Scottish Beers 2

My second blog for the Scottish beers I'd been kindly provided with (Scottish Beers 1) includes 5 beers that I appear to have 'scored' pretty much similar, as in I'd drink them again indeed.  First, from Glasgow brewery Drygate (website) Gun-Toting Nano-Penguin (5.2%), a 'Peach Pale Ale' brewed with wheat malt added to the grist, plus peach extract, and Australian Galaxy (hopslist) and British Bramling Cross hops used (hopslist). Peach noted in both aroma and taste, which the Galaxy hops no doubt added to, slightly hazy and with a dry finish, not bad at all.

From Windswept Brewing of Lossiemouth (website), which closed down a few months ago after 12 years of brewing, their 5.2% Weizen. Consequently, not available anymore, I may well have drunk the last bottle of it (it was past its official 'sell by' date). This wheat beer, thus containing wheat malt in the grist, bottle conditioned, only slightly cloudy, although I was very careful pouring it out, and it had ages to settle, but still in fine condition! I've no idea what hops were used but Beer Analytics website suggests a couple that may have produced the banana flavour, together with caramel, the advertised taste. I found both in the aroma and taste, but very subtle (NB the caramel). I was surprised how much I enjoyed drinking it, I found it quite refreshing!

Next, from another Glasgow brewery Brewgooder (website), is their 4.1% New England IPA, surprisingly full-flavoured with some body for the strength. Also, brewed with a couple of my favourite hops used, Citra (hopslist) and Mosaic hops (hopslist), thus producing an authentic 'New England' style IPA, with a big fruity aroma and taste, notably citrus and pineapple. Cloudy and very pale, with a lovely dry finish, actually quite light and refreshing, not bad!

The next beer was from Black Isle Brewing (website), from Munlochy, up in the North East of Scotland, I had to look it up 😁 but they're on the Moray Firth a wee bit further north east than Inverness. Another cloudy beer with both lager and wheat malt added to the grist, but the brewers appear proud to advertise their 'organic and unfiltered' beers, 'suitable for vegans.' Brewed with an amazing cocktail of delicious hops, including Cascade (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist), Citra (hopslist) and Nelson Sauvin (hopslist). This had a big fruity aroma and taste, not particularly bitter, but with a dry finish, quite easy to drink, and I coped with the cloudiness.

Finally, from Glasgow brewery West (website), a slightly different beer indeed, their German Pale Ale (GPA). Brewed "in accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516" and using the German hop  Hallertau Mittelfruher (hopslist) and US Chinook hops (hopslist), and wheat malt in the grist. Another slightly cloudy IPA style, very pale with a hint of spice, a slight biscuit flavour from the malt, and fresh citrus aroma and taste from the Chinook hops, again, not bad at all.

I wouldn't turn away a glass of any of these beers listed today, but my overall favourite of the 9 beers I was gifted was the 71 Brewing Funky Drummer noted in my first Scottish beers blog maybe the 7.5% strength influenced me a tad, but more likely the hops used, cheers! 🍻

Scottish Beers 1

This and the next blog will be about Scottish beers that have been kindly supplied to me by a friend, Jackie, whose son brought them back with him after a trip to Scotland, I believe, whatever, many thanks! I'm going to start with my favourite, then my least favourite, then move on...

So, my favourite was from Dundee brewery 71 Brewing Co (website) and their 7.5% Funky Drummer, brewed with oats and wheat added to the malt in the grist. It is a DIPA (double dry hopped IPA), a style developed in the USA with plenty of hops, thus plenty of flavour, and a stronger than a usual IPA. The hops used were Azacca (hopslist), Cascade (hopslist), Columbus (hopslist), Citra (hopslist), Simcoe (hopslist) and Mosaic (hopslist), consequently, this pale and slightly hazy ale has plenty of flavour, indeed, with hints of peach and citrus in the aroma and taste, and with a nice dry bitter finish. 👍

My second beer, which you will come to understand why I wasn't so fond of it, is brewed in Edinburgh by Vault City Brewing, the self proclaimed 'largest sour beer 'producer' in Scotland (website), and I'm not overly fond of most 'sour' beers. This was their 4.0% Grapefruit Lemonade Crush, again brewed with wheat and oats in the grist, as well as lemon juice and grapefruit zest added to the mash. You get what it says on the label, smells sour, tastes of citrus with a dry tart finish. When I want fruit juice, I'll drink fruit juice, thank you all the same.

The next 2 beers both come from Alloa brewery Williams Bros Brewing Co (website), the first was their 5.6% Twelve Cents IPA, single hopped with Centennial hops (hopslist). Another slightly cloudy (I'm careful how I pour!), yes 'vegan' friendly, pale amber beer, with a hint of citrus in the aroma, citrus and forest fruits in the taste, and a dry bitter finish, 'not bad at all' I noted.

The second Williams Bros beer was their 4.5% El Perro Negro, a golden pilsner style lager with Seville Orange added to the mash. Unsurprisingly, there is a hint of orange in the aroma and a fruity orange/citrus taste, finishing off nice and dry, and for this rare drinker of lagers, I wrote 'very refreshing' in my notes, so happy to drink it, cheers!

My next blog will cover the other 5 Scottish beers I was gifted, cheers!🍻

Cider Week 2024 - Cider Session 2 in Hastings

My second British Cider Week 2024 'session' was at another micropub, The Jolly Fisherman (facebook page), 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR (tel: 01424 428811). Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 4.00pm to 11.00pm; Saturday 2.00pm to 11.00pm; Sunday 2.00pm to 10.30pm; closed Mondays, although hours do vary sometimes for public holidays and for some events. I have written a blog about the history of this wee pub 6 years ago. They no longer serve food, other than bar snacks, nor do B&B anymore.

My first cider of the shift was from Kent, Turners Cider (website), and their 6.5% Dry Cider, 'made with 100% Kentish apples.' As you can see above, a very pale cider, with plenty of apple in the taste and nice and dry, I liked it! 👌

My second drink for Session 2 was actually a perry, [I'd already written about one of the ciders available here in Session 1 (blog)], and I didn't want to include any fizzy ciders, consequently, from Hecks Cider in Somerset (website), their 6.0% Perry, made with 100% perry pears grown in Somerset. A pale golden yellowish perry, with hints of berries and pear in the taste, a sour aroma, and a slightly tart finish, complex and very enjoyable indeed. 😁

My third drink of the session was from Newton Court in Herefordshire (website), their 6.6% Major, a single cider apple variety originating from further into the West Country. As you can tell from the photograph above, a very reddish cider, which comes from an apple variety that has a very red skin, unsurprisingly. Generally accepted as a 'bittersweet' fruit, this limited edition cider has a subtle apple aroma, a very fruity taste, and with a dry finish. I noted "very good!" 👍

My final cider of the session was from Luke's Cider in East London (website), their also 6.6% Queen Dab, made from a single apple variety Dabinett, a 50/50 blend of apples grown in Herefordshire and Somerset. A rusty reddish colour, sour apple aroma, a very dry and bitter cider, and pretty much like ciders I have drunk in the past when I lived in Devon (eg blog), authentic!

Some very interesting and flavoursome ciders (and a perry) imbibed over the two sessions, probably the Newton Court Major shaded it as my favourite, cheers m'dears! 🍻