Named after Glasgow’s local patron saint – and a brewer himself – in typical WEST style, this packs more flavour in than you might think while still sticking to all-important German 16th-century beer purity laws. The sub-title – pure heavenly – seems appropriate. This is refreshing, with a light bitterness on the finish, plus enough […]
Brewed to commemorate 250 years since the Jacobite revolution, Traquair’s Jacobite Ale is rich and malty, full of spiced dried fruits, and oodles of food matching potential. 8%
Scottish brewing success story, Innis & Gunn, is releasing its Original on draught for the first time. Light amber in colour, the smell transports you to the kitchen: aromas of rich honey and caramel from the brew’s time spent maturing in specially chosen oak barrels dominate. Banana splits, more honey and lightly caramelised malt on […]
Peter’s Well is the flagship beer of the Houston Brewing Company, and has a string of awards to its name, including SIBA Champion Best Bitter of Scotland, as well as taking third place in CAMRA’s 2011 Champion Beer of Scotland competition. It certainly looks the part, a dark gold colour with a good frothy head, which […]
Amber in colour, with hints of hazelnuts on the nose, the organic Red Kite is delightfully cleansing, with a gently, light carbonation on top of a refreshing lightly roasted malt. Almost mandarin skin on the finish.
Fantastically aromatic, with violets, cloves, cinnamon, vanilla, it’s incredible to think that this all comes from the blend of hops. The palate sports a complex mix of dark roasted malts, with vanilla coffee flavours, spicy fruitcake, and bitter coffee on the finish. We’re in casserole country here. Or rich tangy cheeses. Or a log fire. […]
Mahogany in colour, Wye Valley Brewery’s Country Ale is almost halfway between a stout and an ale, with a malty nose and rich, full-bodied palate. With beers like this, it’s not surprising this small independent wowed the BBC Food & Farming Awards’ judges. A great food beer, with sweet, malty, nutty flavours and coffee bitterness […]
A full blooded beer which packs in more flavour than you would think the alcohol would warrant. Copper in colour, Old Hooky is rounded and fruity – cooked plum and spiced apples – with malt backbone and a balanced slug of hops on the finish. Fine solo but great also with simply cooked meats, cheese […]
It’s rather fun to think you are drinking history. But then I guess beer’s long been such a central part of our community, that I guess it’s not that surprising that in well-organised breweries such as London’s oldest, Fuller’s, there are some gems to be unearthed. In the week that Fuller’s launched its commemorative brew […]
From a wee Edinburgh brewing company, this is a traditional Scottish ale, brewed with an eye to older styles of beer rather than the currently trendy hop monsters. Knops use four different malts in brewing Musselburgh Broke, which is named for the racecourse at Musselburgh, just east of Edinburgh. The nose is gentle and malty, […]
