The BeerCast

Grooben checking the beer list

Another day, another day at the beer festival. We returned to the Assembly Rooms for a second helping of the best of Scotland’s real ale, eager to see what else we could discover. The beers were pretty much the same as the day before, so we fired straight into the list sampling ones that had caught our eye from the Friday. The first beer I went for was the weakest in the entire festival - the traditional Scottish mild, Belhaven 60/- (2.9%). Brewed to a very old recipe, it was characteristically light and roasty. Milds always taste to me like watered-down porters, and this one was no exception. But as a delicate starter beer, it was a nice subtle start to the proceedings.

Next up it was the newest beer from Edinburgh’s other producer, Stewart’s Edinburgh Marathon Ale (4.2%). This family-run brewery from Loanhead make some great beers such as Pentland IPA and Edinburgh Gold, both of which were also at the festival - but Marathon was one I’d yet to sample. It was a very drinkable malty session bitter in the - dare I say it - ‘Northern style’. There was a touch of sweetness to it as well, which came through in the aftertaste. After that, I went for one I was looking forward to from the preview list - Plockton’s Starboard IPA (5.1%). One of Scotland’s smallest breweries, they are attached to the Plockton Inn in the Ross-shire village of the same name, and started up in 2007. Starboard is a strong hoppy IPA with a fantastic dry bitterness. It was pretty cloudy stuff, but that didn’t affect the taste at all - it was superb.

Beer four was one that was also highly rated - it had just been awarded the Champion Beer of Scotland for 2009, decided on the previous day. Sinclair Orkney’s Raven Ale (3.8%) won the top prize, becoming the third consecutive champion beer from that group of northern islands (following 2008’s Scapa Special and 2007’s Dark Munro, both from the Orkney Brewery). Their neighbours Sinclair Orkney did very well indeed this year, picking up second overall as well with Red MacGregor (third placed was Caledonian XPA). Raven had a sweet smell and taste, which was predominantly fruity with a growing biscuit aftertaste. It was nice, and certainly improved as you drank it, but for me there were better beers on show this year.

For example, Fyne Ales Vital Spark (4.4%) is a dark ruby ale with so much fruit in the malt it almost tastes of blackcurrants. The hops come and go, and the richness of flavour give it a great lasting finish. It’s fantastically drinkable, and a prime example of a session beer that isn’t pale and slightly hoppy. However, we learned at the festival about the sad death of Fyne Ale’s co-owner Jonny Delap. It was only a couple of months ago that we met him on a trip to Cairndow in Argyll to pick up some beers for a long weekend - he was such a friendly man and will be sadly missed.

The last beer I tried in the festival was Hillside/Deeside’s Broichan (5.2%). After thinking very highly of their Nechtan yesterday, the Broichan was just as interesting, although very different. A strong Scottish ale, this was fruity but not like Vital Spark - more pruney than blackcurrant. There was a smokiness to it as well - the tasting notes suggested it would be a “perfect beer for fireside drinking with cheese and oatcakes”. I don’t think you can argue with that, it was even pretty good when drunk around a rickety table on a Friday afternoon.

So that was it, another Scottish Real Ale Festival over. We managed to get through a huge amount of differing ales, with various degrees of success. The overall winners might have been Raven Ale, Red MacGregor and Caledonian XPA - but for us the standouts were Windie Goat’s Gutter Slab, Hillside/Deeside’s Nechtan, and Plockton’s Starboard IPA. We’ll hit the festivals again at August’s Great British Beer Festival in London. See you there…

The 25th of January is Scotland’s unofficial second National Day - and is probably celebrated far more widely than St Andrew’s Day itself. On that date in 1759 Robert Burns was born in a small cottage in the South Ayrshire town of Alloway. He went from humble farmer’s son to become the national poet of Scotland, and today is renowned throughout the world, and on this day in particular. In fact, he’s nothing short of a cultural icon here, having penned Auld Lang Syne which is always the endpoint of Scotland’s other national holiday - Hogmanay.

As you’d expect, there are plenty of tie-ins and Burns-related goings on that magically appear during the last week in January. On the night of the 25th, Burns Suppers are held that feature haggis, escorted into the room to the sound of the bagpipes. Burns’s Address to a Haggis is read out by the host, and the supper begins. Whisky is consumed in large quantities at these evenings - but should the ale lover require something a bit more to their tastes, the good brewers of Belhaven in Dunbar have supplied just such an alternative.

According to their website, Robert Burns Scottish Ale (4.2%) is ‘poetry in a glass’, being “dark, sweet and almost toffee-like, and a real taste of Scotland”. Unlike a fair proportion of ‘Scottish ales’, thankfully this one falls into the drinkable part of the sweetness spectrum. It pours a lovely dark caramel colour with a seriously generous head - but there isn’t any sicklyness to the taste. It’s dark but without the molasses aftertaste that befuddle so many of it’s type. Burns was fond of ‘reaming swats’ (see Tam o’ Shanter), and I think he would approve of this one.

Belhaven Robert Burns Ale

Every beer drinker knows the backstory to India Pale Ale, and as you’d expect, the UK has many different varieties - most breweries have one in their range. Although it was producers in the south-east of England that originally developed the style, up here in Scotland IPA’s are plentiful. So the 15th BeerCast podcast is a jaunt around four of these from our home patch. We begin very much at home, with Caldeonian’s Deuchars IPA - brewed in Edinburgh and drunk probably at least once a week by one member of the BeerCast or another. Then we move on to one from the islands, Colonsay IPA, produced from a small brewery in the Inner Hebrides. The third beer today is Belhaven’s Twisted Thistle IPA, from sunny Dunbar in East Lothian, and we finish the episode with a bang up north in Fraserburgh with BrewDog’s aptly-named Hardcore IPA.

1. Deuchar’s IPA (4.4%abv)
Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh.
500ml glass bottle

Opened in 1869, the Caley is the only brewery left in the city of Edinburgh out of over 40 many years ago. Sadly it’s now no longer independent either, as at the start of the month (in between us recording this episode and it going out) they were taken over by Scottish & Newcastle. But they produce the most famous beer related to the city, which is now available on cask throughout much of the UK as a guest - presumably even more so now S&N’s distributary muscles will be flexing. Pronounced Joo-kerrs, we’re all incredibly familiar with it here - but that makes for an interesting beer to judge.

What They Say - “Deuchars IPA is a fabulous beer. A brilliant blend of malt and hop character and above all a drink with enormous drinkability.” [Roger Protz]

What We Say…
Richard - Worse than on cask, but still good and hoppy 7
Shovels - Nice, but there are better bottled IPA’s out there 6½
MrB - Deuchars is the stock beer I go for if there’s nothing nicer 6
Grooben - Your basic after-work-knock-a-few-back beer 6

2. Colonsay IPA (3.9%abv)
Colonsay Brewery, Isle of Colonsay.
568ml glass bottle (1 pint)

We’re all big fans of the Scottish islands here on the BeerCast (podcast 11 was our Northern Isles Special), and off the west coast you’ll find Colonsay. You might have to look hard, mind - it’s only 16sq miles of rock and beach between Mull and Islay. About 120 people call it home, and they are very lucky indeed to have a brewery in their midst. Founded in early 2007 their five barrel plant produces an 80/-, a lager, and an IPA - when the seas allow the ferries to collect their beers for distribution to markets on the mainland, that is. When the seas are too rough, the islanders get their own unique version of a lock-in.

What They Say - “What you get with this beer is a pale colour to reflect the malt type, but lots of hop and citrus and character to make this a pint to be savoured.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB - Lots of flavours going on but they are very subtle 6½
Shovels - The light tastes grow on me when I have other IPA’s 6
Grooben - Very smooth and ever so slightly peaty aftertaste 6
Richard - You can taste this is from an island - light and airy 6

3. Twisted Thistle IPA (5.3%abv)
Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar.
500ml glass bottle

Thirty miles down the coast from Edinburgh is Belhaven - statistically Scotland’s sunniest place. Home to a brewery of the same name, which is most famous for Belhaven Best, another beer often seen around these parts, they also produce a rather undervalued IPA. I couldn’t find a single mention of it on their official website, but Twisted Thistle comes in a modestly-labelled bottle with few pretentions. Belhaven were founded in 1719, and were the oldest independent in Scotland, until they were bought out by Greene King in 2005 for £187m. We sampled their St Andrews Ale way back in BeerCast #1.

What They Say - “The blend of Cascade and Challenger hops combine to produce an abundance of fresh hop aroma that preludes a bitter-dry taste explosion.” [label tasting notes]

What We Say…
Richard - Got that characteristic zingy IPA hoppy taste 8
MrB - Bitter hoppy session ale with a bit of fizz, floats my boat 8
Grooben - This is right up my street, very nice 7½
Shovels - Classic IPA but makes me appreciate the subtler Colonsay 6

4. Hardcore IPA (9.0%abv)
BrewDog, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.
330ml glass bottle

Many 25yr olds have drunk enough fizzy lager to wish they could do something about it. Few actually have - but two of those few are James Watt and Martin Dickie, old school friends from Aberdeenshire. They pooled their life savings and bought a ten barrel plant on the Kessock Industrial Estate in Fraserburgh to found BrewDog in April 2007. As you’d expect given their outlook, they produce a wide range of strong beers such as two kinds of imperial stout, one of which is aged in malt whisky casks. They entered some in the 2007 World Beer Awards, and amazingly won two awards - best strong pale ale (The Physics) and best imperial stout (Rip Tide). Today we sample their 9%abv imperial IPA.

What They Say - “Maris Otter grains to provide the robustly delicate toffee malt canvas, and hops to ensure your mouth is left feeling punished and puckering for more.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
MrB - Suck a duck, if you didn’t know it was 9% you’d end up drinking lots of this 9½
Richard - Alcohol/hops complement eachother, it’s tremendous 9
Grooben - Smells of cottage cheese but it certainly tastes good 8
Shovels - Tastes strong, label makes it look like an alcopop 7

BeerCast panel verdict

BrewDog Hardcore IPA - 33½/40
Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA - 29½/40
Deuchars IPA - 25½/40
Colonsay IPA - 24½/40

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

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #15 - Scottish IPA’s
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We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with another episode. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

Question 1. 3×80=…?

Each beer-producing country has peculiar quirks that serve to make it’s brewing unique. It could be the water, the type of hops, the variety of barley used. Scotland has large variations in these without doubt - but it’s history that counts around here. Beer was first produced in the chilly Highlands 5000yrs ago, using heather and herbs in place of the as yet un-imported hops. As far back as 1509, Aberdeen had over 150 brewers (all female - the original alewives). After the Act of Union in 1707 there was reduced tax on beer in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK, and no tax at all on malt.

As a result, the 18th Century was a boom time in Scottish brewing. The different strengths of beer were classified based on the amount charged per barrel, in shillings. Originally a 3.5%abv beer would cost 60 shillings per barrel, a 4%abv ale 70 shillings, and so-on. To some extent England did this too, but it’s north of the border that the system stuck. Shillings passed into history long ago, but beers here are still produced in those categories, and 80/- are the most common. So for the debut BeerCast podcast, our (somewhat reduced) panel tested three local 80’s, all from within 40 miles of BeerCast HQ.

1. William Wallace Ale (4.5%abv)
Traditional Scottish Ales Ltd, Bridge of Allan.
500ml glass bottle

Traditional Scottish Ales have two main brewery sites in central Scotland, an original site in Stirling, and a second acquired in 2006 after a merger with the Bridge of Allan brewery. The latter was founded in 1997 in the Victorian spa town outside the campus of Stirling University, where many of the BeerCast panellists received an early education in the merits (and pitfalls) of beer drinking. The area was first settled to take advantage of natural copper deposits in the area, and these minerals give the local water a distinctive taste. As befits their name, Traditional Scottish Ales’s brews have patriotic names - none moreso than William Wallace Ale, named after the iconic Highland hero who, as summed up by Shovels, “gave it to the English, or something”.

What They Say - “This full-bodied malty ale is rich ruby in colour with a satisfying crisp dry aftertaste. Hand brewed in the heart of Scotland with only the finest malted barley, choicest hops, yeast and pure Scottish water.” [Traditional Scottish Ales]

What We Say…
Richard - Strongly sweet ale, I prefer McEwans 80/- to this 4
Shovels - Caramel aftertaste that is quite unpleasant 3½

2. St Andrew’s Ale (4.6%abv)
Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar.
500ml glass bottle

Belhaven was the oldest independent brewery in Scotland, having started production in 1719, until taken over by the Suffolk giant Greene King in 2005 in a deal worth £187million. According to the 2007 Good Beer Guide Belhaven has 275 tied pubs in Scotland. They produce four domestic beers, Best, Best Extra Cold (is nothing sacred?), 80 Shilling, and St Andrews Ale, which the panel sampled today. Belhaven are sited in Dunbar, a coastal town of 6300 people, 30 miles east of Edinburgh. First settled in the 7th Century as part of Northumberland, it was destroyed in the 9th Century by the Picts, and within a hundred years was part of Scotland. According to the Met Office it receives more hours of direct sunshine and less rainfall than anywhere else in Scotland, due to it’s easterly coastal location. The locals call it ‘Sunny Dunny’.

What They Say - “A bittersweet beer with lots of body. The malt, fruit and roast mingle throughout with hints of hop and caramel.” [The Good Beer Guide]; “A rare modern phenomenon – a beer that tastes like beer. A smooth, full bodied, malty flavour and fruity palate, St Andrews Ale is the perfect mellow way to wind down.” [Belhaven Brewery]

What We Say…
Richard - Similar to the William Wallace, but not quite as tacky 5
Shovels - More refreshing and less sweet than the first one 5

3. Golden Promise (4.5%abv)
Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh.
500ml glass bottle

The Caley opened in 1869, and is the only remaining brewery in Edinburgh. In the mid 19th Century it was one of over forty, producing such a malty stench the city was nicknamed ‘Old Reekie’. The brewery’s two founders were in their early twenties, and were drinking buddies at the Golf Tavern on Bruntsfield Links. In 2004, they signed an agreement with Scottish & Newcastle (who had just closed the second last brewery in Edinburgh, at Fountainbridge) to brew their products under license. The Caledonian Brewing Company is an independent company, and brews the famous and multi award-winning Deuchars IPA - one of the greatest Scottish beers. Golden Promise is one of it’s lesser-known brands, and is named after the variety of malting barley used in it’s manufacture.

What They Say - “The first organically-brewed beer in Britain, Golden Promise is a five time winner at the organic food awards, and won a silver medal at the 2005 International Brewing Awards. It has a delightfully rounded sweet malt flavour, reminiscent of Ovaltine. It’s aromas are spicy, with a hint of dusty cinnamon and vanilla.” [Caldeonian Brewery Ltd]

What We Say…
Richard - Nice golden hue, it’s the best thing we’ve drunk today 7
Shovels - More subtle flavours to it, which is a good thing 7

BeerCast panel verdict

Golden Promise - 14/20
St Andrew’s Ale - 10/20
William Wallace Ale - 7½/20

Panellists - (from left) Shovels, Richard

Site news
In the latest of a long line of promises and missed deadlines, we are on the final stretch of getting the podcast out. Currently we’re tracking down a file host for our RSS feed, and when we do our freshly completed and polished debut BeerCast will be available on iTunes - obviously, we’ll let you know how and where to subscribe the moment it goes live.

Secondly, this week sees a flurry of excitement for the panel, as festival season grips the blog. Our full complement of Edinburgh-based BeerCasters will be attending the Scottish Traditional Ale Festival, notebooks and tasting glasses at the ready. Meanwhile over the Atlantic, our South American correspondant Hopmeister has been dispatched to Ecuador to discover the secrets of Galapagos lager*, and our Quebec-based panellist Craig AS (Phd) attended the recent Montreal beer festival. He filed a report, which will be published in due course. So look out for another BeerCast first - three posts in a week. Crikey.

* Surprisingly, this is actually true.

Second Update (Andy, Dec 2008):

Hello i’m moving the site over from blogger to thebeercast.com and through the magic of television i can now wholeheatedly insert the original collectors item BeerCast No. 1 right here:

• Listen to the episode here: BeerCast #1 - Count the Shillings
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed