Beer of the Week - Cauld Reekie by Stewart Brewing

Tomorrow is Robbie Burns Day, a day that celebrates Scottish poet Robert Burns, on his birthday. So instead of eating Haggis, a dish I've had before and surprisingly liked, I thought instead I would have a Scottish beer.

Stewart Brewing, from Edinburgh, Scotland, has starting shipping its beers to Canada and today I am trying their Cauld Reekie Stout.

The brewery was opened in 2004 by husband and wife, Steve and Jo Stewart, who ran it on their own. The company has since grown and now has 25 employees and an ample beer list. They concentrate mostly on cask ales also known as real ales, which is the core of their business. I'm glad, though, that they do bottle as now I can try a beer from far away.

The name is quite interesting. It is a play on an old nickname that Edinburgh has which is auld reekie,(old smokie due to the smoke from all the coal fires in the city), the nickname for Edinburgh many years before. Cauld Reekie was first released in 2008 and won European Gold in 2014 and took Silver in the stout category at the 2015 World Beer Awards.

So how does it taste?

The Cauld Reekie pours black with a dark brown head. Lots of coffee and some chocolate leap from the aroma. This is a strong tasting stout, with a bit of an edge to it. Coffee comes through strong when I sip followed by a little bitter hops at the end. The layers do not stop in the finish. Instead, between sips, there is a very surprising, pleasant chocolate taste that lingers on.

I'm glad that I picked up two 500 ml bottles. It's a stout that I would have again.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 301
Breweries 270
Countries 45

Beer of the Week - Historic Ales of Scotland Gift Pack

This Christmas my nephew, Kyle, and his wife, Kerri, gave me the Historic Ales of Scotland gift pack from Williams Bros. Brewing.

The pack contains four different ales brewed using ancient recipes used in old Scotland before hops could be commercially brought into the country. Each pack contains four out of the five beers which the company brews. Mine has a Fraoch Heather Ale, a Grozet Gooseberry Ale, an Alba pine flavoured ale and an Ebulum Elderberry Ale, which I have written about before.

Williams Bros. started not as a brewery but as home brew shop in Glasgow. In 1988, a woman of Gaelic descent came into the store armed with a family recipe for Heather Ale, which she wanted to re-create for her family. She said she would share the recipe if they would teach her how to make the ale.

After some experimenting, the recipe was created and the brothers, Bruce and Scott, decided to open a brewery in Craigmill, Strathaven. In 2004, they needed a larger brewery so they bought the Fourth Brewery in Alloa and moved in, where they have brewed ever since.

Alloa was once considered the brewing centre of Scotland due to the huge supply of grain and the fact that it sat on a harbour. The harbour was important as most brewers in Alloa shipped IPA to India and the town was regarded as second in only to Burton on the Trent fro brewing in the British Isles. Today Williams Bros. is the only brewery in the city.

Now to the beer.

As I have written about the Ebulum Elderberry Ale before, I will only say that I enjoyed it the first time I had it and again when I had from this pack.

Fraoch Heather Ale: The name is a little redundant as Fraoch is Gaelic for Heather. Heather Ale, made from the Heather flowers from a plant abundant in Scotland, is considered one of the oldest style ales in the world as it has been brewed since about 2000 BC. Heather Ale's name comes up throughout history and even in a Robert Louis Stevenson poem Heather Ale:

From the bonny bells of heather
They brewed a drink long-syne,
Was sweeter far than honey,
Was stronger far than wine.
They brewed it and they drank it,
And lay in a blessed swound.

The beer pours golden in colour with a white head which dissipates quickly. There is an earthy quality to the aroma. There is very little carbonation in this. On my first sip the beer starts a little weak and then along comes a sweetness. I don't usually enjoy a sweet beer, but I am liking this one. It's not overly sweet and has a nice finish which is impossible for me to identify, but likely is the Heather. A very nice ale!

Grozet Gooseberry & Wheat Ale: I am starting to get it now. Grozet is Gaelic for gooseberry. Where above when I claimed the name is a little redundant, now I see the charm. Sometimes it takes awhile for me to catch on!

This beer pours a cloudy yellow in colour, with a white head. Lot's of lacings are left behind on the glass as I sip. The aroma is lively and speaks of the gooseberry in the beer. The taste is a little complicated. It starts a little sweet and full of gooseberry, which disappears and becomes a little sour, then the gooseberry returns again for the finish. An excellent beer, especially for a hot day!

Alba Scots Pine Ale: Spruce and pine ales were popular in Scotland until the end of the 19th century. In the spring, the green shoots at the tips of the evergreen trees are picked. They are much milder and less resinous than older, more mature twigs and needles.  I have had a spruce beer once before, which I liked, so this should be an interesting comparison.

According to the description on the bottle, this 7.5% "tripel" style beer is brewed to a traditional Highland recipe.

The beer pours a coppery, reddish colour with very little head. The aroma is quite malty with a hint of caramel. There is very little carbonation in this. It is a heavier tasting beer with just a slight hint of pine or spruce and some caramel that I noted in the aroma. This is not a bad beer but one not really to my taste. 

All in all, a great present. I just loved three out the four beers in the pack. Thanks, Kyle! Thanks, Kerri! It was fun trying them all.

Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 189 
Breweries 163 
Countries 37

Beer of the Week - Skull Splitter Orcadian Ale

This week's Beer of the Week comes from about as far north as you can go in Scotland, the Orkney Islands, a group of about 70 islands off Scotlands north coast. Skull Splitter Ocardian Ale comes from a brewery on those islands from a brewery fittingly called the Orkney Brewery.

The brewery is located in a beautiful old schoolhouse in Quoyloo. Pictures of it and the Orkney Islands make me want to head over for a vacation!

The brewery was founded in 1988 by Roger White in the same old school house it still occupies. In 2004 when White retired, he sold the brewery to Atlas Breweries.

Norman Sinclair was a very enterprising gentleman. He graduated from business school in 1981, specializing in hotel management and took over his families hotel business and ended up one year winning the AA Inspector Hotel of The Year. He went on to by a country pub outside of Inverness and subsequently won 2 awards for catering. In 2006, it was time for Sinclair to try something else so he created Sinclair Breweries and bought Orkney Brewery from Atlas Breweries.

This beer, the brewery's strongest ale weighing in at 8.5%, is named after Thorfinn Einarsson who was the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney, and for some reason known as Skull Splitter. There were many wars in those days so I can imagine where the name came from.

And the taste?

The beer pours dark brown with a reddish tinge. The head is off white and does leave nice lacings on the glass. There is a strong malt forward aroma with something else in it, maybe caramel? The picture I took of this beer, which is at the top of this article, I shot outside with no gloves and a cold wind blowing. I am grateful that this is a very warming beer. The beer starts a malty taste, which seems to quickly fall off. despite being a high alcohol beer, there thankfully is no alcohol taste to it, which I  detest.

This is a pretty good beer, but not one really to my taste.

Now I have Orkney and it's brewery added to my long list of places I would like to visit. Someday...someday!


Beer of the Week Stats 

Beers Profiled 187 
Breweries 162 
Countries 37

Beer of the Week - BrewDog Punk IPA

Can you judge a book by its cover?

Can you judge a book by its title?

For this week's Beer of the Week, I did just that.

I love the name Punk IPA. It's kind of kick-ass and the design of the blue can it comes in is eye catching. Also being an IPA, I cannot go too far wrong.

BrewDog Brewery has been around for five years, putting out its first beer in 2007.  Not only have they made an impression in their own country of Scotland but also around the world. On their website, they boldly proclaim, "We are unique and individual. A beacon of non-conformity in a increasingly monotone corporate desert. We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths. We are proud to be an alternative."

So how have they done this?

In 2010, they put out a 55% APV beer called The End of History.

"This blond Belgian ale is infused with nettles from the Scottish Highlands and Fresh juniper berries. Only 12 bottles have been made and each comes with its own certificate and is presented in a stuffed stoat or grey squirrel. The striking packaging was created by a very talented taxidermist and all the animals used were road kill. This release is a limited run of 11 bottles, 7 stoats and 4 grey squirrels. Each ones comes with its own certificate of authenticity."

That $765 beer certainly put out the buzz on the brewery. The idea of putting a beer bottle in a dead animal, no matter that it was not purposefully killed, is one that puts me off.

After being criticised for producing an 18.2% stout called Tokyo, they responded by putting out an ultra low 1.1% alcohol beer called Nanny State. The name is a British term that conveys the view that a government's policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with the right of a persons personal choice.

"Nanny State is our quiet and dignified response to the ongoing controversy surrounding Britain's strongest ever beer, Tokyo. Nanny State is a 1.1% ale. We have gone from making Britain's strongest beer to a brew so low in alcohol it is below the legal classification of beer and not strong enough to be subject to beer duty."

They are also known for their Tactical Nuclear Penguin, a 32% beer which they annually produce.

"Brewdog paradox which was aged for 9 months in a spayside cask then 9 months in a smokehead cask, then taken to an icecream factory and frozen over the course of 2 weeks, then the non frozen liquid was drained off. Came out at 32% and at time of release was the strongest beer in the world."

I have not had any of the above but am looking very forward to the Punk IPA, which the brewery calls a "trans-atlantic fusion IPA". One very unique feature of this beer is the addition of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand., which is supposed to "white wine fruitiness" to a beer. It also has Ahtanum hops which were developed in the US North-West and is a citrusy, floral aromatic hop.

Time to stop writing and go and try the beer.

The beer pours a light golden colour with a nice white head. The first thing I notice is the intense fruit aroma which comes off the beer. Very light, very fruity, and yes, it also imparts something that reminds me of a Riesling or a Gewurztraminer. It definitely does not smell like a 5.6% IPA but something lighter.

Punk IPA is a very light tasting beer but quite flavourful. It starts a little watery in mouth feel with full fruit flavours coming through in the beginning and finishes sour instead of the IPA bitterness I was expecting.

So I judged a book by its cover and did well. Although this is a very good beer, it's not a great one. I don;'t know about Scotland but this is a beer made for a muggy hot Toronto afternoon like the last few have been as this is very light, tasty and refreshing.

Oops! This brewery would hate that description. Sounds like a big brewery commercial!

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 169
Countries 34
Breweries 147
Provinces 8
Territories 1

Beer of the Week - Tennent's Lager

Tonight I met some friends at a Firken Pub and found that they had changed their draught menu. A much better beer menu offered now.

One of the selections, Tennent's Lager, I had not heard of before. I found out that the official launch of it in Canada was held at the Caledonian just last September.

Tennent's is a lager brewed in Scotland, surprising as whenever I think of a beer from the United Kingdom, ales always come to mind.

This lager is not new to the scene either. Wellpark Brewery was founded in 1740 as H&R Tennent where it made stouts and strong ales. In 1885, after taking a tour of Europe and falling in love with Bavarian Lagers, Hugh Tennent came home, took over sole control of the business and started brewing his own lager.

Pretty successfully too. According to the C&C group website, Tennent's lager is Scotland's leading alcohol brand.

The brewery was operated as a family business until 1963 when it was bought out by Charrington United Breweries , which merged with United Caledonian Breweries in 1966. It was during this time to promote Tennent's in a can instead of bottle, they came out with "The Lager Lovelies". Each can had a picture of a woman on the side. They ran 'til 1989 and now collectors apparently will pay a lot of money for them.

The company was bought out by C&C Group and still brews in Wellpark.

But how's the beer?

It came golden with a white head which disappeared quickly. The website says they use maize and malt, which would explain the lack of a sustainable head or any lacings on the glass. The beer starts a little sweet then the hop bitterness comes through. Not an overly bitter beer, but a definite step up from the big brewery beer on this side of the ocean.

It's a decent beer but not a great beer. This would be my "go to" beer at pubs with a limited draught selection.

Beer of the Week Stats

Beers Profiled 150
Countries 29
Breweries 128
Provinces 8

Beer of the Week - Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale

There was an article in the Toronto Star this week about a pub in Toronto called The Caledonian which had a great selection of bottled beer from Scotland. One I found quite interesting was Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale by Williams Bros Brewing Company located in Alloa, Scotland.

Last night Teena and I headed up for a taste and some supper. Her review of the pub is here and mine is here.

The brewery was started in 1988 by brothers as the name implies, Bruce and Scot Williams. The first beer they brewed was from an 17th century recipe using sweet gale and heather flowers. Now 23 years later along with their line of what they call "contemporary ales", they also brew 5 historic ales based on recipes they have found from centuries before.

Their Elderberry Black Ale recipe was "taken from a 16th Century record of domestic drinking in the Scottish Highlands. Introduced to Scotland by Welsh Druids in the 9th Century, elderberry ale was part of the Celtic Autumn festivals where the ale was passed round the people of the village.

In medieval times elderberries were used for many natural remedies and are known to be high in fruit tannins and oils. It is a rich black ale with fruit aroma, soft texture, roasted grain and red wine flavour, with a gentle finish."

The ingredients are listed as Water, Malted Barley Bree, Hops, Elderberries, Roasted Oats and Barley. I Googled Malted Barley Bree to see what that is but the only explanation I constantly found was "Liquor made from barley; strong ale" which makes no sense. In fact, many websites I found were asking the same question in regards to Williams Brothers ales.

And the beer ...

It poured black into the glass with a thick brownish head. The aroma of the malt was quite strong. When I took a sip, I was surprised by its creamy texture. The ale had a strong taste of chocolate and coffee but those flavours seemed to disappear in the finish yielding to a taste of berry or cherry. This obviously was the elderberry which I was tasting. I was quite surprised at how such a pronounced taste from Malted barley and roasted oats could quickly fall away to the elderberry finish.

Very nicely done!

I finished this ale much quicker than I usually would, as I enjoyed the way this beer constantly finished. A very enjoyable beer and one that I would have again, next time I visit The Caledonian.

Scottish Fare at The Caledonian

This past week I read an article in the Toronto Star which was a very favorable review of The Caledonian on College by Ossington.

So Teena and I thought as it is in our hood, we should check it out.

Their website says "Come for the food, stay for the drink, return for the friends you've made." Well, I had came for the Scottish beer offered, then the food, and I'll see what friends I/we make.

It is a very warm and welcoming place. Donna, the owner, made a point to come over and introduce herself, and dropped by from time to time to ensure all was well. I noticed that everyone who came through the door had the same treatment. The servers too were all very warm and personable. I felt very settled the whole night.

From what I heard, they have an excellent selection of scotch but I was there for Scottish beer and I was not disappointed. There is a great selection of bottled Scotch beer and on draft was Caledonian 80 Shilling Heavy from Scotland and Wee Heavy Scotch Ale made by Amsterdam Brewery in Toronto.

The food was excellent. I started with a Scotch egg. I love Scotch eggs and have few places to have them. This was as good as my Scottish neighbor in Oshawa used to make a lifetime ago. Teena and I both had fish and chips which were great. I loved the lightly battered fish, the chips and the greens which came with it.

We don't usually eat desert but tonight we did. Neither Teena nor I had ever had a deep fried Mars Bar. It was never my desire to have one but they had bread pudding on the menu which I have not had in many many years and remember fondly. I had to give that a try.

I had a taste of Teena's Mars Bar which was basically molten sugar. I love Mars Bars but do not like them in this form. Who the hell came up with this idea?! I know it is catching on in the city. Why? I have no idea.

After giving my mouth a good rinse with the Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, I dug into my Bread Pudding. It was so fabulous!. I will wander up there again just to have this, it was so good.

The verdict? Yes, this is a place I will go to again and again. It is warm, friendly, very popular as it was near full all night long.The food is great, the beer is great and the people are great. We were so well looked after all night!

One final thought. As Teena and I left, Donna, the owner, on a very busy night, made sure to call out to tell us to have a good night and thanks for coming.

Thanks Donna. ... and yes, we'll be back!

Beer of the Week - Nov 22 - Deuchars IPA

Price: $ 2.60
Beer, Ale,
4.4% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 3
Made in: Scotland, United Kingdom
By: Caledonian Brewing Co. Ltd.

LCBO Tasting Note
Medium amber colour, lacy mousse; aromas of toasted grains, dried herbs, classic IPA nose; dry, crisp, yet creamy, and herbal; long, refreshing and bitter finish.

This week I picked up an IPA from Scotland made by Caledonian Brewing called Deuchars IPA, located in Edinburgh.

How do you pronounce their name? From their website they explain ... "If you're from outside Scotland, the pronunciation of Deuchars IPA may not come naturally, naturally. So to help you out, the advertising slogan 'You're due a Deuchars' has been developed."

The brewery was built in 1869. At that time, there were over 40 breweries in Edinburgh. In 1919, the brewery changed hands becoming Vaux Breweries. The brewery decided it wanted to move to Sunderland but a management takeover resulted in the brewery remaining open to brew cask conditioned beers. So the brewery remained in the same old Victorian building (pictured right), using the last direct fired copper coppers in the UK (pictured down to the right) and is the last brewery of the 40 remaining in Edinburgh.

"There's nothing quite like watching the only direct-fired open coppers at work. The Victorian design still effective today as the hand beaten inner dome concentrates the heat and develops a constant churn and roll."

Deuchars IPA is shipped to Sweden, Denmark, France, Canada, the USA and Hong Kong and has won quite a few awards since 2000, the last being Silver in the 2007 Society of Independent Brewers Association (SIBA), National Beer Competition in the Champion Bitters category.

An IPA is a hoppier ale, made to survive the long trek when being shipped from England to India. The extra hops are added as a natural preservative for the ale, and allows the taste to survive the long voyage. Scotland, in my mind anyways, is not know for hoppy beers so this should be interesting!

So now to give it a try ...

The ale pours a deep amber or light coppery colour. A head does form but disappears with no lacings left on the side of the glass.

I was surprised when I sipped it as it started sweet and then finished with a slight bitterness. It is a pleasant quaffable beer that would go down well on a hot afternoon. It is not one that I would go out of my way to have but if I was at a pub that served it up, I would certainly order a pint.

Beer of the Week - Mar 7 - Old Engine Oil

330 mL bottle
Price: $ 2.95
5.5% Alcohol/Vol
Sugar Content : 5
Made in: Scotland, United Kingdom
By: Caledonian Brewing Co. LtdHarviestoun Brewery Ltd

SEASONAL/LIMITED QUANTITIES

While gazing across the many choices for the Beer of the Week, I spotted Old Engine Oil by Harviestoun Brewery in Scotland. I had to give this a try despite its risky name.

This beer was created by Ken Brooker, who designed wooden prototypes for Ford Motor Company just outside of London. When he was transferred to Scotland, he could not find a beer he enjoyed. His boss at Ford Scotland was a home brewer which inspired Ken to take up the hobby.

When his friends gave him a 40th birthday present of a trip to Munich Germany for Oktoberfest, his company would not give him the time off work.

So he quit.

He tried a couple of different enterprises, a restaurant then a bakery, before buying a plot of land where sat a 200-year-old stone barn with 20 inch thick walls. It was just outside of Harviestoun Castle so he named the brewery Harviestoun Brewery. When he retired in 2006, he sold the business to Caledonian Brewery.

One of the beers he decided to produce was from the old recipe book he used as a home brewer. He found it very tasty but the "thick, gloppy" viscosity reminded Ken of, well, old engine oil. So that's what he decided to name it.

The label on this "strong beer" says that it is "Viscous, Chocolatey and Bitter" (spelled the same way it is on the bottle ... I do use spell check). It does pour thick and dark, with a good aroma and nice head. It is a very smooth tasting beer, one which I consider more a stout than a strong beer. It has a pleasant bitterness to it and finishes with a light chocolaty flavour.

I can see why it has won awards at the 2008 Great Taste Awards and a Bronze for bottled beer at the 2008 SIBA Scotland Regional Beer Competition .

Whether it is a "strong beer" or what the Beer Hunter calls a 'Winter Ale" or a stout, which I lean toward it being, it is one mighty fine tasty brew.

Beer of the Week - Jan 31 - Innis & Gunn Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer

330 mL bottle
Price: $ 4.95 Beer
7.2% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 4

Made in: Scotland, United Kingdom
By: Innis & Gunn Brewing Co Ltd

Before Christmas, I was in the LCBO in Liberty Village, once again searching for something new to try. and got to speaking to a fellow beer lover about, what else, beer. He too was looking for something different to try and was going to also pick up his favorite, Innis & Gunn Oak Aged beer. He highly recommended that I try this and went on his way.

This is beer which is aged in whiskey barrels and, although unique, I was very hesitant to purchase it.

Then a few weeks later I was in the same store and came upon a new product from Innis & Gunn, their Rum Cask Oak Aged Beer. I love beer and love rum. What kind of marriage would the two make together? At $4.95 for a regular size bottle, I was hoping it wouldn't be a divorce.

Innis & Gunn opened in 2003. The company's name comes from the middle names of founder, Dougal Sharp and his brother, Neil. According to their website, the process of making their beer was discovered by accident and they lay claim to be the only brewer that uses this method in the world.

By accident??

In 2002, whiskey makers William Grant & Sons hired brewer Dougal Sharp to create a beer that would be stored in bourbon casks in order to bring a beer taste to their whiskey. He created a very malty beer which soaked in the casks for 30 days, then was dumped to make room for the whiskey.

The Ale Cask Whiskey became a success.

It seems that after dumping many thousands of gallons of beer, a very sad thought indeed, someone brilliantly thought about maybe having a taste of the beer before dumping it. They found that the bourbon soaked rum barrels created a beer which they liked. After analyzing the beer and bringing in professional tasters, Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer came to the market in August of 2003.

In 2008, Innis & Gunn released a limited production of its beer which had been matured in oak barrels that previously was used for navy rum. The maturing period is a very lengthy 107 days.

So how did it all turn out?

The beer pours with a very nice head and is a dark reddish brown colour. Both Teena and myself found very little aroma.

It has a pleasant malty taste and is a sweeter tasting beer. Knowing that it has soak in rum barrels, I was very surprised at the subtle flavouring as I expected something more harsh and overpowering. It is a very nice tasting beer and you can sense the lingering rum in the finish.

All in all, I did like this beer and was glad I tried it but have to say that I wouldn't find myself buying it again. If you enjoy whiskey and beer, I would suggest trying the oak aged beer. If you like rum, try this one. It was a limited production so you would need to pick one up soon.

It is such a different process, it is worth trying at least once.