Burns and Beer

Today marks the birthday of Robert Burns, dubbed Scotland’s national poet who was born on this day in 1759. Known for writing his poems and songs in a Scots dialect, they are known the world over with well known classics such as the eerily haunting ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ with its themes of eternal farewell, the proto temperance tome ‘Tam ‘O Shanter’ notable for it’s vivid depictions of the perils of drunkenness, the stinging and belligerent ‘To a Louse’ with its seething political undertones and the evergreen classic ‘Auld Lang Syne’ which has become a classic standard sung at the end of Scottish gatherings, and to mark in the New Year. Tonight, people will be marking his birthday with a Burns Supper, with its notable centrepiece, the Haggis, which was inspired by Burns own poem ‘Address to a Haggis’ which celebrates Scotland’s national dish. Although for the discerning drinker Whisky seems to be the traditional choice of beverage, a pint of beer could be a useful alternative. Indeed, even Burns himself mentions it in a few of his poems and songs, such as ‘Lady Onlie, Honest Lucky’ which praises the skills of a lady brewer whom “brews gude ale at shore o’ Bucky, I wish her sale for gude ale, the best on a’ the shore o’ Bucky” which almost sounds like an 18th century equivalent of a pub review you’d find in an issue of  Beer Magazine. Another later poem ‘Gude Ale Keeps the Heart Aboon’ which describes the jollified excess of drinking at the expense of having to sell your house and oxen, but never mind that, he riotously proclaims “gude ale hauds me bare and busy, gars me woop wi’ the servants hizzie”, which sounds like the plot of an typical episode of the Glasgow set sitcom ‘Rab C. Nesbitt’. A number of breweries based in Scotland have taken it among themselves to celebrate Robert Burns on the occasion of his birthday, and they generally tend to be on sale at this time of year in both bottle and cask. Here is a potted guide of a few notable examples that are currently available. 

Belhaven Brewery, is notable for being one of Scotland’s oldest breweries, having been operating since 1719. Although brought out by Greene King in 2005, the brewery still continues to sell and brew their own beer. One of the notable beers in their range is Robert Burns Brown Ale (4.1%) a mild and dark coloured ale with distinct toffee overtones much reminiscent of Scottish Tablet, its notable malty and sweet flavours come from a blend of Pale, Crystal and Black malts combined with rich cane sugar, counterpointed by bitterness from Challenger and Goldings hops as the brewery proclaims. It has been described as a red tawny coloured ale with tangy red fruit, replete with caramel and hints of maltiness giving off a subtle hoppiness and dry aftertaste. It is a regular fixture in their range, and it is available in bottle all year round, although its currently only sold in bottle from beer shops and Greene King’s website respectively. Moreover, another iconic Scottish brewery, Cairngorm Brewery based in Aviemore, have also created their own tribute to Robert Burns with the affectionately named Scottish Bard (4.1%), a traditional session Scottish ale first released in 2013, the brewery describes it as malty and full bodied. Although it is currently only available in cask, and is sold seasonally around the Burns Night period, generally in pubs within Scotland. A reddish dark brown coloured beer, it has been often  described as the perfect accompaniment to a Burns Supper, replete with light flavours of malt and sweetness with some hoppiness in the background. Unlike their contemporaries, Harivstoun Brewery based in Alva have taken it among themselves to honour Scotland’s national dish instead, with the amusingly named Haggis Hunter (4.3%), a wry take on the humorous Scottish game of wild Haggis hunting, the beer which is made using Bobek, Cascade, Celeia, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops, has a fruity, hoppy flavour and is the ideal accompaniment to a Haggis. Essentially a tawny coloured session bitter, it is available seasonally in pubs across the country, and is often sold at various branches of Wetherspoons. It has often been described as medium bodied, with a creamy mouthfeel, light sweet notes and a notable malty aftertaste, with some fruitiness present, along with floral and grassy aromas. Until recently it was sold in bottle form, but is now only available in cask. The brewery describes it as a spicy, fruity amber ale, the perfect drop to share wi' the chieftain o' the puddin'-race! 

Meanwhile over in Perth, Invarelmond Brewery have produced their own tribute to Robert Burns with the simply named Bard (4.6%). A more recent addition to the scene, it was first brewed in 2019 and the brewery recounts it as a rich smooth amber ale with hints of toffee and caramel. It has been described as having some malty sweetness, but light on the aroma. With one review noting it was remarkably reminiscent of the classic 80/- (4.2%) by McEwans. A seasonal beer, it is released generally around the Burns Night period, it is only sold in cask and is available in Wetherspoons pubs across the country. Although most Burns themed beers tend to be seasonal and hard to find, occasionally you may come across one that is regularly sold all year round, this is evident with the likes of Guid Ale (3.8%) produced by Arran Brewery based in Cladach on the Isle of Arran. The brewery describes this beer as a session golden ale, featuring delicious caramel flavours, this ale is noticeably smooth and incredibly sessionable. Named after Burns’ poem ‘O Guid Ale’, it is noted for its malty, refreshing qualities, with a subtle hoppiness; it also has sweet, toffee notes with hints of almond and oak. A regular fixture on their range, it is generally available in bottle form, although it has occasionally been sold in cask, most notably at the Strangers Bar in the House of Commons last year. More remarkably, it is the only beer in this selection to have won an award, when it won Bronze at the International Beer Challenge in 2016, a noteworthy achievement for a themed beer produced by a micro-brewery based within the remote Scottish isles. This beer is sold through their website, and is also available in bottle shops and online distributors based across Scotland.

From looking at this selection of beers, produced in tribute to Scotland’s iconic poet, they are all sessionable beers designed as a suitable accompaniment to a Burns Supper. Whilst some of these beers are regularly sold in bottle form, they are generally available only in cask on a seasonal basis and are sometimes hard to come by. And although most of these beers are far from noteworthy in flavour and have seldom won plaudits from the industry, they are an appropriate tribute on this most auspicious of occasions as people sit down to supper this evening and celebrate the life and works of the great bard, Robert Burns. So lets raise a pint and remember in his own words “gude ale keeps the heart aboon”, indeed it does.