Arran Blonde came out a clear favourite. Join us next time for the other five Scottish beers in the second half of Episode 1 – a similar range from lighter ales to darker stouts. Stay tuned for the debut BeerCast podcast, reaching the airwaves as soon as it’s been edited and compressed into something worth listening to (hopefully). Also, coming very shortly – our special post on the first BeerSnack tested. Tried along with the Black Isle Wheat Beer, as promised in the previous post it’s the most famous British beer snack ever. It is, of course, the humble pork scratching. Deserving of it’s own entry here, find out what they are, how they are made, and whether we liked them. (I’ll give you a hint – all the panellists totally agreed on that last aspect).

Until then, enjoy your beer.

Panellists – Mr B, Shovels, Richard