The Ale Archive

The brewery: “Loch Lomond Brewery started life in our kitchen in Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond. A desire to brew beer and create a family business that would allow the whole family to get involved we started in 2011 in Alexandria…….Now brewing from a state of the art 35hl brewery in 12,000 sq feet of space near Dumbarton and canning in-house we have an ever evolving beer range where there is certainly something for everyone.” The beer: “Black IPA - Aromas of marmalade and pine lead to roast and spice flavours followed by a bittersweet finish.” The last from the recent Lidl beer festival, this worked quite well for me. Potent stuff at 6% A.B.V. October 2020.

The brewery: “ Drygate Brewing Co have been making beer in the historic heart of Glasgow since 2014. We brew with open doors and open minds; we believe good beer can come from anywhere, and anyone. Collaboration with our community is at our core; we love showcasing creators of beer, food, art, design, music, comedy, poetry, and more.” The beer: “This smooth as silk sable stout packs dark malts, oats, wheat, cacao, coffee beans, mile sugar and vanilla. Flavours of bittersweet chocolate ganache, caramel latte, and toasted marshmallow now come with the fragrant and warming character of coconut in this twist on our core range classic.” Another from the Lidl beer festival and along the lines of the previous entry . It didn’t endear itself to my awkward palate as much as that but still and enjoyable slurp and quite strong at 6% A.B.V. October 2020.

The brewery: “Williams Bros. Brewing Co. is located in Alloa, Clackmannanshire and is set in the old George Younger’s bottling hall in Kelliebank……..Our first commercial brews of 'Scotland's Original Craft Beer' were at a 5-barrel brewery in Taynult near Oban on the West Coast. Here we were able to brew just enough to supply cask conditioned Fraoch to 5 premises, including the Clachaig in Glencoe, which to this day remains our most loyal and enduring customer.” The beer: “This Mayan inspired brew is a mocha lover’s delight: a blend of ethically sourced coffees from around the world combine with toasted cacao nibs to deliver an intense stout for the ages. Chokk-a-blokk with notes of roast coffee and a nice dark chocolatey finish, this well balanced stout is loaded with oats for a full creamy texture. Extra bonus is it is also lactose free & 100% vegan friendly.” The first of three from the recent Lidl beer festival and a chance to try another from Williams Bros after th