Loyal Brew Man Group readers, it’s time to get excited, as Neil will soon be returning from his adventures in Japan (provided the airport doesn’t search his hentai-filled hard drive). Unfortunately he is currently stranded in Thailand (maybe he’s just ‘visiting’… whatever) and as such, he does not have easy access to anything but Budweiser replicas in bottles whose labels you can’t read. So here I am, riding solo, ready to bring you the ever-so critical beer talk on whatever happens to be sitting in my fridge door. Today, that would be the Historic Ales from Scotland mix-pack from the Craigmill Brewery.
It has become fairly common knowledge that beer is a particularly ancient beverage, its roots dating back through Egypt and Mesopotamia, possibly to as early as 9000 BC. It is interesting to note then that hops, the magical flower to which Neil and I give props in each and every issue, did not become common in the brewing process until about the 13th century in Germany. Britain had to wait even longer; hops were not commercially grown there until the 18th century. Instead, these folks used what is referred to as ‘gruit’, an herbed mixture consisting of… pretty much whatever you had growing in the back woods by your town. The most common herbs included sweet gale (AKA bog myrtle), heather, and mugwort, though berries and spices were popular ingredients as well.
Along with the popularization of craft beer over the past few decades, there has been a renewed interest in pre-hops beers. To bring some of these ancient flavours to today’s beer lovers, brothers Bruce and Scott Williams began brewing herbed ales in 1992, using ingredients growing around the Scottish countryside. In 1998, they developed the Craigmill Brewery, which is now located in Alloa, central Scotland’s ancient brewing capitol. It’s time to delve into history and have a look at the contents of this (yes, LCBO available) mix pack.
Fraoch Heather Ale (5.0%)
Fraoch is the eldest of the beers in the gift pack, the style reportedly brewed in Scotland since 2000 BC. It includes sweet gale and heather flowers added at multiple points in the brewing process. ‘Dry-heathered’ beer doesn’t quite have the same ring as ‘dry-hopped’ (a beer with hops added after the boiling process), but doing this should nonetheless impart plenty of the flower’s flavour and aroma into the brew.
This one has a spicy and fruity scent. The flavour profile is complex to the point of confusion, but it actually works pretty well. Sweet orchard fruit with touches of citrus, some herbal flavours that I can’t really figure out (I guess this is what heather tastes like…?), followed with a dry, grainy finish. I feel like this is the beer that would be made by a Belgian dude who somehow got lost in ancient Scotland, was forced to brew with their local ingredients, but conveniently had some Belgian yeast in his pocket. Good stuff. [3.5/5]
Grozet Gooseberry and Wheat Ale (5.0%)
Given that ‘berry’ and ‘wheat’ are both in the name of this beer, I’m guessing this was the chick beer of 16th century Scotland. It claims to be brewed with lager malt, wheat, bog myrtle, hops, and meadowsweet, then it enters secondary fermentation with a pile of ripe Scottish Gooseberries.
Well after my very first sip, it seems I guessed wrong. Instead of a fruity chick beer, I would compare this one to a pumpkin ale, hold the pumpkin. By this I mean there are tons of spice flavours, though it still combines with an interesting fruity tartness from the gooseberries. While not great, nor awful, this is probably the most unique beer in the pack. [2.5/5]
Ebulum Elderberry Black Ale (6.5%)
Aside from the ‘berry’ suffix, this one has a pretty bad-ass name (come on, ‘Ebulum’ totally sounds like a black metal band), but the story behind the beer is even more bad-ass. This style was supposedly introduced to Scotland by Welsh druids in the 9th century. This particular recipe claims to be taken from a 16th century record of drinking in the Scottish Highlands.
Wow. These druids apparently knew what they were doing if they could make something like this in the 9th century. Both the aroma and taste profile are full of roasted coffee-like malts, rounded out by some more weird spices and fruit flavours. This mainly compares to a good coffee porter, but the complexities make it even better, keeping your tongue and mind busy trying to figure out what the hell is in your mouth. I would definitely buy more of this if it were available outside of the mix-pack. [4/5]
Alba Scots Pine Ale (7.5%)
Not only were pine and spruce ales enjoyed by the coolest dudes of all time (the Vikings), but they also possessed some interesting (if hypothetical) properties. They were often taken on sea voyages since they helped to prevent scurvy (which seems legitimate), but they were also said to ‘stimulate animal instincts’ and result in the conception of twins (eep!). To get the most out of the boreal ingredients, pine twigs are boiled for several hours in the brewing process, then spruce shoots are added briefly before fermentation.
Based on its strength and name, I was expecting this strong ale to bear some resemblance to the modern day IPA, which makes use of various hop strains to achieve some pine-like flavours. A beautiful pour with a big soft head gave me hopes of breathing in the smells of a fresh-cut Christmas tree. Sadly that did not happen. The aroma and flavour are both dominated by tangy caramel malts that remind me of typical (non-ancient) Scotch ales. There is a touch of pine in the background, but it’s somewhat underwhelming given the emphasis on the ingredient. Regardless, it’s an enjoyable beer that hides its strength very well (a few of these and I’m sure I’d be happy to throw on the man-kilt and rock out to some bagpipes). [3/5]
Props to hops // Dan
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