Brewery: Stewart Brewing
Location: Loanhead
Style: “Classic Scottish Heavy”
ABV: 4.4%
Version: Gravity Draught
Source: Stewart Brewing

The main reason for Jo and I to make our trip up to Edinburgh earlier this year was to attend the wedding of our friends Lucy and Murray. It was held in the grounds of a country house. South of Edinburgh, not far from Roslin? Somewhere around there, anyhow. What? I’m a bloke – I can’t remember details like where weddings happened. Okay, let me see: service in the restored kirk, main do in a large marquee in the grounds. Spit-roast suckling pig served for supper – I do remember that.

I also remember that the groom, being a chap of impeccable taste and proper Scottish upbringing, had the rather brilliant idea of talking to a local brewery about getting a couple of kegs of proper ale in for the benefit of the more discerning wedding guests. Bloody marvellous idea, I thought, and I was only too delighted to help him with the research. Thus it was that a few weeks before the happy occasion, when Murray and I met up in Manchester for a few jars, he produced a printed brochure from the Stewart Brewing Company. “What do you reckon?” he asked. I perused the literature. “That one.” I said, pointing to the Stewart’s 80/-. Murray concurred; the 80/- had been the one he was thinking of getting anyway, but a second opinion never hurts, eh?

So it was that said wedding reception turned out to be one of the best that Jo and I have been to for a while, helped along by pints of traditional Scottish ale; red-brown in colour and packed full of rich, biscuity malt flavour, with just enough hops around to keep things well-balanced and interesting. It was gravity-poured (but beggars can’t be choosers) and I have to say the quality of the pints varied as a result; one canny lass behind the bar knew enough to give the glass a bit of a swirl and vary the height of the pour a bit; she actually achieved something approaching a head as a result. But the teenaged staffers tended to just stick the glass under the spigot, pour a flat pint and had done with it. But this was the remarkable thing: even flat as a mill-pond, the stuff still tasted pretty bloody good. I was a very happy wee sassenach by the end of the night, I can tell you.

So: a toast! To a happy couple – a fine host and hostess indeed – and a brewery that clearly knows its Heavy. Slainte!

Brewery: Williams Bros
Location: Alloa, Scotland
ABV: 4.2%
Version: Bottled
Source: Sainsbury’s

One of the 15 finalists in this year’s Sainsbury’s beer competition, Williams Bros 80/- (confused? It means ’80 shilling’, an explanation for which can be found on Wikipedia) poured a lovely dark ruby colour with a frothy head. It tasted sweet and spicy, with flavours of red cherries and plums. There were whisky and port wine notes swirling through the rich malt as well, and just a hint of pepper on the after-taste. And the mouth-feel, which the Williams Bros website describes as “toffee-ish”, was certainly very pleasantly chewy.

All in all: a rich, flavourful, quite delicious brew; definitely the sort of session beer I’d be delighted to find on draught. I picked up a couple more bottles from Sainsbury’s yesterday evening (our local branch still has some competition stock left) to keep me going in the meantime. Highly recommended.

Williams Bros 80/- around the Beerblogosphere

• Zak Avery (@zakavery) encountered woodsmoke, chocolate orange and strawberries.
• Barry M (@BarMas) was reminded of apples and digestive biscuits.
• The Reluctant Scooper (@reluctantscoop) found hedgerow fruitiness and bonfire toffee.

Brewery: Craigmill Brewery
Origin: Strathaven, Scotland, ML10 6PB
ABV: 4.2%
Version: 500ml bottle

This is a companion to  Craigmill’s Clydesdale IPA, which I reviewed recently; the literary minded among you will already be aware that the name derives from the famed novel by Sir Walter Scott, inspired by the 18th century character Robert Paterson, a stonemason who travelled Scotland maintaining the headstones of martyred Covenanters, earning him the sobriquet Old Mortality (see, we don‘t just destroy livers and build our beer guts here, we‘re also cultured and educational, all part of the BoB service!).

The taste is pleasantly sharp and slightly spicier than I’d normally expect for an 80 Shilling (which the brewery attributes to a mix of two different types of hops), which I found left a warm aftertaste and an attractive, slightly flowery aroma. The colour is a deep, dark, warmly attractive chestnut brown. My gold standard for judging all 80 Shilling ales by is the Caledonian Brewery’s well-nigh perfect beer and against that high standard I’ve got to say the Old Mortality stood head held high (beer, head, geddit? Oh suit yourselves…). While Caley 80 will remain my personal favourite I’d be very happy to down several pints of this lovely, warm, spicy ale. Sadly I haven’t seen it in the supermarkets or off license, only in a gift shop in the Clyde Valley.  But next time I’m back through that way I’d quite like to visit the brewery and pick up some more, as well as some samples of the other beers they brew which I haven’t had a chance to try yet.

Brewery: Belhaven Brewery Co Ltd
Origin: Dunbar, Scotland, EH42 1PE
ABV: 3.9%
Version: 500ml bottle

Colour-wise this isn’t quite as dark as some 80/- such as fellow Scottish ale Caledonian 80/-, more the warm tone of polished old wooden furniture. Very smooth to drink (a mere 1.95 units of alcohol, if you are counting, getting you under that psychological 2 points plus barrier, unlike many Scottish heavy beers), with a nice malty aftertaste lingering on the tongue after each swallow, something that I usually find characteristic of most decent 80s.

The BLB (back label blurb) informs us the beer has “subtle tones of kiwi and apple with a marriage of walnuts and creamy toffee set against a background of grain and hops”. Can’t say I noticed the apple and kiwi (and I wonder how many of us ever actually do notice these supposed inflections in taste and how much of it is just marketing blurb), but there is indeed a nice nutty-tinged toffee taste in there, which, like the malted barley, tastes good when you take a sip but also leaves a very pleasant aftertaste in the mouth once swallowed (lip-smacking to show appreciation is allowed, just don’t do a lot if it if drinking in the pub, it can be a bit off-putting to the rest of us).

I doubt it would surpass my personal favourite of Caledonian 80/-, but it’s a very palatable, nice, smooth and enjoyable pint and having had it a few times on draft too its certainly a decent pint to have in the pub too. (pic borrowed from and (c) Belhaven Brewery’s website)