Scottish Independents
Scottish independence is a question that opens up a squirming can of haggis. Within said can are some substantial meaty questions, the heart, liver and lungs if you will: How will it affect Scotland's global influence? Who will help in the battle against the dominating Tories if we lose our unwavering Scottish flank? Then there are some more stodgy suet and bland oatmeal questions: What are the implications on taxes? Is Scotland economically stronger as part of the UK? And finally there are the exciting and frivolous spicy questions: Where will we move our nuclear weapons? Will we have to change the name from Great Britain to Mediocre Britain? Are the kilted weeble Alex Salmond’s eyebrows really made of Fuzzy Felt? Will it mean that we can all stop pretending to like Andy Murray? Although this is all very interesting, what scares me right down to my neeps and tatties, is that down south we might lose access to some of the nation’s finest beers. With over 5000 years of brewing history and 70-odd microbreweries Scotland is one of England’s most important beer producing counties.*
Thinking of what lurks behind the gothic labels of the Black Isle Brewery makes me happy. So does sipping a Red Cuillin from Skye Brewery with an Islay whisky chaser to recreate the unmistakable childhood flavour of Frazzles. The remarkable balance of complexity and freshness of the Williams Bros’ Seven Giraffes and Joker IPA. The sweet central heating of an Innis & Gunn Rum Cask. The reward of finding a handmade ale from the rare but exquisite Tryst Brewery. The weird combination of strawberry and celery notes in BrewDog's 5am Saint. Don't even get me started on Colonsay, Atlas, Arran...
Scotland’s beers are inspiring. Robert Knops founded Knops Beer Company in Edinburgh and is going against the popular grain of making ever more hoppy and in-your-face beers, instead choosing to recreate truly drinkable lost Scottish beers. His Black Cork, available from Edinburgh’s exciting new imbibe merchant The Bon Vivant’s Companion (which has an excellent beer assortment), is his best yet. Dark and smooth as Whitby jet, it evokes roasted peanuts in the pocket of a worn leather jacket, and cream, but I’m not sure how to fit that into the simile.
The Scots are also being inspired to brew at home, what I’m going to call macpicobrewery (i.e. Scottish and smaller scale than microbrewery). Cameron Peron, a resident of culinary hotbed Leith, makes intricately crafted beers in his living room under the watchful eye of his cat Millie. Through a love of beer he’s developed a knowledge that would put many professionals to shame. His Travelator Doppelbock is rich and dark with a nose of coffee ice cream, the name is inspired by the German producers who end their beers with “–ator” in homage to Salvator, the original Doppelbock. He’s also made, amongst others, a New Zealand Pale Ale using three different Kiwi hops (Pacific Gem, Nelson Sauvin and Green Bullet), which offers up passionfruit, grapefruit and apple with a rich tea biscuit and nutty finish. You can't buy his beers, but watch this space because this guy is talented and I'm keen for him to quit his day job and go pro. An alternative would be to frequent enough pubs around Edinburgh that you bump into him. You could do worse than starting off with the Bow Bar, Teuchters Landing, Brauhaus, BrewDog or The Tourmalet. Then simply twist his arm into letting you try a few. If you fancy something new, Cameron recommends seeking out Tempest Brewing Company.
I guess we have a couple of years to work out how we are going to maintain a supply of these excellent Scottish beers if Mr Salmond manages to reinstate Hadrian's Wall for the reverse purpose. Luckily BrewDog are trying to help by opening a bar in Camden and making some of their beers at Meantime. If the worst comes to the worst maybe England could consider withholding supplies of Buckfast...
*Apologies for any offence caused by this quip, as an Englishman who once lived in Scotland for over six years, I've taken some abuse and I’m out for revenge. Apparently my disguise of ginger hair and freckles, combined with a naturally blue skin tone, didn’t fool anyone.