The BeerCast

Scotland has given many things to the world relating to drink – single malt whisky, Shetland gin, Irn-Bru, Rabb C Nesbitt – but also the distinctive Scottish Ale, and the Shilling scale of classification. Growing our beer knowledge in Scotland, from young students knocking back subsidised £1.20 pints of McEwans 70/- in Uni bars, we’ve become highly familiar with the classic range of beers and their increasing heftiness. Originally relating to prices charged per barrel – 60, 70, 80 and 90 shilling beers are characteristically Scottish (as are their alternate names – Light, Heavy, Export and Wee Heavy).

Trouble is, they are often also characteristically awful. They tend to have very similar flavours – dominated by general malty sweetness and overpowering caramel tastes. Our first ever BeerCast podcast was a discussion on 80/- ales and their tendency to be syrupy and cloying, yet weak and strangely unsatisfying. Personally, I take a wide berth from local market-leader Caledonian 80/- these days (although that could be down to many rough Sunday mornings during my campus days). But as a brewing style (or series of styles) they should be cherished, if only for historical reasons – much like the controversial British Mild.

Like milds, many breweries have turned their backs on Shilling ales – although the natural patriotism of Scottish brewers has meant many of them still produce at least an 80/- in their range. Some are even turning back the clock and re-discovering the humble Export. One such brewer are Alloa’s Williams Bros, who made their names reviving lost styles of Scottish beer, so are a natural choice to tempt “modern” ale drinkers (if we can call ourselves that) to take a punt on an 80/-. Launched in time to co-incide with the 2009 Sainsbury’s Beer Competition is Williams 80/- (4.2%). [It ended up making the final shortlist].

I’ve always thought the best thing about an 80/- is the smell – sweet, malty and a bit like toffee ice cream (at least this is what I get from the William Bros’ version). These are beers that need to be served only slightly cool – or chilled and then left to get back to room temperature before drinking. It pours carbonated, but with no head, just a thin lacing of bubbles and with a dark ruby, almost blackcurrant colour. As expected, the twin tastes that come at you are malt and sweetness, plus a touch of fruit – although we’re not into the fruitcakes of darker ales. It’s sweet though, and it gets sweeter as it warms – which is the problem I used to have with shilling ales, I think. There’s a slight taste of something akin to dandelion and burdock, which might just be me – anyway, it’s a nice beer, very drinkable, which for a style I’m not keen on probably means it’s much better than I give it credit for.

Williams Bros website

The second annual Sainsbury’s Beer Competition has just concluded, with the winners announced at the end of last week. After 115 different entries were received for this year’s judging, 100 of them were whittled away during the process leaving the final shortlisted fifteen vying for the two prizes. Bath Ales Golden Hare (4.4%) and Hambleton’s Taylor’s Tipple (4.5%) came out on top, and will be released nationwide in over 250 Sainsbury’s stores, joining last year’s winners O’Kells IPA and another from Bath Ales - Barnstormer.

I’ve managed to sample Taylor’s Tipple, and was very pleasantly surprised – it’s a supremely drinkable nutty bitter in the traditional English style. Check back later for a full review – but the shortlist threw up a number of other fascinating beers, many of them from here in Scotland. Taking up a quarter of the spaces in the final were Alloa’s Williams Brothers, and Fraserburgh’s BrewDog had three shortlisted beers of their own. Despite not getting the prizes, to take up almost half of the final places was a tremendous achievement for the two producers. It’s a pity that neither managed to claim one of the winner’s spots.

We’re unabashed fans of Williams Bros ales here at the BeerCast, having reviewed Williams Gold and Red, and we really need to feature Joker at some point - their previous IPA. Their newer range have been well received too – Good Times and Midnight Sun made the final shortlist in 2008, and their newer golden ale Birds & Bees was in this year’s final fifteen. Also in the select group for 2009 were their 80/-, which is good to see for a brewery who started off producing traditional ales, and another new one, Ceilidh lager.

Williams IPA though has a blend of Bramley X and Amarillo hops to give “real alpha bite”. I’ve tried it before, having been given a sneaky sample by Scott Williams at an Edinburgh foodie fair when it was still in the production stages. At the time I likened it to something more at home from a producer such as Sierra Nevada – it seems the headier North American style IPA is what they were attempting to emulate. Of course, there are other Scottish producers working along those lines too, most notably the aforementioned BrewDog, and also Windie Goat with their fantastic Gutter Slab.

Anyway, Williams IPA pours a rich yellow colour with a slight opaque haziness – not really the ‘bright gold’ mentioned on the label. The aroma is mildly hoppy, and the head on mine dispersed within seconds. Taste-wise though, it’s really very good – bitterly astringent with a strong, but not overpowering, hop taste. It comes out stronger in flavour than most 5% IPA’s, but it’s not as punishing as those that weigh in at over 6%. It tastes very much like a North American session IPA, with it’s dry finish and crisp, biting hop taste. I love bitter IPA’s, and in particular the ones you can keep at without crumbling. Williams IPA is a real corker, and although it didn’t come out on top, hopefully it will be made readily available in beer retailers across the country.

Sainsbury’s Beer Competition website
The final shortlist of fifteen

For our latest podcast, we started off drinking beers that didn’t seem related - but by the end a very definite theme had developed. Two chestnut red ales, the second of which was billed as having hints of a certain yellow fruit, were followed by two that had very serious hints of the same thing. We’re not sure if any other beer website has tried a Banana special before, but we started ours with White Horse’s Dragon Hill (4.1%) from Oxfordshire - which admittedly has nothing to do with bananas. We then move on to one from our side of the border - Williams Red (4.5%), from the eponymous brothers based in Alloa. Our third beer moves towards the theme, as we sample Wells Banana Bread Beer (5.2%) from the Wells & Youngs Brewery in Bedford. Finally we finish on the ultimate beer for the flavour - Mongozo Banana Beer (4.5%), from the Chokwe people of Africa, via Belgium. This edition sees a joining of our two panels, as Andy and Jess jet north to Edinburgh to join Richard and Shovels.

1. Dragon Hill (4.1%abv)
White Horse Brewery, Faringdon, Oxfordshire.
500ml glass bottle

The White Horse Brewery are a small producer based in the valley of the same name in rural Oxfordshire. Faringdon is a market town on the edge of the Thames Valley, and it’s here that Andy Wilson founded his brewery. They attempt to use local produce as much as possible for their ales, such as White Horse Bitter and their fiery, aromatic Wayland Smithy. Dragon Hill takes it’s name from the small chalk hillock nearby, upon which legend has it St George did his noble deed to resolve a problem with a large reptile. It’s also near the Uffington White Horse, a 300ft long prehistoric outline carved into the ground that forms the company logo.

What They Say - “Just like Saint George making his stand on the Dragon Hill many years ago, this beer is chestnut red in colour, with a dry biscuit after taste and a hoppy finish. As the start to the New Year has passed, it is time to re-define those taste buds with this early season beer made with the finest English malt and traditional hops.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard - It’s very dry, with quite a biscuity aftertaste 7
Jess - I can drink it although there’s nothing rich in the taste 5
Shovels - A bit like bottled Deuchars, it’s underwhelming 5
Andy - The John Major of beers - not offensively bad, just so middle of the road it’s without merit 4

2. Williams Bros Red (4.5%abv)
Williams Bros, Alloa, Clackmannanshire
500ml glass bottle

The family-run company started in 1992 by brothers Scott and Bruce Williams first produced eclectic traditional Scottish beers brewed to historic recipes - such as Fraoch Heather Ale, (first produced in 2000BC). In 2004 they took over larger premises in Alloa and formed a new line of beers under the brand ‘Williams Bros’ – Gold, Red, Black, and Joker. The last couple of years has seen them expand into many more brands, such as the excellent Midnight Sun and Good Times. 2009 has seen the affable brothers score four beers in the finals of Sainsbury’s Beer Challenge - Birds & Bees, Williams 80/-, Ceilidh Lager and Williams IPA, which are all seriously drinkable (particularly the IPA). However, for this episode we sample one of their oldest lines - Williams Red.

What They Say - “Williams Red is a rich ruby malt ale, medium dry with hints of toffee and banana. Balanced with fresh spicy hops to give a zesty peppery backdrop, Williams Red is a warming full flavoured beer to be savoured.” [Label Tasting Notes]

What We Say…
Richard - I don’t get toffee or banana, just general sweetness 6½
Shovels - As malty red ales go it’s the right side of the 80/- line 6
Jess - I would have liked it more if it was more bitter 6
Andy - Just a bit too much for my fragile taste buds 4

3. Wells Banana Bread Beer (5.2%abv)
Wells & Youngs, Bedford, Bedfordshire
500 ml glass bottle

Charles Wells was born in Bedford in 1842. At the age of 14 he left school and boarded a frigate bound for India. By the time he was Chief Officer he had courted and proposed to a woman named Josephine Grimbley. However, her father had no desire to see her married to a man who would vanish for months on end at sea, so Charles abandoned his naval career and decided to open a brewery. He found a site on the River Ouse, sank his own well on a nearby limestone hill, and got started. Today, following a 2006 merger with London’s Young’s concern they are the largest privately owned brewer in the UK. Their Eagle Brewery in Bedford brews many beers under licence, such as Kirin, Cobra and Red Stripe. Their flagship brand is Bombadier, and they also own an estate of over 250 pubs.

What They Say - “It’s flavour unfolds with a sensual sparkle and a smart crispness, which balances its aroma perfectly. Tropically fruity; its ripe banana flavour, emphasised by a hint of bitterness, comes from the addition of real fair trade bananas and finishes with an emphatic, steely dryness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy - For an odd beer with stuff in, it’s as good as it gets 8½
Jess - It’s like drinking beer and having a lovely slice of home-made banana bread 8
Richard - Bananas come through in the smooth aftertaste 7½
Shovels - Tastes like banana bread with a fizz at the end 7½

4. Mongozo Banana (4.5%abv)
Brouwerij Hughye Melle, Belgium
330 ml glass bottle

Several years ago, Henriqe Kabia’s mother had a problem. Belonging to the Chokwe people of Angola she would follow tradition by passing on her grandmother’s palm nut homebrew recipe to her oldest daughter. Trouble was, she didn’t have any, so it was Henrique that got the know-how instead. When he moved to the Netherlands in 1993, he decided Europeans should get the chance to sample traditional African beer. After a struggle, he teamed up with Jan Fleurkens and persuaded the Belgian Brouwerij Van Steenberge to let him experiment - and it proved to be a hit. Today Brouwrij Huyghe (of Delirium Tremens fame) produce Mongozo under licence, and there are five flavours available - Coconut, Quinua, Palmnut, Mango, and last but not least, Banana (based on the Masai drink mbege). Henrique was killed in a car accident in Switzerland in 2003, but the beer survives and is increasing in market share throughout Europe.

What They Say - “The word Mongozo means ‘to your health!’ in the language of the Chokwe people of Africa. Banana, as already indicated by the name, is the unmistakeable flavour of Mongozo Banana. The beer flavour only comes through in the aftertaste. It goes without saying that Mongozo Banana is the yellow colour of ripe bananas.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Andy - It smells like you just opened a tub of pick n’ mix 5
Shovels - Should be called Monsweeto, a 3yr old would love it 4
Jess - No beer in it at all, it tastes like a fizzy drink 3
Richard - Tastes like colossally sweet banana cordial, it’s a poor excuse for a beer and just isn’t nice 1½

Panellists - (from top left) Andy, Jess, Richard, Shovels

BeerCast panel verdict
Wells Banana Bread Beer (31½/40)
Williams Bros Red (22½/40)
White Horse Dragon Hill (21/40)
Mongozo Banana Beer (13½/40)

Edinburgh is a city well known for festivals, and fortunately for us on the BeerCast they aren’t just restricted to the arts. The 2009 Scottish Real Ale Festival has rolled around again, held at the Assembly rooms on George Street. As promised in our recent preview we turned up with high expectations, given the impressive beer list. Getting right down to business, the first beer sampled was the Hebridean Brewery’s Seaforth Ale (4.2%), which completed the full set from the Stornoway producer (we sampled their other four beers during BeerCast #30). Seaforth was very light, slightly soapy but a decent golden ale – a pretty good start to the festival.

Next up was Williams Bros Birds & Bees (4.3%), a new beer from the Alloa brothers Scott and Bruce. Recently it got through to the finals of the Sainsbury’s Bottled Beer Challenge – we’ll have to see how it differs in the bottle, as on cask it was flowery and lemony and very sessionable. We were trying to work out if it was their Williams Gold remixed slightly, as it has many similar tastes. The third beer on the agenda was Traditional Scottish Ales’ Gold Thistle (4.5%), a sharp-tasting golden bitter which suffered from a poor woody smell. The flavours were light and hoppy, with a bit of golden ale biscuit.

Windie Goat are a very small micro who brew almost exclusively for the Failford Inn in Ayrshire, and having previously sampled Gutter Slab (5.5%) we had to go back for another taste. After three gentle golden ales, the difference was startling – Cascade hops on the nose, and a wonderful bitter citrus flavour and aftertaste. It was so good that it sold out very quickly, so we can count ourselves lucky to have got in while we could. Beer number five was from a producer I’ve never tried before – Aberdeenshire’s Hillside/Deeside (they recently changed names) – their 4.0% Nechtan. This one was also tremendous, grapefruity and refreshing, it really delivered that zesty summer flavour many brewers fail to get into their beers.

Beer six was the traditional ‘BeerCaster’s choice’ round, where we buy one for someone else on the panel – avoiding the cruelty of a 9% barleywine. The one I ended up with was Sulwath’s The Grace (4.3%), which tasted far stronger than it’s abv and had a similar grapefruit aroma to the Nechtan. The flavours were different however, there was a sweetness I’d not picked up in any of the previous beers, presumably down to the mix of two types of malt and three of hop. Sulwath are based in Castle Douglas near Dumfries, and clearly put a lot of effort into their beers if this one was anything to go by.

The final beer of the night was the also traditional ‘lucky dip’ round, selecting a totally new random beer based purely on the name. This year it was the turn of Caledonian’s Top Banana, which given the name unsurprisingly had some gentle banana tastes on the back of a powerful banana aroma. It was nice for a fruit beer though, and reminded me of Wells&Young’s Banana Bread Beer. A sweet palate cleanser at the end of the night – almost like a dessert after a (particularly lengthy) meal. Speaking of which, we’ll be back tomorrow for seconds. Stay tuned…

Gift packs are a relatively new phenomenon in the real ale world - multipacks of beers on a theme for easy purchase in supermarkets. Either several beers showcasing one producer, or a mixed pack giving a selction, they serve as a safe bet for people willing to go above the usual randomly-chosen bottles for that real ale fan. But are they any good? One such gift set is Great British Ales, which consists of two beers from England and one each from Wales and Scotland. Unfortunate for real ale fans in Northern Ireland then - maybe a true British Ales selection could include one from somewhere like the Whitewater Brewery? Anyway, be that as it may, this particular pack features four ales - here’s the BeerCast’s verdict…

Black Dog 3.6%
Elgoods Brewery, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
“Our award-winning dark mild, full of roast malt flavour” says the back of the bottle - and we love an award-winning ale here on the BeerCast. A mild though? Our (admittedly limited) experience of that particular style of beer hasn’t been a good one until now. But Black Dog is really rather good. It is roasty, with a touch of the dreaded caramel and a dark molasses aftertaste - it’s almost like a shandy version of Theakston’s Old Peculier. It certainly has more taste than any of the milds I’ve had before - probably put together.

Fraoch Heather Ale 5.0%
Heather Ales Ltd, Alloa, Scotland
We’re no strangers to Fraoch, indeed it featured in our BeerCast #23 when we looked at beers with unusual added ingredients. It scored 50% that day - we’re immune to accusations of Scottish favoritism here - even though it is produced by the affable Williams Brothers, Bruce and Scott. Pronounced ‘fro-ik’, it has a “floral peaty aroma, full malt body, a spicy herbal flavour and a dry wine like finish” according to the label. There is a dryness there, but it couples with the floral taste from the heather really very well.

Double Dragon Ale 4.2%
Felinfoel Brewery, Llanelli
‘The National Ale of Wales’ according to the boast on the label, Felinfoel’s Double Dragon pours a rich dark brown and has a seriously malty aroma. This continues in the taste - malt malt malt all the way, with a sweetness at the end. It actually gets sweeter the more you have. This is in no way negative - it’s a very good brown ale, and certainly belongs in the pack due to the style. It gets a bonus for being named after a tremendous 80’s computer game, as well.

Spitfire 4.5%
Shepherd Neame, Faversham, Kent
Spitfire is also a British ale in the classic style, so no surprises to see it included in the selection. Amusingly it describes itself as ‘The Bottle of Britain’ - ho ho - yet it actually tastes pretty similar to the Double Dragon. Also a dark nutty brown colour, it has a consistent malty flavour. According to the tasting notes, a ‘generous aroma of tangy malt’ can be detected, and this is imparted on the taste as well - tangy is the word for this one. Average is another. It would be better if it was a bit stronger maybe, but it’s certainly drinkable.

Nothing stomach-churningly awful in the Great British Ales gift pack then - but what would we like to see in a similar set? We’re a British beer website after all. Despite my opening tirade, sadly we’ve yet to taste any beers from Northern Ireland so we’ll follow the country format of the original pack. Here are the BeerCast’s suggestions for a Great British Ales boxed set…

St Peter’s India Pale Ale 5.5%
St Peter’s Brewery, Suffolk
The first thing to package up is an IPA - just one of the many styles of beer we’ve given to the world. Admittedly several other countries have down a lot more with it since, but the 5%-ish India Pale Ale is one of the quintessential British beers. We’d be tempted to rock the boat with something like BrewDog’s Hardcore IPA, but as this is a mass-marketed boxed set, something classic like St Peter’s India Pale Ale, from Bungay in Suffolk. Hopped to survive lengthy voyages, it’s robust and really zesty.

Brains SA Gold 4.7%
Brains Brewery, Cardiff
Our Welsh offering is from the most successful brewery from the country - Brains. Their flagship beer is Brains SA, a dark coppery ale similar to Spitfire or Double Dragon (although none of the parties may appreciate the comparison). But they produce a fantastic golden ale which I enjoyed tremendously during a trip to the Welsh capital last year. Us Brits invented the golden ale - and pioneers like the wonderful Hop Back Summer Lightning and Exmoor’s Exmoor Gold are world-renowned. But they make great golden ales outside of the South West of England, too.

Yorkshire Terrier 4.2%
York Brewery, York
York Brewery was established in 1996 at the site of an old motorcycle showroom inside the city’s famous walls. Any foursome of ales from this part of the world has to include a premium best bitter - and Yorkshire Terrier certainly is that. Named after a small dog that used to be taken to work every day by it’s brewer owner, this one mixes well the lively hops and creamy malt. The Great British Ales set seems to be all about tradition, so there’s no chance we could put one out without a northern English bitter.

Dark Island 4.6%
Sinclair Brewery, Orkney
It would also be unforgivable to put out a best of British selection and not include a porter or a stout - and the very greatest exponent of that style is Sinclair Orkney Dark Island. Twice CAMRA Champion beer of Scotland, it’s an iconic standard bearer for traditional Scottish ales (their words, not mine). They never really refer to it as a porter, only a ‘very dark beer with a ruby tint’ - but however you pigeonhole it, Dark Island is wonderful. Chocolate, figs, dried fruit, it’s warming, malty and moreish, with hops on the finish. It’s at the very top of British beers.