A Drink to Ol' Rabbie

Last Saturday was Burns Night, that annual celebration where people around the world celebrate the poems and songs of Robert Burns, one of Scotland’s best-known poets. To mark the occasion a number of pubs were organising their own events from special meals to poetry readings, yet the most unusual event I discovered locally was a Scottish Mini Beer Festival at Two Trees Micro in Watford. The relatively diminutive pub has been operating in the area since 2022, it offers a frequently rotating selection of four cask ales and keg beers/lagers from independent breweries, along with a good selection of ciders and perries, and for the discerning traveller there are a good selection of bottles and cans to take-away. Due to the size of the place, unlike most pubs it doesn’t offer food, yet snacks are available, although you can bring in food from outside. Since opening the pub has gained a following in the local community, winning a slew of awards including Pub of the Year 2023 (Watford & District CAMRA) and Pub of Year Competition 2022 (Watford Observer) for instance. Their Burns Night event was effectively a (partial) tap takeover with beers appropriately from Scottish breweries available on tap, which the landlord had installed on stillage fresh that very day. 

 

Accompanied by my friend Graham, as we entered we were met with a display of bunting that bared the Scottish flag, and on the tables, there were informative leaflets that gave information on the six Scotland based breweries along with tasting notes for the beers that were available that day, and music from Scottish bands and artists were blaring from the loudspeakers. At the handpumps, there were three Scots ales available on cask, and several further on keg as well Whiskies and Scottish themed snacks, although the latter was a bit misleading as there were only Tunnocks Tea-cakes available, complementary with every drink. There were beers of varying strengths and styles available, so appropriately I went for a lighter ale to start off with Orkney Best (3.6%) from Swannay Brewery based in Birsay, Orkney. A light sessionable bitter, the brewers describe it as a lunchtime beer due to its relatively modest strength. The beer is made with traditional British malts and an unusual hop combination of British, German and Polish hops, and over the years it has become one of their most successful products, winning a slew of awards including Champion Beer of Scotland (2012) for instance. To cut to the chase, it was refreshingly light, and rather malty with a slight nutty bitterness rumbling in the background, along with a dash of hops that helped extenuate its lack of strength, but nonetheless the flavour profile was evenly balanced, meanwhile the mouthfeel was biscuity and dry, though the relative lack of a head did it no favours. Overall, I found it decent for a session level ale, nothing too remarkable on the flavour front, but a decent enough drink to help start off the proceedings. For my next beer, I decided to take it up a notch, and went for Jarl (3.7%) from Fyne Ales, which operate from a converted farmhouse in Argyll. One of the best known beers to come out of Scotland in recent years, markedly it was one of the first Scottish beers to use Citra hops when it came on the scene in 2010 and since its launch it has become of the most successful Scottish beers, winning Champion Beer of Scotland no less than three times (in 2013, 2021 and 2022) and other accolades including Bronze (CBOB 2013), Gold – Golden Ales (CBOB 2013), Gold – Cask Standard Bitters and Pale Ales (SIBA Scotland 2017). It’s hardly any surprise it has become the brewer’s flagship product, and can be regularly seen on handpumps in pubs across the UK. The beer had a fluffy off-white head, which helped energize it luscious and creamy mouthfeel. Despite its low strengths, a circus of flavours was immediately apparent, with notes of citrus fruits and grassiness coming through from the Citra hops, whilst the malt bill of Pale and Torrified Wheat helped ground the flavours, giving off hints of caramel and breadiness.  The mouthfeel was verging on the dry, yet it was evidently refreshing, the thick head helped offset some of the dryness and helped bring the flavours to the fore. Understandably I found the beer quite enjoyable, and despite its relatively low strength, it is evident that the brewers have put in the effort to make it flavourful; and as a beer/ food pairing it particularly went well with the Curried Mutton which I purchased from the Caribbean take-away across the road.  

By this time, there was only one cask beer left on tap that I hadn’t sampled yet. I went for Henok’s Mild (5.3%), a recent collaboration between Edinburgh based Newbarns Brewery and Omnipollo from Sweden. A strong dark mild, I was frankly mystified by its range of favours, on the foreground it was filled to the brim with mulled fruits, with notes of coffee and chocolate coming through from the malt, with just a hint of lactose rumbling away in the background. It had a noteworthy roasted bitterness, without it being too overbearing, and it was rounded off with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Unlike the other beers I tried today which are regularly brewed, and available in both cask and bottle, this beer was only sold in cask and likely to be on limited releases, so it could very well be my only chance to sample this rare beast. The beer’s status as a mild rather frankly confusing, it’s complex array of flavours and mouthfeel veered more towards Porter/ Stout territory and its strength was anything but mild, I enquired the landlord about this, and he stated that mild beers tend to use milder hops, though they can still vary in strength. This throws the entire status of Mild into doubt, and further muddies the already murky waters of dark ales, perhaps a conundrum to solve at a later date? Scotland uniquely has its own beer styles, they are historically based around the Shilling system where the strength of the beer would calculate the price per hogshead, this ranged from Light (60/-), Heavy (70/-), Export (80/-) and Wee Heavy (90/- plus). Scotch ales are another name for strong ales and tend to be over 6% abv, they are similar in character to Burton Ales, Stingo and Barley Wine and have a mature, fully rounded flavour with a kaleidoscope of notes and a warming effect brough on by its high strength. The place was starting to fill up with punters as I sampled was 180 Shilling (12%), a recent collaboration between Holy Goat Brewing of Dundee and Newbarns. Produced alongside a selection of four limited edition Winter releases, it is based on a 17^th century recipe for Scotch Ale, in order extract its strength, it is put through the mash tun twice which helps concentrate the wort and produces a high ABV beer without the need of additional sugars. Adhering to tradition, the brewers utilize Chevalier Malt, a once common variety that was commonplace in most beers during the 19^th century, it was discontinued following the introduction of mechanical harvesting processes in the 1920’s, where the relatively small heights of the stems made it unsuitable for harvest.  It has since been brought back following the efforts of Dr. Chris Ridout from the John Inns Centre (that boasts a large selection of heritage malt varieties) who planted a crop, to see how it would fare in modern brewing. Since 2017, a clutch of breweries have produced small batch beers using this malt, and having never tried sampled a beer made with this malt, I was eager to sample it. Due to its high strength, it was only sold in halves and thirds, so understandably I went for the latter. I was met with a cacophony of flavours, including notes of sherry, whisky, oak, brandy, berry fruits and a whisp of marmalade. There was a notable caramel sweetness flowing in the background, whilst the bitterness was subdued and melded with the other flavours to create a unique tasting experience. The richness from the malt was notable, and its high strength helped complement it, yet although it was on the strong side, it wasn’t too overwhelming as Scotch Ales go, and it was akin to drinking a fine wine or a low strength spirit. This beer was a like a trip back in time, a faithful recreation of the Scotch Ales that propagated pubs during the Victorian Age.

 

In retrospect I found this event to be a success, the range of ales available were carefully selected and thorough researched, it was evident that the staff put their effort in to source the best quality examples from north of the border. I sampled a fine range of ales, from sessionable bitters to popular well-known releases, strong dark milds and a Scotch Ale that provided a window into the past. Each of the beers provided a different and unique drinking experience, furthermore none of them were bland and unassuming in any way. I have tried several Scottish beers in the past, but I’m still relatively vague and naive in my knowledge of Scotland’s brewing industry. So, this mini-beer festival not only offered the opportunity to discover more about Scotland’s illustrious brewing sector, it also gave me the unique and rare chance to try these beers on cask, where they would otherwise be seldom available in England. This event proved to be a popular draw for the micropub, attracting a slew of customers throughout the day, let’s hope that the owners put on more themed events throughout the rest of this year as this could be a potentially worthwhile enterprise, I’d definitely drink to that!