Just because it's been nearly four months since I've updated "the beer blog" doesn't mean I haven't been enjoying some superb hop bombs – in fact, quite the opposite occurred.
After presenting on some of my work at Oxford in June (yes, Oxford, as in Oxford, the University of, ideally spoken with a delicate yet effervescent British accent), I hopped around Scotland for two weeks, hiking the West Highland Way and revisiting that beloved country for the first time in nearly a decade (I spent 2005-2006 studying there). Beyond my incredible adventure through the Highlands and soaking in the magical wonderment that is Scotland, I discovered that the craft beer craze had hit Scotland - and hit it hard. And hoptastically.
So this is how my Scotland trip worked: when I wasn't hiking, exploring ancient city relics, or freaking out about the penguin parade (it's a real and wonderful, wonderful thing), I would Google "best coffee in [city/town x]" in the morning and "best places to get beer in [city/town x]" or "best craft beer pubs in [city/town x]" by the afternoon/evening to dictate my day's wanderings. I highly recommend this travel tactic, particularly if you enjoy coffee and beer as much as I do, and/or walk as quickly/move through tourist areas as efficiently as I prefer.
First stop: Edinburgh
Amid highly excellent beer and burger joints (Holyrood at 9A had epic selections of local Scottish and Irish IPAs, and well, the burgers were kind of the best), I came across one of Scotland's finest breweries: Brew Dog. My first Brew Dog beer was at its Edinburgh bar location, with me flying solo on a fairly packed night. I was having trouble deciding between a number of IPAs and then some nice Scottish lad ordered me a Punk IPA.
Described as an American IPA coming in at 45 IBUs and 5.6% ABV, I wouldn't have though I'd like the Brew Dog Punk IPA so much. However, Beer Advocate's description nails it: "This light, golden classic has been subverted with new world hops to create a devastating explosion of flavour....an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee, before a spiky bitter finish....Turn up the volume. Pay the man. Embrace the punked up, pimped up Maharajah of Pale Ales. Nothing will ever be the same again." This apt description was the main reason I decided to enjoy a bottle at Edinburgh's oldest pub (The White Hart Inn, est. 1516) pre-lunch one day...and then perhaps a few more times along my two-week Scottish fling this summer.
Enter St. Andrews Brewing Company, a wee brewery located on South Street that opened in 2013. While its staple IPA wasn't on tap or available in bottle-form when I visited (high demand's such a drag sometimes), I got to enjoy some kind of ridiculous double-triple-imperial something soon after I arrived at St. A's. And like any well-crafted double-triple-imperial something (like the Reuben Brews's Life on Mars Imperial IPA I'm enjoying right now after a long day of writing), you couldn't tell it was a 8%-plus ABV beer based on the taste. To me, that's always the best barometer of a beer's structure (as well as the brewery's overall statue): can you make a fairly high-alcohol-content beer without it collapsing into brandywine territory? Is it complex yet drinkable, maintaining an enjoyable flavor profile without falling into booze central? And St. Andrews delivered, with aplomb.
So this is how my Scotland trip worked: when I wasn't hiking, exploring ancient city relics, or freaking out about the penguin parade (it's a real and wonderful, wonderful thing), I would Google "best coffee in [city/town x]" in the morning and "best places to get beer in [city/town x]" or "best craft beer pubs in [city/town x]" by the afternoon/evening to dictate my day's wanderings. I highly recommend this travel tactic, particularly if you enjoy coffee and beer as much as I do, and/or walk as quickly/move through tourist areas as efficiently as I prefer.
First stop: Edinburgh
Amid highly excellent beer and burger joints (Holyrood at 9A had epic selections of local Scottish and Irish IPAs, and well, the burgers were kind of the best), I came across one of Scotland's finest breweries: Brew Dog. My first Brew Dog beer was at its Edinburgh bar location, with me flying solo on a fairly packed night. I was having trouble deciding between a number of IPAs and then some nice Scottish lad ordered me a Punk IPA.
Described as an American IPA coming in at 45 IBUs and 5.6% ABV, I wouldn't have though I'd like the Brew Dog Punk IPA so much. However, Beer Advocate's description nails it: "This light, golden classic has been subverted with new world hops to create a devastating explosion of flavour....an all-out riot of grapefruit, pineapple and lychee, before a spiky bitter finish....Turn up the volume. Pay the man. Embrace the punked up, pimped up Maharajah of Pale Ales. Nothing will ever be the same again." This apt description was the main reason I decided to enjoy a bottle at Edinburgh's oldest pub (The White Hart Inn, est. 1516) pre-lunch one day...and then perhaps a few more times along my two-week Scottish fling this summer.
Enjoying a Punk IPA at the White Hart Inn after walking around Edinburgh all morning.
Taking in the West Sands at St. Andrews at sunset, Punk IPA can (not) in hand.
When you have 1.5 hours in a small fishing village and there's an amazing beer garden...
Second stop: St. Andrews
Oh St. A's. You magical little village on the sea, you. My home of one year, my first time ever being abroad, experiencing a "different" culture (as much as a fairly posh Scottish university town, populated by a lot of Americans, can contrast with my day-to-day life). A place that cultivated my wanderlust and desire to experience the world outside of "high-income countries," largely thanks to trips inspired by and/or led by JJB to Turkey and Egypt. A place where I experienced the highest of highs (meeting some of the most incredible friends I've ever encountered and truly falling in love for the first time), a place where I questioned so many things and struggled to make sense of it all (as 21-year-olds occasionally do, and naturally with an extra heaping or so of self-doubt and drama). And oh yes – a place where I never sampled its beers.
Enter St. Andrews Brewing Company, a wee brewery located on South Street that opened in 2013. While its staple IPA wasn't on tap or available in bottle-form when I visited (high demand's such a drag sometimes), I got to enjoy some kind of ridiculous double-triple-imperial something soon after I arrived at St. A's. And like any well-crafted double-triple-imperial something (like the Reuben Brews's Life on Mars Imperial IPA I'm enjoying right now after a long day of writing), you couldn't tell it was a 8%-plus ABV beer based on the taste. To me, that's always the best barometer of a beer's structure (as well as the brewery's overall statue): can you make a fairly high-alcohol-content beer without it collapsing into brandywine territory? Is it complex yet drinkable, maintaining an enjoyable flavor profile without falling into booze central? And St. Andrews delivered, with aplomb.
Third stop(s): the West Highland Way
While the beer selections were generally less expansive during my 100+ mile trek through the Highlands, I did thoroughly enjoy one particular Scottish brew along the way: Belhaven's Twisted Thistle IPA. The Thistle's ABV and IBU ratings vary depending on where you look (a range of 5.3% to 6.1% and 50-70, respectively), but I think Belhaven's own description is pretty spot-on: "A stunting IPA....Your taste buds will tingle with pleasure after a sip or two of this golden nectar." Yes and yes.
Enjoying my first Thistle in Drymen, Scotland.
What I believe is a Twisted Thistle after a 23-mile day on the Way (plus Ben Lommond).
Fourth stop: Glasgow
I had the great fortune of visiting a number of excellent brew pubs in Glasgow (e.g., the Wee Pub at the Chip, Curlers Rest), but the Glasgow-based Brew Dog pub still took the cake. It had a fantastic set-up, and I got to try both IPA is Dead and a rhubarb-infused Hardcore IPA when I visited. The latter, well, I don't understand why it was so fantastic, but it was – and I don't even like fruity beers! At all! (well, unless it's crazy grapefruit-y thanks to Amarillo hop fun). I even gained a bit of Glasgow-beer street-cred, as I had tried this rhubarb concoction before many of the Glaswegian beer gurus had, though they had heard about its lure. Two months later, I still have a bottle of Hardcore IPA I purchased on my last day in Scotland – it was meant as something to enjoy soon after my travels, I don't like holding onto small(er) batch beers for too long since they tend to turn sooner than more international brands. Hmmmmm – who's in for a Scottish beer tasting this weekend? Perhaps M's birthday celebration on Saturday afternoon could warrant such an offering...
...in sum, Scottish beers are awesome and you should try them. Particularly Brew Dog. Let's see if we can get some of our UK-based folks to bring more over for us in the coming months...
Cheers!
N
