The Ale Archive

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...

The Brewery: “The Williams Bros. Brewing Co. started life in the humble ‘ Glenbrew ’ homebrew shop in Glasgow. This was the family owned business that was both our occupation and passion……..In 2004 we took over the ‘Forth Brewery’ at Kellibank, Alloa where Maclay’s had been contract brewing and packaging their beers since the sale of their old Alloa brewery. It was at this stage in proceedings that Heather Ale Ltd became Williams Bros. Brewing Co…….” The Beer: “A blend of 7 grains, 3 hop strains and a late infusion of elderflower: This aromatic IPA was named by Scott's daughter. It pours a deep gold with aroma's of elderflower and citrus hops, followed by sweet caramel. On the tongue the biscuity malts are perfectly balanced with the bitterness of the hops, with a lingering floral elderflower aftertaste. Procured from the local Aldi whilst staying with friends near Falkirk - they had a great selection but sadly my stay wasn’t long enough to try more than a few. A bit ‘flowery’...

The Brewery: “Williams Bros. Brewing Co. is located in Alloa, Clackmannanshire and is set in the old George Younger’s bottling hall in Kelliebank. Although now producing an eclectic range of Craft Beers for the international market, the Brotherhood 'Brew House' is steeped in Scottish tradition and remains the last bastion of brewing in a town, which was once regarded as 'Scotland's Beer Capital'…..In 1998 we built the Craigmill brewery in Strathaven, which became our base of operations for the next 6 years until we took over the ‘Forth Brewery’ in Alloa, where we have been happily brewing, bottling, kegging & now even canning beer ever since.” The Beer: “ This creamy dark stout, deep chocolate in colour has a nose of roast malts, coffee, liquorice & orange peel. The aromas carry on into the flavour with a smooth mouthfeel, rich malty start, fresh hoppy middle & a delicious lingering sweet orange after taste. Sure to get you marching again on those cold w...

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 Extra Pale Ale is an assertive blend of US hops. Through aromas of pine, a bitter tomahawk of soft ripe & tropical fruit explodes on the pallet. A crisp & fruity American Extra Pale Ale where the hops lead the way, backed up by just a touch of wheat.” Wow, this beer was something else, though to my more tastes not in a good way. The ‘assertive’ hops combined with the fruit ‘explosion’ put this in a rather unique category in the Archive - I didn’t finish it. Nothing wrong with the quality but...

What they say: As you would expect this brew pours a dark black/brown with aromas of Coffee, Liquorice, roast & chocolate malts. On the tongue there's light roasted malt flavours, with a caramel sweetness and a dried fruit hoppiness. Oh yum. With ales like this I could really get into black ales. Clearly the name and colour appealed to my dark side but I just loved the taste of this. Went back the next day I was looking forward to trying it again, but something else was on. A cracking pint. Wetherspoons, Ripon, North Yorkshire. March 2016