Mash Tun Musings

Lia Fail in Keg gets Bronze Medal and goes globetrotting!

2012-02-07T19:36:00.012Z

We've had a busy time of it at the brewery these last two months - plenty of kegs of Lia Fail have been got ready to go off to customers in Finland and Australia. This is the first time we've sent off kegs to these places - bottles yes, but draught is a different situation, so it means plenty of cold-conditioning at -1 C, followed by filtering out the yeast and unwanted protein hazes, before racking the beer from the Bright Beer Tank into our PET recyclable kegs. The Finnish shipment will be arriving in a week or so but the Australians in Perth, Western Australia, will have to wait 6 weeks after the slow sea voyage.

A wee plus for us is that our keg Lia Fail for export garnered a Bronze Medal at the SIBA National Craft Keg Competition held at Hereford this weekend.

So I'm going to crack open a bottle of Lia Fail in celebration right now and settle down to a good read of Kalewala, taikka Wanhoja Karjalan Runoja Suomen kansan muinosista ajoista ('The Kalevala, or old Karelian poems about ancient times of the Finnish people'), the English translation admittedly, with the sounds of The Night of the Wolverine from the great Dave Graney, fab Australian musician, on the stereo.

Gippis & Slainte, Ken

Tanker Filling Station Revealed

2012-01-23T09:37:00.003Z

Here's a wee shot of the back of a beer tanker. This one is filling up with Ossian along the red hose from Wednesday's transfer to tanker from Bigger Bertha, our 120 bbl conditioning vessel, and the 30 bbl FV5. The blue-handled valve controls the back or top pressure in the tank as it slowly releases the pressure built up inside as the beer fills up, with the released pressure (CO2/air) coming out to drain through the buff hose. We usually fill the tanker with about 1/2 bar pressure inside. The small red valve is for taking samples from the tanker. The T-piece on the inlet is to allow the first yeasty part of the beer flow to drain rather than go inside. The stainless steel valve to the right of the blue valve is the on CIP (cleaning in place) line which is connected to sprayheads inside the tanker.

When the tanker is full, fob or foam then beer comes out of the drain hose and it's then time to close all the valves and clean up! Filling a 150bbl tanker takes us about 2 hours, always checking and watching and listening...and looking forward to the finished bottles!

Slàinte, Ken

The Italian Job - part 2 - What have the Romans ever done for us?

2012-01-10T21:13:00.007Z

Happy New Year to one and all! Let's hope it's good for all too!

Back at Brewery Mansions we've been very busy during the Festive period, getting beer ready to send off to Rome, Italy. Draught Beer, which is even more exciting than bottles and even more messy! And the two beers, Lia Fail and Ossian, are going in one-way 30 litre PET kegs, which are a great environmental boon as they save so much on transportation demands. Our Italian importer has been very pleased with our Lia Fail and Ossian in bottle and now has placed an order for the beer in keg. Which means cranking up the filter, shown below, with its filter sheets, bright beer-out sight glass and the side of the beer-out pressure gauge.

Keg beer demands extra attention for the beer, so we've been cold-conditioning the beers at -1 Celsius for two weeeks to encourage the precipitation of haze-forming proteins before running the beer through a plate and frame pad filter (at -1 C, hence all the condensation) to remove the yeast along with the haze, adjusting the carbonation to make sure it is at the correct level (4.4 g/l for the tecchies) and then, on the following day, racking the brilliantly starbright beer into the PET kegs. Here's a snap I took today of the flowplate with the 'rough' or cloudy beer flowing through - the glass above is my sample to ensure the clarity, of course...

What the Romans have ever done for us, is, indeed, to enjoy our beer! Grazie!
Slàinte + Salute! Ken

Christmas time approaches and the shop is open!

2011-12-22T16:45:00.004Z

Only two days to Christmas, but the shop is open and we're getting better at using the card machine with all the good folk popping in for minikegs of Santa's Swallie for the Festive Season.

We're open for off-sales tomorrow 10-4pm and even on Christmas Eve itself (Saturday 24th) with yours truly between 12 - 3pm. On Saturday I'll be doing tastings in the shop, perhaps with my puppet alter ego (thanks Johny & Sìma from Liberec in Bohemia who carved and clothed me). As you can see I am quite partial to a fine glass of Ossian...

Look forward to seeing you.

Have a good Christmas and be good to your beer!

Slàinte, Nollaig Chridheil is Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!

Ken

Beer is Art - Can Art be Beer?

2011-12-07T21:28:00.004Z

I've often thought that Brewing is an Art, some say a Black Art, but I would tend to promote the concept of the result of Brewing, that is, Beer, being Art, since the activity of Brewing itself has more than a touch of Alchemy - turning base materials into something precious. Beer undoubtedly is a thing of beauty, deemed valuable and, moreover, gives satisfaction too, and it could be argued that there can be nothing more enticing after a hard day's work than a foaming glass of ale, created by the brewer as artist for his or her patron, the customer.

Whether Art is Beer is a more difficult question to answer, but I have been assisted in this task by the above installation. I took the photo in Prague, at Klub Architekturu, in Bethlehem Place, back in April this year. The tank drilled out with hundreds of holes to give it a giraffe-like look is a former 200hl lagering tank. Beer would mature inside for months before heading off for racking into kegs. Here as an Art Installation it underscores the power and might of the yeast in the maturing beer, creating the bubbles of carbon dioxide at the near freezing temperatures of the lagering cellar over the 2 to 3 months of maturation. The holes cut into the the tank represent the these bubbles. Art as Beer? Well I think so.

I'm off to Prague tomorrow morning to bring back some of this incredible yeast so that we can brew some more of our Sunburst Pilsner and if I'm lucky I might find some more art to share with you.

Na Zdravi,

Ken

From the Gleam of Burnished Copper to the Starbright Sheen of Stainless Steel

2011-11-23T20:38:00.011Z

Came across some old snaps from my brewing past the other day so I thought I'd share them with you.

AD 1995. A young(ish) Ken standing beside his pride and glory - the 100hl wort kettle and lauter tun of the Redback Brewery in Melbourne. The copper brewhouse was a German 1951 Ziemann beauty and I used to brew the award-winning South German-style wheat beer 'Redback', a Munich Dark Lager and a Bohemian pilsner, basking in the copper gleam! The copper had to be polished with huge tubs of Brasso every year - a two-day labour of love...

AD 2000. Cleaning the original Inveralmond mash tun at the old premises. Ah, the power of the green scratchy pad! But as you are probably well aware, cleanliness is next to Godliness. This is the mash tun that won us the 2001 Champion Beer of Scotland.

AD 2011. Beside Big Bertha with her 100 hl of Blackfriar due for Finland. This is the tank that produced the Blackfriar that won Gold at the SIBA 2011 Strong Bitter Competition in Edinburgh last week.
You could perhaps call this piece from the full head of curly brown locks to the glistening pate of receding hairlines!

Ah memories...

Slainte, Ken

Santa's Swallie grainout is Go!

2011-11-10T14:27:00.009Z

Here's an action shot of Duncan, our latest addition to the Downriver Barleymen - an anagram for guess what? Answers on a postcard, please.

But to our blog of today...He's graining out or removing the spent grain or draff from the mash tun and he's holding a shovel, yet he's not digging out the mash tun, as we have commissioned a big auger, or Archimedes' Screw, for taking the spent grain directly from the mash tun into the hopper and then down to the bottom of the auger and up through the wall and then dropping into the awaiting trailer, as shown below.

We're thrilled with the auger and how it works and it means that the inside of the brewery is much tidier and cleaner without the big boxes that we used to dig the grain out into and furthermore it gives us more floor space to put more fermenters/conditioning tanks/malt pallets...Hooray!

For the beer enthusiasts out there, the spent grain in the pictures is from this year's first brew of Santa's Swallie.

I think this means that the festive season appproaches, so I'd better get on with the Xmas presents...

Slàinte, Ken

ps Anagram unscrambled - Inveralmond Brewery

Ossian on Tour in Outer Hebrides

2011-10-27T15:35:00.015+01:00

Was over in cycling and holidaying in Barra recently for what we call in Gaelic am mìos pògan. Translated it means The Month of Kisses, which you'll know as Honeymoon. I was very chuffed to find that the good lady had packed a few bottles of Ossian into our saddle bags. The beer was greatly enjoyed with our sandwiches at the top of the neolithic and bronze age hillforts that we visited. That's the mighty Atlantic behind me standing on top of the very dramatic and naturally-fortified Dùn Bàn, a few miles west of Castlebay.

I had thought about taking over a polypin on my bike (as below when I delivered beer to the Gordon Duncan Memorial National Treasure concert in Perth Concert Hall) on the ferry from Oban to Barra, but decided in the end that my main tipple would be whisky as Barra was where Whisky Galore was filmed (although the island in Compton Mackenzie's book is Todday)and because the 36 pint polypin might have been all drunk during the 7 hour ferry crossing! So the Ossian bottles were a real treat. Tapadh leat mo leannan-sa bhriagha! Thanks my lovely darling!

Back at the brewery now and getting on with sorting out draught Lia Fail for export to Sweden.

In the meantime Happy Cycling! And Monthes of Kisses!

Slàinte,

Ken

Out with the Old - In with the New...

2011-10-05T22:19:00.000+01:00

We had a few wee tears welling up in our collective eyes this morning, as our old 10-barrel brewery - mash tun, copper, hot and cold liquor tanks together with 3 FVs plus assorted odds and ends - was loaded on to the lorry above. Destination South to Paul at Northumbrian Real Ale, whom we wish the best of fortune and fun brewing great beer on what was really good kit for us. We did over 2000 brews on it over 12 years before we outgrew it and got to know it all quite well. But nothing stays the same, so we're getting ready inside the brewery to commission our new 120 barrel conditioning tank below (CT7 at the moment) which is being constructed up in Drummuir (in a former distillery, by the way) by the same folk who made the FVs on the lorry above. The dimpling on the sides forms part of the cooling jackets, which will enable us to keep the maturing beer cold, but they'll be hidden by the 50mm of insulation and a thin stainless steel outer skin.

So here's a toast to the old and a welcome to the new!

Slàinte, Ken

Bridalezillas Wedding Extravaganza...

2011-09-11T18:27:00.007+01:00

There was a wedding a few weeks back, which gave rise to that proud and noble institution, the bridale or wedding-ale.

As the tale goes in that great Finnish epic 'The Kalevala', the bridale must be brewed before the wedding feast - (Chapter 20, Slaughtering an Ox and Brewing), so at the beginning of August, our last brew of Inkie Pinkie for this summer was decreed as the Bridale for your humble correspondent's wedding to the Lovely Lady Arlene.

On the Day Itself, There was The Exchange of Vows, The Cutting of The Cakes (Dundee Cake on the flashing cake-stand and a Chocolate Sponge for the youngsters) and perhaps the most vital ceremony of all, since there is brewing in the blood - The Tapping of The Cask, complete with tap-bearing bride and mallet-wielding groom being marched around the hall by the Pipe-Major before the happy deed was done.

With a certain ivory dress in close proximity it's a good thing I've had plenty of experience at putting in cask taps...

A Bonnie Bride, a Delicious Bridale and a Great Cèilidh!

Slàinte

Ken

Wood Fired Beer!

2011-08-18T18:14:00.005+01:00

Here's a wee pic of my first brewery - Leederville, Perth, Western Australia, circa 1991. Wood-fired - no electric or gas, just a firebox for heating.

We've been having a bit of a home-brew discussion in the brewery this week, as 3 of us are regular practitioners of this dark art, so I had a look at home for some relevant snaps.

To those of a technical bent, there will be seen a mash tun, insulated with wood (1'' x 2'' dressed all-round for the carpenter amongst you), hydrometer, sparge liquor tank - with patented slotted spoon sparge distribution system - Redhead matches and pencil (why pink I cannot remember) for brewing notebook. The wort running into the 10 gallon copper cauldron - it's the old clothes washhouse copper in the shed at the bottom of my garden- was for an 120/- Edinburgh Strong Ale. The boil itself should have taken 90 minutes, but my pals and I were having so much fun chopping up the old blocks of jarrah, an Australian really hardwood, to feed the firebox underneath that the boil lasted four hours! Had to keep adding water to keep the gravity down....

The beer was called Flaming Copper Cauldron and had an adequate strength of 7.7% abv. Tasting it was like a leap back into Scotland's brewing heritage - strong, heady, dark, rich, malty and sweet, oh so sweet, but still luscious and lasting...I even won Homebrewer of the Year with it.

Times like these, oh they were the days...but now we have Blackfriar. Huzzah!

Slàinte, Ken

Student Daze

2011-08-07T20:15:00.013+01:00

We've had a young brewing student, Liam, from Edinburgh's Heriot-Watt University, over the last two months learning about brewing at the coal face, far away from the Hallowed Groves of Academe and the Search for Enlightenment.

He has been accompanied by young Czech brewing student Alesh Potesil, below, from Pivovarsky Dum in Prague, for the past three weeks, in learning the ropes in a production brewery specialising in ale, unlike the pilsner beers he knows well.

Chez Inveralmond, the daily quest for wisdom is relatively simple, yet complex: for example - how to get the young beer from fermenter into conditioning tanks and with which hoses and pumps and which bit goes where without having a beer fountain (much more fun and funnier than that of chocolate - if it's someone else's doing) or getting the wrong hoses connected to the wrong tank, thus leading to very grim-faced head brewer and an ashen-faced student.

Therefore the motto here is similar to that of carpenters, measure twice, cut once. In our case, check route of beer twice, then open valve. Liam has been doing a grand job and is discovering that practical brewing, as opposed to higher level microbiology, is very much rooted in common sense and maintaining high standards of physical awareness - e.g., where will that cask roll off the pallet and on to whose foot; how best to bang in cask tap with a mallet without the afore-mentioned beer fountain; holding a heavy beer-filled hose with left hand and connecting hose nut on to valve thread with right hand; listening to the cooling pumps to check all is in order; etc etc.

Alesh, in his turn, has been discovering the joys of infusion mashing with fully-modified malt (without the typical decoctions and multi-temperature mashes with under-modified czech malt) together with our crazy (in his eyes) temperatures for fermenting the wort (18.5 instead of 8 degrees C) and maturation of one week for ale unlike the two months he's used to.

It's vital in the brewery to have an understanding of the science of brewing, but equally it's essential to have an understanding of how beer works, as a beverage, as a social relaxant and convivial accompaniment as well as how the art of making beer enhances our lives and does its small bit in improving the human condition - in addition to getting the process right!

Having the opportunity to take on a student every year is great for us and them as they can learn more practical brewing and management skills in 2 weeks with us than 2 years of textbook study. And we can learn about the latest trends in music, how an ipod works and which nightclubs to avoid...or not!

Slainte, Ken

Pub Tram!

2011-07-12T12:45:00.005+01:00

Here we are in Helsinki, the Jewel of the Baltic, about to go for a tram journey. Not any old tram journey, but a very special tram journey, for this tram, bedecked in the Finnish beer Koff livery, is a pub! Unlike many former trams masquerading as restaurants and bars - the one in Prague's Wenceslas Square springs to mind - this Koff tram actually goes on a circuit of the Helsinki centre. The beer on board was the very tasty Koff pilsner and was a superb accompaniment to the tour of the old city with its achitectural gems. The small tables between the seats have holes cut out in which to keep one's glass steady whilst the tram trundles over the cobbles and points on its journey.

Gippis!

(Slàinte for the non-Finnish speakers)

Passing by one of the Alko off-licences which sell our Blackfriar

In typical Finnish style, the tram was furnished with polished wooden seats and tables with all the metal finishings in beautiful brass. The circular journey took about 45 minutes, plenty of time to sample the liquid gold with sufficient time for ample replenishment...and there is a very clean toilet on board for those who feel the need. I wanted to go around again (obviously to tick off my guide book recommendations of Jugendstil granite edifices), but was countermanded by the Lady Arlene, as a visit to the ceramic studio Arabia awaited us...

Well worth a visit if you are in Helsinki, and it's only one of the many pearls of delight in this truly wonderful city.

The small but perfectly-formed bar.

Slàinte, Ken

2,4,6,8 Let's all Coagulate!

2011-06-25T11:55:00.005+01:00

What's all this stuff in my pint? Well it's not yeast this time and it's not even beer yet! The pint glass shows the 'cold break', from the rapidly cooled copper wort sample, dropping slowly as the flocs or little lumps of protein gather together or coagulate and fall to the bottom of the glass.

These proteins precipitate from the brilliantly clear hot wort as it is cooled and if we get a clear cold wort with what we call a 'good cold break' at the bottom of the glass like in the picture above, there is much rejoicing in the brewhouse, for it means that we shall have clarity in the beer. Without a good cold break, that is, one which does not settle out well and remains as a murky, cloudy wort, then there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth as this certainly means clarification issues ahead.

What the cold break tells us is that the wort has been boiled vigorously and strongly and for long enough (60 - 90 minutes) so that the ultra-microscopic protein particles are flung together at their iso-electric point, the pH at which the numbers of positive and negative particles are equal, and stick together to form large flocs - the 'hot break', which separates out leaving crystal clear wort in the copper. If the boil is not vigorous the wort will generally remain turbid - a bad word in a brewery!

However the cold break is a lovely sight to a brewer and is more proof that beer is a protein drink!

Slainte, Ken

Atholl Highlanders charge for a pint!

2011-06-09T22:32:00.005+01:00

The Atholl Gathering took place on the last Sunday in May at Blair Castle under glorious sunshine, after the showers and gusty winds had disappeared. The last fully-armed private army in Europe, the Duke of Atholl's very own Atholl Highlanders, were on parade on the Highland Games field with the Pipes and Drums and their two-pounder field gun. The firing of the field gun at 1pm opened the games with a big bang. The annual Atholl Highlanders' Race (above) was great fun with your friendly neighbourhood brewer running as fast as he could to get to the firkin of Inkie Pinkie. I must confess I wasn't in the top quartile, but at least I wasn't in the last either, though I did win the rifle shooting trophy, beaing the gamekeepers and regular shooters! The beer went down rather quickly, we think it was something to do with the double quick tempo of the Atholl Highlanders march being played by Pipe Major...

The Highlanders continued the entertainment with a relay race between the Officers, Pipeband and Rifle Company, a very interesting Foursome Reel by a quartet of Officers, the Sword Dance from a trio of Jocks and finally a Tug o' War between the Band and the Rifle Company. A grand day out for all and washed down nicely with a pint or two of very tasty beer. Hope to see you there next year at Blair Castle on the last weekend in May.

Slàinte, Ken

Here Comes Summer!

2011-06-02T14:20:00.012+01:00

To quote the mighty Undertones, a fave band of mine from the late 70's, 'Here comes Summer...' And to make it even better we've been brewing up plenty of our lovely summer session bevvy, the glorious Inkie Pinkie, as seen above in Greyfriars Bar near me in Perth last weekend. Only a dodgy mobile phone snap, but the beer was FAB!

Whistles whetted and feeling the desire for some summer sun, the Lady Arlenka and I headed over to the West Coast for some well deserved blue sky and high winds near Tarbert where those gorgeous Flowers of Scotland, the Bluebells (another fine band) were welcoming in the summer with relish. Perfect time for a pint of Inkie Pinkie? Mmm...

Back in Perth the next day it was time to strip down the boiler ready for its summer inspection by the Fat Controller. If ever you want to know what Thomas the Tank Engine looks like on the inside, look below now...

A big blue box with hundreds of tubes full of water that is boiled by flames (behind the blue section below) to create steam in the upper section, whence it is piped away to wheel-driving cylinders (in Thomas' case) or to steam jackets (in ours) to heat up water in the Hot Liquor Tank or wort in the Brew Kettle. Everything was in fine fettle for the inspection, so once the boiler was put back together the regulator was cranked up to full steam ahead and brewing began again to keep the summer drinkers happy. Toot Toot!

Steam whistling merrily from the very happy boiler with the very happy brewer whistling merrily away inside, very much looking forward to his pint of Inkie Pinkie. Slàinte, Ken

New for old! Our Laboratory Lives!

2011-05-14T14:45:00.008+01:00

As you probably know, we have always been very careful in analysing our beer to improve it and to maintain the consistency of the flavours. The picture above shows our old laboratory techniques in yeast vitality and viability. I'm on the right with the lorgnette and sample flask and young Grima, our trainee brewer, is on the left with Richard, who started his brewing career in the lab of a long-gone Edinburgh brewery, in the middle. We are very fortunate to have our new lab, pictured below, with its state of the art equipment, which now has pride of place in the brewery itself, thus clearing space in the kitchen for the toaster and a new kettle.

Slainte, Ken

Blackfriar for Finland - Olut Suomen!

2011-05-02T21:50:00.004+01:00

Here's your local brewmaster standing beside our new 60 bbl FV8 bedecked with Sinivalkoinen or the Finnish Flag to mark this brew of Blackfriar destined for our good friends in Finland in a few weeks time.
Gippis & Slàinte
Ken

The brewery's getting bigger!

2011-04-13T16:32:00.010+01:00

We are very proud and pleased to announce the commissioning of our new Fermenting Vessel, Big Bertha, which is dwarfing the lovely Lady Arlenka on her Sunday visit. Big Bertha holds 60 barrels, 100 hectolitres or 20,000 bottles. She was a bit troublesome to get in position, with 2 cranes needed and lots of excited brewery folk watching from the viewing platform upstairs.

However she's all ready to brew into with 60 barrels of Blackfriars destined for Alko in Finland! Hurrah!

Slainte, Ken

Live Brewing Action # 4 - Hubble Bubble and Trubble!

2011-03-22T16:44:00.005Z

Live Brewing Action (the series) continues with a wee video of the Ossian wort boiling for all its worth in the kettle.

We brewers are called thus for our habit of boiling. We've heard the expression 'putting on a brew' for boiling the kettle for a cup of tea or coffee, but in the brewer's world, putting on a brew means boiling the wort. We boil for several reasons - to sterilise the wort to avoid any off-tasting bacterial infections, to evaporate any excess water to reach the correct initial specific gravity for the beer, to extract the bittering resins and aromatic essential oils from the hops and to ensure clarity in the beer with a vigorous boil by clumping together unwanted protein hazes with hop tannins, which become the trub (hence trubble of the title) or sediment after the boil is finished.

The quality of the vid isn't that great but you can see that there's plenty going on in there.

Slainte! Ken

Kalevala Day - where's the Sampo?

2011-02-28T09:50:00.006Z

The Defence of the Sampo by Gallen-Kallela

Tänään on Kalevalan Päivä, jolloin vietetään Suomen Kultturista. Eläköön Sinivalkoinen ja Olutta!

Today is Finland's Kalevala Day, when the great national epic is celebrated all over Finland. The best way to do this is with some sahti, the traditional cottage ale flavoured with juniper and then some Blackfriar!

Slàinte ja Kippis!

Ken

PS The Sampo is the great prize in the tale of the Kalevala, which gives health, wealth and happiness to the Finns.

Hallo Finland! Part 2...

2011-02-17T20:33:00.008Z

In my last blog I wrote in Finnish, or what sort of resembles it, over a weekend with the help of a variety of dictionaries, grammar notes, my father's old Teach Yourself Finnish book and the interweb Finnish university language pages with much thanks to the authors of the wide range of Finnish brewing pages for the more technical brewing words.

Since many readers don't understand Finnish, I was asked to give a translation, so here goes:

''Hallo to our Finnish Friends!

My Tankard in Greyfrars beside a very nice bottle of ale...

Today I thought I'd write a few words about our beer Blackfriar. This wonderfully dark and mysteriously strong ale has been accepted by ALKO (which is the Finnish State Off-Licence Board). I am chuffed to bits about this.

Blackfriar is named after one of the three former monasteries in Perth, Grey, White and Black Friars, so called after the colour of the monks' habits. They were destroyed after the Reformation in 16th century, but the names live on still. Whitefriars is a suburb now, Greyfriars is now an old graveyard and also the name of my local pub, where I have my own tankard above. Being a brewmaster has its privileges! Blackfriars, where James 1 of Scotland was murdered by traitors in 1437, is now the name of some buildings beside the River Tay, but more importantly, receives acclaim and glory as our delicious ale.

The taste of the ale is outstanding, with a strong vinous aroma mixing with Fuggles and Styrian Goldings hops, going then to a warming dark chocolate malty palate and finishing with the soft bitterness, which continues on and makes the drinker taste it once more. At 7% abv, it's an ale to sip slowly with a good book, such as the Kalevala, the famed Finnish epic poem, perhaps looking at Chapter 20, 'On Slaughtering and Brewing'! Listening also to Sibelius' Finlandia Suite or even the Leningrad Cowboys (an esteemed Finnish Rock 'n Roll band renowned for their quiffs, wraparound shades and winklepickers, let alone their riotous assemblies with the Red Army Choir!).

I'm cooking tonight with a bottle of Blackfriar for some friends over for dinner. Venison shoulder, Blackfriar and juniper berries slow oven-roasted for a rich spicy gravy. I'm looking forward to it already...

Now I've got to get the dinner organised. Where's my bottle opener?

Kippis or as we say in Scotland,

Slàinte, Ken''

Hei Suomi!

2011-02-06T15:16:00.009Z

Hei meidän suomalaisia ystäviä!

Tänään ajattelin, että haluan kirjoittaa muutaman sanan olut Blackfriar. Tämä ihanan tumma ja salaperäinen voimakas olut on hyväksynyt Alko. Olen hyvin iloinen tästä. Pahoittelen huonoa kieltä ja oikeinkirjoitusta - suomalaisia opettelen. Oppimen kreikan ja latinan vuosia ja puhuminem Gaelin ja Tsekin auttaa paljon!

Blackfriar on nimetty yksi 3 entisen luostarit Perth - Harmaa, Valkoinen ja Musta Friars (munkki). He saivat nimensä väristä munkkien kaavun. Luostarit tuhottiin vuonna 16. vuosisadn aikana uskonnollisia ongelmia, mutta nimet elävät tänään. Whitefriars on lähio nyt, Greyfriars on vanhan hautausmaan ja on myos nimi minun paikalliseen pubiin, jossa minulla on oma kolpakko. Että pääoluenpanija on etuoikeuksia! Blackfriars, jossa kuningas Jaako 1 Skotlannin murhasi petturit vuonna 1437, on nyt nimi rakennusryhmä Tayjoen, ja mikä tärkeintä, saa suosiota ja kunniaa niin herkullisia olut.

Maku olut erinomainen, voimakas viinistä tuoksu sekoittamalla Fuggle ja Golding humala, menee sitten lämpeneminen tummaa suklaata maltainen maku ja lopuksi viimeistely pehmeä katkeraan loppuun, jonka pitää käynnissä, ja tyontää juomari maun uudelleen. Klo 7% alkoholia on olutta juoden hitaasti hyvä kirja, kuten Kalevala (ehka luku 20 'teurastuksesta ja oluenpano'!) ja kuunnella Finlandia J. Sibelius tai jopa Leningrad Cowboys...

Olen keitetään pullon Blackfriar tänä iltana ystävien minun metsästysseura. Red Deer hirvenliha olkapää, Blackfriar ja katajanmarjat kypsennetään uunissa hitasti rikas mausteinen kastike. Jo minä odotan sitä...

Nyt minun täytyy mennä valmistelemaan keittioon. Missä on pullo-avaaja?

Kippis tai kuten sanomme Skotlannissa, Slàinte!
Ken

There's a new kid in town!

2011-01-24T21:44:00.003Z

Well, it's been a while since I last posted a blog, what with the festive season and the seriously wintry weather we've been having. First I'd like to wish all our readers and drinkers a Happy New Year and toast them with a pint of our new brew fresh out in the pubs from the conditioning tank - Duncan's Inspirational Pale Ale! That is a picture of my first pint of the brew in a pub. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to it...

As you can see it's a scrumptious beer, inspired by the India Pale Ales of yesteryear - hoppy, bitter and golden. At 4.4% it has a good quaffing strength and with a spicy hoppy bouquet from Czech Saaz hops together with gentle floral notes from the noble Goldings, there's plenty to keep hopheads happy. Malty in the mouth and finishing with a goodly drying bitterness, it's tip-top to push the boat out on a journey into the Wonderful World of Beer.

I hope you all enjoy Duncan's IPA, I know I will!
Slàinte, Ken

Christmas comes already!

2010-12-22T17:34:00.002Z

Went for a wee bevvy last night in Perth and to my delight in the Old Ship in Skinnergate, were these 3 Kings of Beer. Pundie, a warming dark amber wintery ale, Santa's Swallie with its seasonal hints of nutmeg and cinnamon and Lia Fail, the Stone of Destiny in all its dark mystery. The Old Ship, one of my regular haunts, is reputed to be Perth's oldest pub, named for the sailing ships that used to ply up and down the Tay River in days gone by. Perth had a busy trade with Scandinavia and the Hanseatic ports of the Baltic and ships would come right up the river to the bottom of the High Street, off which stands the Old Ship. The bar has a fabulous nautical painting well worth a look - although it's a Turner-style 100-gun Man o' War rather than a trading vessel. The river is still used by trading ships from the Baltic but the harbour is now downstream about a mile.
Happy Christmas to you all and enjoy your Swallie, wherever you may be.
Slainte, Ken

Danish Whisky Blog meets Mash Tun Musings

2010-12-10T16:57:00.004Z

Anybody know what the white stuff on the top of everything is? Answers on a postcard marked 'Come back, Summer!'

Well, in the last fortnight, we've had tons of it - and it's freezing also. Makes walking, running, cycling and even just trundling down to the pub difficult. However, pubs have been visited and beer has been enjoyed by your correspondent and our good friend Steffen from Danish Whisky Blog. Here we are below at the Bon Accord in Glasgow, a top notch boozer and purveyor of ales of distinction. I was at the bar with the Lady Arlene, supping away, when this young gentleman in a rather fine tweed bunnet comes over and proclaims to me, 'Inveralmond!' He knows the secret password to a long life and happiness, I think to myself, but it turned out that he recognised me from a visit to our brewery SEVEN years ago. He is the Danish Whisky Blogger and wanted to tell me what a great time he and his friends from Denmark had experienced on our tour. Thank you, Steffen. See you next time in our bigger brewery with bar and tasting lounge.

For all of you out in Blogland who are short of Xmas pressies for your nearest and dearest, we will be opening up our shop on Saturday 18 December (last Saturday before Xmas) from 11 - 4 for the sale of our lovely beers, t-shirts, gift packs, minikegs, glasses etc etc together with Free Tastings. Hope to meet some of you all then.
Slainte, Ken

Planet Yeast

2010-11-23T15:23:00.009Z

In the words of a very wise man, ''That's no moon, that's a yeast sample under the microscope''... It does look a bit moonish, but the craters aren't craters, they are yeast cells. I took this photo with my ordinary camera, just using the Macro/close up feature, and holding the lens right over one of our microscope eyepieces. To the eye, what one sees is more like the picture below, but the joys of photography gives this interesting view of Planet Yeast. Each cell is between 5 -10 micrometres across (1 micrometre is a thousandth of a millimetre), so teensy-weensy is the correct technical size.

We always have a look at our yeast before we add it to the wort in the fermenting vessel to make sure it's in good condition before it does its fermenting, eating up the wort sugars to create alcohol, CO2 and the flavour.
You can see the cells are mainly in little clumps, or flocs, because at the end of a fermentation when the young beer is nearly ready and we start to cool the tank down to 6 degrees C, the cells tend to clump together or flocculate. This is just a Latin-based word meaning to clump together like sheep in a flock. When they flocculate, the yeast cells sink down to the bottom of the FV, where we can draw off the yeast after 36 hours. We brew ale and we do use an ale yeast, but it is a bottom-cropping, top-fermenting strain. We select some of the yeast from one of the brews each week to brew with the following week, so that we are continually repitching from week to week. This week is the 523rd generation of our current yeast stock.

We are very grateful to our yeast because it does the hard work to create the complex fermentation flavours in our beers and we would have any beer without it!

Thank you, our wee yeastie beasties!

Slainte, Ken

International Organoleptic Evaluation in Inveralmond Brewery Tasting Suite

2010-11-11T15:37:00.010Z

Had a few brewing friends staying over from Czech Republic at the end of October and to celebrate Czech National Day on 28 October we had a wee tasting, or organoleptic evaluation as we brewers like to call it, in the brewery bar and tasting suite. Above left is Ales Dvorak, technical brewer at Budvar Budweiser, pulling a pint of Ossian for Oudak, former Chief Test Pilot for Czech Air Force. It was also my birthday, so we tasted everything from Santa's Swallie to Pundie...

We did manage to get out and about to other places of refreshment - here is the gang in the Ericht Alehouse, a fine estaminet in the heart of Blairgowrie. Landlord Kenny Fraser gave us a grand tour of his cellar with quite a technical discussion following on the topic of the Scottish style of vertical extraction from an upright cask, as opposed to the English fashion from a tap in a cask on its belly. Beside the inglenook we were entertained by the most excellent Laurence Blair Oliphant (in kilt) who had showed us around his fine sixteenth century home with its wonderful Jacobite relics. In the middle is our good friend Honza Suran, from Pivovarsky Dum in Prague, trying our Sunburst Pilsner, fermented with his yeast!

Later on back at HQ, after the sampling and evaluations had continued for a wee while, MD Fergus took a video of the 'Massed Pipes and Drums of the Inveralmond Brewery' playing at the party - ok, yes it was more than a mere tasting, it was a hoolie and a half! Here's the video .

Just to show that organoleptic evaluation is truly international and full of cultural exchange, here's a few shots from the Budvar Budweiser brewery:

Slàinte and Na Zdràvi! Ken

Brewery Bar Open!

2010-10-25T20:31:00.005+01:00

Great News - the bar at the brewery was officially opened last week. The happy crew pictured are toasting the first evening of tasting, sampling and supping. Pundie was the beer of choice, as it's our special brew for October and November. A fine malty dark amber ale of 1049 OG and 5 % abv. Pleasing to the eye, sensational on the palate, it went down exceedingly well in the bar.

Slàinte, Ken

Ossian up the hill!

2010-10-21T21:13:00.006+01:00

Looking through some photos last night I came across this picture taken in August '03. Your humble correspondent is clutching his bottle of Ossian (old label) with glee having walked, scrambled and generally puffed up Meall nan Tarmachan (hill of the ptarmigans) by Loch Tay. The beer was enjoyed with gusto before tramping down to Glen Lyon where the tent was erected much to the midgies delight!

Slàinte,

Young(er) Ken

ps The kilt for those interested is of the Hodden Grey, worn by my old London Scottish Regiment.

The Malts of Islay

2010-10-04T15:19:00.012+01:00

Following from last month's malt tutorial, I thought we'd move on to other kinds of malt, namely, Single Malt Whiskies from Islay. The big difference with malted barley for whisky is that the malt tends to be dried or kilned with peat smoke, giving these island malts their phenolic or smoky character.

Getting the ferry over was straightforward from Kennacraig on the Kintyre peninisula. With only three cars and our two bikes on the big ferry, having plenty of room in the forrard Coffee Cabin was nice. This was formerly The Bar, but it was reassuring to hear the announcement that 'in the Coffee Cabin were being served teas, coffees, soft drinks and REFRESHMENTS...'

So a bottle of Islay Finlaggan Ale was ordered along with a large Bunnahabhainn.

At Port Askaig looking over the Sound of Islay towards the Paps of Jura thankful we'd made it thither in time to enjoy a wee refreshment under the sun. Caol Ila (The Sound of Islay) and Bunnahabhainn (rivermouth) are about 1 mile and 5 miles respectively north of Port Askaig.

The Mash Tun at Bruaichladdich with its 6 and a quarter tonne malt charge. The mixing gear rotates once every hour to let the wort or distillery wash flow out through the sieved bottom before it gets cooled and fermented in the washbacks. After a 3 day fermentation where all the malt sugars get turned to alcohol (at about 6%, very warm at 35C and quite sour), the whole contents of the washback are distilled twice in the big stills below.

The spirit safe with its big shiny padlock (but for why, you ask) showing the raw spirit flowing out of the condensers. Slàinte Mhòr! Crystal clear as you can see for the golden colour of whisky comes from the wooden barrels used for aging the spirit. Scotch Whisky demands aging for at least 3 years and a day, but only since 1914, before which it could be sold direct from the still. Fiery, sharp and pungent, unlike the mellow, aromatic and warming liquor we know and adore.

A wee collage of our distillery adventures which include a detour to beautiful Jura

A Special Mention in Dispatches to Vicky Stephens, Laphroaig's visitor centre manager, whom we discovered is a Beer Enthusiast and looking forward to tasting some Swedish beers at the Stockholm Whisky & Beer Festival, where she's exhibiting some of Laphroaig's finest. Tapadh leatsa, Vicky, airson tiodhlac snog blasda (Thanks very much for your tasty wee gift).

Keeping up with the beer theme, we popped in to see Paul, below, beside his mash tun at Islay Ales by Bridgend and had a wee discussion on brewing whilst Arlene, herself a veteran of plenty of brewery technical discussions, visited the Chocolate Shop, the Batik Shop and Islay Quilters next door. Islay Ales were on draught at the excellent Port Charlotte Hotel.

But of course being on a cycle/camping trip we were travelling extra light, so I had taken over a mere 6 bottles of Ossian in my saddle bags and the only way to lighten the load further was to give them away to interested parties (ie brewers or distillers!) or drink them toasting the fabulous scenery and people of Islay. Here's me tucking into a fine malt by Lagavulin Bay.

We'd recommend Islay to anyone. Lovely place, great rain, wind, sun and scenery. Malt Whisky galore. And Arlene met some very courteous Ileach kye too! A h-Ile boidheach àlainn brìagha!
O Islay - lovely,bonnie and braw!

Slàinte, Ken

Malt for Beginners

2010-09-13T20:43:00.004+01:00

Here is some Pale Ale Malt which is the base for all our ales. Malt is barley that has been germinated (or grown) for a few days to allow enzymes in the grain to turn the hard concrete-like starch into a crumbly soft form easily dissolved into water. Then the malt is dried and cured or kilned in a huge oven. The drying and kilning processes take many forms which give us many different kinds of malt. Pale Ale Malt is the one which is merely dried then very lightly kilned. Pale Ale Malt will account for at least 85% of the grist (or the grain bill) of any of our ales. Other malts can be Caramel, Crystal, Dark Crystal or Chocolate Malts to name but a few of those that we use. Below there's a shot of 4 kinds of malt that we use every week.

From L to R we have Pale Ale, Caramel, Dark Crystal and Chocolate Malt. You can see that the colours are getting darker with each type. Caramel and the Crystal Malts are caramelised, by stewing the wet grain at 65C so that the enzymes in the malt go one stage further by turning the starch into sugars, then the heat is raised and the moisture is allowed to evaporate so that the sugars inside the grain crystallise (hence crystal in the name) and caramelise giving rich luscious toffee flavours. The more the malt is caramelised, the darker the colour. The Chocolate Malt (named for its resemblance, not taste, to the bean!) on the right is very dark and roasted much like a coffee bean, more like espresso coffee and even has the aroma of coffee. In brewing terms all the malts have a colour number - Pale Ale is around 4 - 6, Caramel Malt 25 -35, Crystal 125 -150, Dark Crystal 400 and Chocolate about 1100.

Beer gets its malty characters and colour from the malt types used in the mash tun. As I said before, Pale Ale Malt or Pale Malt as we tend to call it, makes up the majority of a brew, but we'll add some of the darker malts depending on the flavour we want. Ossian, a golden ale, has less than 4% of its grist as the very lightly coloured Caramel Malt, whereas Lia Fail, quite a dark, strong and more robust flavoured brew, has just less than 2% of the Dark Crystal and just over 1% of the Chocolate Malt. The darker the malt, the less is needed to make a substantial difference to the colour and flavour. A normal stout, which you cannot see through in a pint glass, for example, usually has no more than 8% of the highly roasted Chocolate Malt to give it that coffee-like, almost burnt-biscuity character with the rest of the grist being Pale Malt.

If, however, we only use a small proportion, about 2% say, of highly-coloured malt, such as Dark Crystal, we can get a coppery, amber hue with just enough of the luscious caramel richness of that special malt as in Santa's Swallie, which we brewed for export to the USA and Scandinavia last month.

Merry Christmas, when it comes and may it be malty!
Slàinte, Ken

Thrappledouser on Tour!

2010-08-31T21:16:00.006+01:00

Went down to Hertfordshire this weekend for the wedding of an old pal and managed to find our Thrappledouser on tap in a few places in St. Albans. Also had a scrumptious Sunday Roast at the Crystal Palace, a lovely canalside pub in Berkhamsted after perusing Berkhamsted Castle (above). Thanks to Tina and Pete (below right) for a great afternoon.

Off to St. Albans now and the selection at the Boot - a lovely ancient pub with a well-kent beer in the middle!

I think the expression is '' Dingly-Dell''

Went for a wee touristy jaunt around the town and saw a pub sign for the White Lion up a side street. Intrigued, we headed up and inside and through into the beer garden where there was a beerfest! Yippee!
And Thrappledouser was on the bar inside as well. Huzzah!

To top the whole thing there was also a second beerfest at the White Hart one street away...Oh my goodness...

Slàinte, Ken

The kettle's coming to the boil...

2010-08-23T20:27:00.009+01:00

More Live Brewing Action with a wee film of the Ossian wort last week coming to the boil in the kettle, or copper, as it's sometimes called. The reason the wort is spinning around slowly is from tangential pumping or whirlpooling to mix the wort thoroughly before the boil begins, so that we can get the correct specific gravity for that particular brew before the boil starts. Each beer has its own specific gravity or Original Gravity, in Ossian's case 1.0420 or as we always say, 1042 OG as in 'Ten Forty Two'.

This is what the actual boil looks like - the steam created causes a bit of havoc for most amateur cameras (like mine!) but this gives an idea of the ferocious nature of a boil. We're not looking for a simmer or a gentle boil but a good rolling boil which helps the malt proteins stick to the hop tannins thus creating the Hot Break, or clumps of protein and tannins, which helps to clarify the finished beer.

One thing to remember about brewing is that boiling, or brewing, is at the heart of what it's all about - that's why we are called brewers and not fermenters or barrellers, even though boiling is only part of the operation to make beer.

Anyway time to put the kettle on...

Slàinte, Ken

Stylish Premium Quaffing in Rome

2010-08-13T12:07:00.006+01:00

SPQR - Senatus PopulusQue Romae- 'the Senate and People of Rome' - found on many a Roman inscription and upon the eagle standards of the legions on their march northwards into Scotland in 79AD under Agricola, who set up camp along the River Tay in Perth - Bertha in Latin - now has a new meaning.

Ossian, our champion award-winning supremely golden ale, is now on sale in the Eternal City at the Coliseum in Rome courtesy of our importer Johnny's Off-Licence (http://www.offlicense.it/). Two years past, Arlene and I had a wee break in Rome, our 'Roman Holiday', even including Vespa rides around the Forum and the Coliseum, before a very pleasant afternoon spent in Johnny's Off-Licence sampling the glorious Ossian.

Fresh supplies arriving at Johnny's Off-Licence

Therefore SPQR also stands for Stylish Premium Quaffing in Rome!

Salute!
Ken

Great British Ossian Fest

2010-08-01T21:50:00.002+01:00

Off down to London for the Great British BeerFest on Tuesday for the afternoon session. Looking forward to it as there's 4 kilderkins of Ossian and 4 kilderkins of Sunburst up for drinking. Hope to catch up with some customers there too...
Slàinte
Ken

Pilsner yeast arrives!

2010-07-28T21:05:00.007+01:00

Our very good friend and beer expert Honza Suran from Pivovarsky Dum in Prague sent us a wee package this week. A new shipment, ok, it's only half a kilo, of lager yeast for our very own Sunburst Pilsner, which we'll be brewing on Friday into FV4.

I'll have to do a little bit of TLC on the yeast, which is pressed and chilled at the moment. Not quite ready yet to do battle with those scrumptious malt sugars in the wort and work its magic by turning them into CO2 and alcohol - with the right flavour, of course - so that's tomorrow's task: put the yeast through a mini-brew of 10 litres to get it into the right condition for a brew of 5,000 litres!

But in the meantime, thanks Honza! Diky moc Panovi!

Na Zdravi,

Ken

Loch Tummel Delight

2010-07-20T18:05:00.005+01:00

On Sunday went up to the Loch Tummel Inn for lunch. Glorious weather as you can see and we sat out enjoying an Ossian and an Independence with our lunch. Smashing!

Very different to the last time we were there back in February on our bikes when the loch was pretty much frozen over and when Schiehallion and the other big hills were completely hidden by the clouds. Also the Inn was open, as we'd ridden past it then at 9 in the morning...

Oh, the joys of summer!

Cheers

Ken

Laying it on thick!

2010-07-15T21:57:00.002+01:00

An action shot of the lads laying the new tarmac in the brewery yard. Until now it's been a mixture of hardcore, rubble, mud and slush, when wet, or hardcore, rubble, dust and more dust whipped up by the prevailing south-westerly winds. I was very impressed with the work and true to their word, after two hours I was able to take our forklift on to the new surface loading up a lorry without damaging the tarmac!

Also makes for super roller-disco!

Cheers, Ken

Our barley growing nicely

2010-07-04T20:27:00.003+01:00

We're not becoming farmers, but I was given a barley seed a few months back. I planted it in the pot and lo and behold, there it is growing well just in front of the brewery office. The variety is Flagon, which is a good for malting and is one of the varieties we use in our beer. As of today, it has 7 ears full of seeds so I'm hoping for a good harvest. I'll keep you posted on the continued growth...
Slàinte, Ken

Cycling for Beer, Part 17- the Bridges of Almond.

2010-06-15T15:01:00.011+01:00

Went on a wee jaunt on the old velocipede with the Lady Arlenka on Sunday following the River Almond upstream from the brewery. Our name, Inveralmond, means the confluence of the Almond and another river, in our case, the mighty Tay only 500 metres downstream. So after doing the FV gravity checks it was on the bikes and Westwards Ho!

The Old Inverness Road bridge, where Mr. Heron likes to gather lunch for his family.

The Railway Bridge

The Auld Brig at South Ardittie

Same bridge but from the South looking towards the Sma' Glen, where lies Ossian's Stone and Grave.

That well known spot most looked for on an ordnance survey map, PH - for Public House. In this case, the Chapelhill Inn, with Don the Landlord who serves great beer (Perth 800 in the glasses) and cooks up really fine dining. We could have spent all afternoon there soaking up the sun from the south looking over Strathalmond. But there was more cycling to do...

The Brig at Buchanty Spout -where there are cataracts which give rise to a huge spout of water when the river is in spate.

The view upstream from the brig westwards to the Spout. It's a lovely spot, great for picnics, but for us it meant a brew up on the camping kettle and a sausage sizzle. Yum yum.

On the homeward run now, looking back towards the Sma' Glen. There's an old Roman signal station on the hill on the left. This was the route in 84BC the Legions under Agricola took to head north to do battle with the Calgacus and his Caledonians at Mons Graupius in the Grampians.

40 minutes later, mostly downhill, with bikes back in the hoose, over the road and into Greyfriars enjoying the fruits of our labours. Arlenka on the Thrappledouser and me on the Perth 800. Yum yum again!

Slainte, Ken

Tanks for the beer!

2010-06-13T20:58:00.007+01:00

Our first tanker being filled with Lia Fail for bottling on Tuesday last week. One big long hose from the FVs (3 of them) and one pump going for 75 mins to fill the shiny tanker. Up to now we have used transportable 5 barrel tanks loaded on to a flatbed lorry taking a whole day, but this breakthrough in beer transfer size, made possible by our bigger brewlength and fermenter capacity, means it's a lot simpler and better for the beer to get the beer by this size of tanker off to the bottling hall. Enough for 29,000 bottles!

Below is your humble correspondent enjoying the view from another tank, an old ex-army 432APC near Alford in Aberdeenshire recently.

Ok then, off to the pub. Forward!

Slainte! Ken

Ossian wins again!

2010-06-06T22:20:00.005+01:00

Had some fabulous news on Thursday when we visited the Aberdeen Beerfest - Ossian had been crowned the CAMRA Champion Golden Ale of Scotland 2010. Tremendous news, which Fergus and I had to celebrate by having a pint of the golden wonder. I can report that the Ossian did live up to its new-found glory - which is what I would expect and demand, since I brew it!

Here's a shot of M.D. Fergus with extreme marathon runner Mark Raffan, one of Ossian's champions, at the Beerfest, toasting the win.

Mark is going to do the Caledonian Challenge this weekend, which involves a forced march from Fort William to Milngavie along the West Highland Way. He doesn't think that's strenuous enough, so he is going to run the 54 miles up on the Friday from Milngavie to Fort Wlliam and then on run all the way back. Wow! As you can see he's getting in some protein-carbs energy drink to get him on his way!
Slàinte
Ken

Live Brewing Action! #2 It's a Monster Mash...

2010-05-17T20:53:00.009+01:00

It's been a while since we had some Live Brewing Action on the blog, so here's a wee video of Mashing. This is the beginning of a brew of Lia Fail and it's where the crushed malted barley or grist is mixed with hot water or liquor as we like to call it. This happens inside the Mash Tun and it allows the starch in the grist to dissolve quickly into the liquor and lets the enzymes in the malt convert the starch into liquid sugars which we call wort.

This wort is drained off the grain husks and pumped to the brew kettle - as seen in Live Brewing Action #1. It's quite hot in the mash tun because the liquor temperature is around 72 C and the 'Goods' as we call the porridge-like mash end up at around 66 - 68 C depending on the brew.

I'll cover the rest of the brewing process in later blogs but in the meantime it's time to 'Set Taps' or in other words open up the valves at the bottom of the mash tun to let the wort start flowing out to the kettle!

Slainte, Ken

New Jersey for Perthshire Rugby Tour

2010-05-03T20:53:00.006+01:00

We sponsored Perthshire Rugby Club for their mini-tour of Valencia in Spain last weekend and helped them get a new Inveralmond Brewery rugby jersey which I'm sure encouraged them to win their games against the local teams Tatami and Tecnidex!

The club also held a Mayday RugbyFest on the North Inch in Perth with 3 casks of our beer - Independence, Ossian and Perth 800 all of which the Golden Oldies polished off nicely on Sunday afternoon.

Come on 'shire!
Slàinte, Ken

Beerhunting in Czech

2010-04-18T18:38:00.011+01:00

Went to Czech for Easter to visit a few breweries and my good friend Krtek. A fine midnight view of the Lady Arlenka in Prague in Malostranske Namesti. Prague Castle and St. Vitus' Cathedral up on the skyline, but for the beerhunter, the real prize in the picture is the building on the far corner opposite the Square over Arlenka's shoulder - the great pivnice U Kocoura (The Tomcat).

Another fab Prague institution - Pivovarsky Klub - with our good friends Mirek (who plays with the Rebel Pipers) and Liba. You can see straightaway from the shelves behind of the variety of great czech and international beer to sample. Mirek's on Svijany, Liba and Arlenka on Velen wheat beer with myself relishing Kocour's Samurai IPA.

The Czech Easter Ram (Beránek boží) representing Christ's sacrifice on the Cross (in chocolate and sponge cake) or Agnus Dei for Latinists amongst you. Agnus is also a Czech hop variety named for Mr. Beranek the grower, found in Budvar's Pardal. Czech Easter has wonderfully painted eggs also and a quaint tradition of the menfolk whipping the womenfolk (gently) on Easter Monday morn with a supposedly fertility-giving pomlazka willow wands.

The džbánek or traditional beer jug with which you get carry-outs from the local hospoda or pub. We were guests of David Neckař who is another Rebel Piper, Beerhunter and kiltmaking Scotophile and the next morning he drove us up to Blansko to the Černá Hora brewery (pivovar), who make the Velen wheat above. It's quite an old brewery but very modern inside and lovely beer.

With my opposite number beside the traditional square open fermenters with yeast heads in various stages of formation. A brief video of the brewery is here.

Chimneys from L to R - the two little silver ones are the wort kettle and mash copper, the tall banded one is from the old steam boiler firebox - disused now but there's a pair of storks that nest in the summer on it's top. The lower brick one is from the new boilerhouse and the banded one with the cowl is from the maltings.

Loved this former ambulance in the brewery courtyard - Pivni Pomoc is a pun on Prvni pomoc which means First Aid or to paraphrase it - Thirst Aid!

Now here's some beer pictures....very tasty Černá Hora beers at the brewery tap. Delicious lunch too.

Oh and by the way, we also collected some Czech yeast for our Sunburst Pilsner from Pivovarsky Dum in Prague where we enjoyed a dark Rye Ale served on a handpull. Rye Real Ale in Prague. Excellent stuff!

Slainte and Na Zdravi!

Ken

ps brewed Sunburst on Friday, fermenting away nicely at 12 Celsius as I write this on Monday.

Návštěva Krtka do Skotska

2010-04-01T12:15:00.025+01:00

Dobrý den, jmenuji se Krtek a nedávno byl jsem na dovolenou ve Skotsku s mým přítelem Kenem. On je Skot a sládek pivovaru Inveralmond a tam ukazal mi jeho nový pivovar, který byl postaven minulý rok. Stará budova byla moc malá. Pomohl jsem připravit a zrýt pudu pro základy. Je velmi pěkný pivovar s velkou vstupní halou. Mám rád velké značky a kelticky odznak.

Ken má novou varnu, která se vaří 5.000 litru pro každou varku. To je víc piva , než mohou pít i za rok, ale pak jsem krtkem ...

Jsou nové velké spilky, kdy kvasinky proměňují mladinu do piva během několika dnů.

Po týdnu zrání pivo se naplní do sudů a pak je pryč do hospody.

Vic sudů s jejich peknými barvami.

Zatim, na zdraví a at' ten, který vaří, dobře žije. Ahoj.

Spring is here! Break out the beer!

2010-03-15T21:03:00.006Z

The day dawns over Dunsinane Hill and the River Tay on my cycle to the brewery the other day - the first day of sunlight on my trip to work since winter began!

And the snowdrops are out, although drooping with the cold frosty morn before the life-giving power of the sun has thawed them out.

More stuff from the force of the sun - malt from last season's harvest in the hopper heading up to the mill - the tiny red box in the upper centre of the picture - to make beer!

It's more than a new day dawning for us at Inveralmond, because we handed over the old building to its new owners on Saturday, completely empty and devoid of its recent brewing history, yet we are excited and a little light-headed with our future at the new brewery at 22 Inveralmond Place.

We have made 17 brews so far - that's 146,880 pints...yes, I did check my figures because I can hardly believe it myself, but the dawning of our new era is fabulous - much like the beer! Thanks to all of our customers and drinkers who have made it possible - mòran taing (many thanks).

Slàinte agus fàilte a h-Earrach (cheers and welcome Spring!)

Ken

Live Brewing Action!

2010-03-02T19:52:00.004Z

Managed to take a wee video of the XXX wort running into the brew kettle or copper, as we call it. So thrill to the joys of the first wort flowing into the copper!

Before the days of stainless steel, the brew kettle, where the wort is boiled (hence brew) with hops, used to be made of copper, as it was the only metal capable of boiling wort over a fire without imparting off-flavours.

Our brew kettle, being a modern device, is stainless steel and is heated with steam jackets, which is why the wort, upon hitting the heating jacket on the floor of the copper soon fills the space with anti-video steam!

Slàinte! Ken

In the Beginning was the Wort...

2010-03-01T20:08:00.011Z

I took some pics of the wort run from last week's XXX brew below. It's really nice to see such colours after lots of grey stainless steel in the blog pics.

Wort flowing from the mash tun through the Run Off Taps

The Grant filling up with the wort - showing red from the backlight

Such pretty colours making such tasty beer!

We've done 11 brews now on the new kit (that's 33 days work in the old place!), getting the hang of where everything is and thoroughly enjoying it, although because the building is so much bigger, we're walking so much more around, across, up and down stairs, under and over platforms and gantries that the pedometer has gone through 3 batteries already!

Moving House Part 2

2010-02-15T21:38:00.005Z

We're in at last! Cancel the milk at the old place, let the postie know and find the kettle...

A few snaps from the move to the new brewery on Friday last week - Fergus bringing in pallets of bottles, Grima with 12 tonnes of malt, the floor full of casks and malt, boxes and the fitting out of the office with the phone and computer connections.

Today the phone lines and broadband are all up and running and we've had our first day of complete operations - brewing, cleaning and filling casks, sales and wondering where we're going to put the yeast fridge.

Chuffed to bits with the whole thing and looking forward to finding the kettle.

Moving House Part 1

2010-02-08T20:36:00.011Z

Time out for a cuppa during the move. Which cup is the Head Brewer's? Mmm...
Pretty FVs all in a row!

Apologies to all for not being busy blogging recently, been kept busy in the planning and moving of all the brewery tanks and vessels from the existing brewery to our new site.

On Thursday last we even managed to move 2 fermenters : 30 barrel FV1 and 10 barrel FV5. Quite an exhausting and tense time for us as FV1 is quite a tall cylindro-conical vessel and had to be very carefully lowered down on to its side for loading on to the flatbed transporter. The lowering operation took 2 hours, whereas the drive 400 metres away took 4 minutes followed by 2 minutes of lifting upright and dropping into position! FV5 by comparison (the small black-clad tank on the right of the FV photo) is quite a short squat dish-bottomed tank which was simply forklifted upright onto the lorry....

This means we have now 160 barrels of fermentation capacity in the new site - which is the eqivalent of 46,080 pints. We still have to move two 20 bbl FVs yet, once we've moved the beer (Thrappledouser and Independence) out of them to the Conditioning Tanks before racking into casks. The CTs (as we call them) will be moved as soon as they are all emptied.

Whilst all this excitement goes on, we're putting the finishing touches to the new brewhouse, sorting out the electrics, cooling systems and giving the pumps and valves and pipework installations a thorough washing and cleaning to make sure everything is going just right before we finish up on the old brewhouse and make the break for the new one.

Tha sinn dochas gum bithidh a h-uile rud ceart gu leor agus gun toisichidh sinn san taigh-gruide againn ur a dh'aithghearr!

We hope that all will be well and that we'll start in our new brewery soon! Slàinte, Ken

Perth 800 Beer launched at Museum Extravaganza

2010-01-25T22:35:00.002Z

Had a very hectic few weeks after getting back to the brewery after New Year. Deep snow which had lain since before Xmas, having partly thawed out and refrozen, creating a ice sheet for everyone to venture upon, made life at the brewery (and everywhere else) difficult. Forklifting pallets of malt, bottles and casks twixt brewery loading bay and lorry will become, I am sure, a new Winter Olympic sport with extra points awarded to the driver with the quickest digging out of the ice technique!

Now the big freeze is (we hope) behind us, we've been up to our usual mischief and launched a new brew - Perth 800, a lovely deep amber 4% ale to celebrate Perth's 800th anniversary. The launch party was held at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery with a cavalcade of minstrels, mummers and marvels celebrating the 800 year old history of the Fair City of Perth calling forth the days of yore when the town received its Royal Burgh Charter from King William the Lion in 1210.

Ask your local pub to get a cask in - I'll be making sure mine does!

Cheers for now, Ken

2010 here already!

2010-01-10T18:23:00.004Z

Up on the Black Isle over Hogmanay with my pal Snowy about to toast the New Year. He's come prepared with a bottle of Ossian, sensible fellow that he is. He's been relishing the cold weather which has been keeping temperatures well below freezing for the past three weeks now, although it's been a bit of a struggle trying to get the brewery deliveries through. January's motto has become 'the beer must get through' as we can't let our drinkers down!

Here's to a good 2010 to you and yours!

Slàinte, Ken

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-24T11:25:00.005Z

The very best of the season's greetings to you all. We've been very busy at the brewery (above today in the ice and snow, -12c outside) making sure that all our customers get deliveries and brewing sufficient beer for the New Year.

I'll be raising a glass of Ossian to all followed by a wee minikeg of Lia Fail with dinner tonight at a pal's...

Here's to you all for the the coming year, or we say in Gaelic, Nollaig Chridheil 's Bliadhna Mhath Ùr!

Slàinte, Ken

Loch Katrine Odyssey

2009-12-14T20:26:00.016Z

It's been a while since we had warm sunny days as we approach mid-winter in Scotland, so I thought I'd share with you our search for a pint on a balmy late October Sunday.

Starting point was the Trossachs Pier, where the Lady Arlene and I boarded the SS Sir Walter Scott above with our bikes to sail to Stronaclachar at the western end of Loch Katrine. A beautiful and interesting boat trip on the old steamer over Loch Katrine with the added attraction of having a bottle of Ossian in the cafe on the forward deck.

Approaching Stronaclachar Pier, where there is really good cafe. This is where we alighted the vessel and set off on the bikes beside Loch Arklet for Inversnaid, which lies on the western side of Loch Lomond. Fab scenery but very, very steep hills down to the big loch.

The Lady Arlene enjoying a cuppa and a piece (Scots for sandwich) at Inversnaid Pier overlooking Loch Lomond and Ben Vorlich in the distance. Sitting in the sun - what pleasure!

Cycling back through Glen Arklet back towards Stronaclachar and another cuppa. Feeling very chipper having made it up the hill from Inversnaid without collapsing.

On the north side of Loch Katrine looking back towards Stronaclachar.

Just past the Strone Farmhouse with the Trossachs and Ben A'an in the distance. You might just make out the SS Sir Walter Scott as the white speck above right of the Lady Arlene's head.

After a lovely ride back along the north shore of the loch to Trossachs Pier, we headed into the Anchor's Rest above for a well deserved pint of Ossian before heading back to the brewery to check the fermentations and set the temperature and timer on the hot liquor tank on for Monday's brew of...yes, you guessed it,

Cheers! Ken

Mill Train in Position on Mezzanine

2009-12-06T16:38:00.005Z

Our Malt Hopper (the table structure in foreground) is now in place with the screw conveyor (the white tube) taking the malt up to the Mill on the mezzanine floor. The BIG BLUE VALVE is the gas main supply.

Upstairs the red Mill crushes the grain and the next bendy white tube conveyor takes it up to the top of the Grist Case with its 1 tonne capacity. When we mash in (mixing the grist with hot water in the mash tun) there is a third screw conveyor to take the grist from the grist case bottom to the Mash Mixer on top of the Mash Tun.
Most of the major construction work is complete in the new brewery but as I've said before, there is still plenty to do - steam boiler, lagging of pipework (all 2.7 kilometres of it!), refrigeration, electrics, motors and pump refurbishment, let alone bringing over the existing fermenters and conditioning tanks from the present brewery....

Our e-shop is now open for business!

2009-12-06T15:17:00.004Z

Great news all you beer lovers - the Inveralmond Brewery e-shop is now open for business and already taking mail orders without us telling anyone about it! Oh the wonders of the web!

We're still working on the shop site and the brewery web pages are going through a bit of a revamp, but you'll see a nice change over the next few weeks.

The shopping pages are very straightforward, so go and have a good look around. In fact I do believe that there is the perfect Xmas gift for everyone!

Happy shopping, Ken

Ossian sparkling at jewellery exhibition

2009-11-29T16:07:00.008Z

Ossian was featured to great acclaim at silver jeweller and Friend of Inveralmond Brewery Islay Spalding's Xmas Extravaganza in Dundee this weekend. Along with her really groovy Biomorphs and Kilt Pins, the star of the show was sparkling bright and spreading joy and cheer to all!

Thanks Islay!

Chì Mi 'n Geamhradh - I'll see the Winter

2009-11-22T20:25:00.022Z

Chì Mi 'n Geamhradh

I See The Winter - a great Gaelic folk tune, haunting and sorrowful about a life's love lost for ever, which was popularised by the rock band Runrig.

So winter is on its way and all the leaves are off the trees - my favourite ash tree behind the new brewery is devoid of its greenery unlike the following picture of the same spot taken in the height of summer.

Unlike for the lovelorn bard, there is hope, for the leaves will grow anew, the days will get longer after the winter solstice and spring will come and we shall brew in the new brewery...but in the meantime we can enjoy the winter with our Xmas beer Santa's Swallie!Hints of cinnamon and nutmeg in a lightly hopped malty ale - yum yum!

Cheers, Ken

The Inveralmond Electric Brewery

2009-11-22T15:48:00.005Z

A very proud and pleased Fergus stands beside our brand new 400 amp, 3 phase electric power supply. The meter/switching box contains its very own cellphone so that meter readings can be sent by SMS back to the electricity company. A very contemporary electricity meter that fits in very well with our new brewery equipment. And now we can put the lights on in the evening!

Hive of Activity

2009-11-19T06:27:00.005Z

Plenty of welding, cutting, brazing, dieing, crimping and buffing going on at the new brewery. Scaffolding and ladders, pipes and pipe-bridges, overstruts and understruts, flying buttresses and suspended supports...

Looking over the top of the mash tun and wort copper from above the office area. A whole mess of pipes: cold liquor, hot liquor, steam, hot wort, sparge, CIP, condensate, gas - and all in pretty colours too!

Can't wait to get going, but still a great deal to do yet - grist case and grist conveyor, copper chimney, boiler gas connection, boiler chimney, refrigeration system, heat exchanger, cold store, mash tun rake drive gear etc etc...

Men at Work on Big Fuse Box

2009-11-14T13:26:00.004Z

At long last after many months the new electricity substation for the new brewery has been installed. The electricity people have been digging up the road and laying new cables and are finishing off the connections.

What a modern substation looks like inside - more of a big switch and fuse box really.

The lads pondering where the really big wirecutters are.

Our yeast makes great bread, pies and buns as well as award-winning beer

2009-11-11T22:51:00.007Z

Swedish kanelbullar or cardamom and cinnamon whirls, straight out the oven. Perfect with a cup of coffee and a chat with friends - Fika as they say in Sweden.

My weekly loaf of Czech-style bread - 800g wholemeal wheat 200g wholemeal rye and a spoonful of aniseed. Dobrou chut'!

My 50/50 wheat/rye loaf - slow proving (rising) over a day and a night in my cold kitchen - a dense moist loaf and slightly sourdough-ish from the wild yeasts and lactics on the rye flour.

Apple and bramble pie with yeast pastry - lower fat than shortcrust but just as scrumptious.

Two apple and damson pies or pirogs - Russian-style yeast pastry turnover pies. They look a bit darker and shinier from the beaten eggwash glaze.

All of the above go really well with Ossian, although the sweet pastries and buns work well with the richness and maltiness of Lia Fail. Well here's to the joys of yeast - Slàinte!

Ken

Shipment of Inveralmond Beer off to Stockholm

2009-11-10T20:19:00.006Z

Hej!

We've just sent a shipment of our lovely ale off to Stockholm in Sweden to be on sale at Akkurat in Södermalm. It's an excellent pub/restaurant/music venue in a really lovely part of Stockholm and well worth a visit for its amazing choice of beer. The knäckebröd or local crispbread is fab too!

Hej Då och Skål!

Ken

Ossian in London

2009-11-07T15:06:00.004Z

Was down in London last weekend to go to the London Scottish Regiment's 150th Messines dinner, held to celebrate the Regiment's tradition, soldiers and fallen. There I was able to sup on the lovely Ossian which as ever was on fine form and it was great to see so many of the Jocks, as we call the serving soldiers, enjoying a pint or three.
The top table with the First World War Memorial behind.

I had a very good evening catching up with chums of old and even managed to catch the last train back to my digs at Richmond with an exciting change of train at Clapham Junction, which seemed to me to have hundreds of platforms - all looking exactly the same....

View from Upstairs

2009-11-03T12:59:00.005Z

Here's very proud Managing Director Fergus standing on the mezzanine floor above the offices with the new fermenters with their shiny copper refrigeration pipework and general fitting out work in progress behind.

A view of the FV gantry -transportation bubble wrap still on the vessels themselves. The gantry is to be extended to the left over the copper pipes to meet up with mezzanine floor and the ladder is to be replaced by a proper staircase, complete with landing and naughty step for recidivist brewers!

Our valve hoard! Now should the handles point to the left or the right...?
Ill let you know my decision next week.

Cheers,

Ken

Pipework in Progress

2009-10-25T16:08:00.004Z

At long last the gas folk have laid a lovely yellow gas pipe from the main over the road to our new brewery. The pipe leads into our shiny British Racing Green meter housing and finishes in a blanked-off end. Still waiting on the meter itself, but the tunnel for the gas pipe into the brewery building is to be dug out tomorrow.

Shiny copper pipes for the internal brewhouse water supply and tank refrigeration system which are being installed all around the walls at high level.

The new grist case awaiting some modifications to increase its capacity to 1 tonne of malt grist - basically an extra strip of stainless steel (316 for the technical) 300mm wide welded onto the sides.

I'll keep you posted with any updates in the new brewery, but certainly at the moment it's very exciting.

Cheerio for now, Ken

Baka baka liten kaka!

2009-09-30T21:53:00.012+01:00

Hej!

Had a wonderful time over in beautiful Stockholm, met some great people and drank some fabulous beer! The Beer & Whisky Festival was amazing - plenty of beer from all over Sweden and the World (including of course our own Ossian and Lia Fail in bottle). For the dram lover also loads of whisky too from Denmark, Sweden, North America and even Scotland as well.

Many thanks (Tak så mycket, Madde) to our importer Brewery International Sweden for the excellent hospitality and pub tour.

Tasted lovely Swedish beer from Jämtlands, Nynäshamn Steam Brewery, Nils Oscar from Nyköping near Skåvsta Airport, Gotland from that Baltic island and Åbro from Vimmerby a couple of hundred kms south of Stockholm.

Nice food too - really good rye bread, gravadlax (salmon marinated in dill), lingonberries, herring - fried or marinated - and cracking knäckebröd (crispbread). Found a farmers' market in Södermalm in Katarina Bangata (off Götgatan) where I could have bought bags of everything from cheese to crayfish.

One thing about Sweden I liked very much was fika - the institution of having a cup of coffee and a sweet bun in a cozy cafe over hours of chatting. My favourite was the cardamom flavoured cinnamon bun or kanelbulle.

I'm inspired to bake my own Swedish buns, which are made from yeast pastry - hence the title of this blog from the Swedish nursery rhyme - Bake, bake, little cake!

Njuta mat och dryck! Skål!

Enjoy your food and drink! Slàinte!

Stockholm Whisky & Beer Festival

2009-09-22T17:20:00.004+01:00

Hej!

Tomorrow the good lady and I are off to Stockholm for a few days. There is an abundance of design shops and galleries she wants to see but most exciting of all is the Whisky and Beer Festival.

Our Swedish distributor has a stand and we'll be helping out on the Saturday, so maybe we'll see some of you there.

Been watching Wallander on the TV and going through the Ingmar Bergman film collection to brush up on my Swedish - seen The Seventh Seal 6 times, only one more to go but my chess is still rubbish!

Hej Då och Skål!

Cheerio and Cheers!

Bryggeri Tur i Svenska

2009-09-20T20:51:00.017+01:00

Hej! Välkommen till Inveralmond Bryggeriet.

Jag talar inte mycket svenska men jag ska försöka att skriva det här bra för våra svenska vänner, som Lars och hans kompisar fran Helsingborg, som var i bryggeriet nyligen. Vi brygger öl i tre etapper: Mäskning, Vörtkökning och Jäsning.

Mäskning - Vi krossar färdiggrodda malt, som Fiona förbereder här

och blandar det med varmt vatten i Mäskning Tanken.
Stärkelsen omvandlass till socker och vörten, som vättkan kallas, får en söktaktig smak.

Vörten flöden från mäskning tanken till vörtkokare

Vörtkökning - För att få sötwörten besk, kokas den tillsammans med humlen i timme och en halv. Så ju mer humle, desto beskare öl. Utöver humle ger ölet doft - därför så mer humle, desto doftare öl.
Här i Inveralmond Bryggeriet vi tillsätter mycket humle Jäsning - Vörten gå in på Jästanken, när vi tillsätter vårt eget jäst. Tio liter av jäst i varje brygd. Här vi har överjäsning, som tar tre dagari i arton och en halv Celsius. När jäsning är klar, har jästen stigit upp till ytan av vörten och det ser ut som ett beige-brunt bomullstäcke. Smaken på skummet är strävt beskt , eftersom jästen skum innehåller många hop bittra föreningar. Överjäsning få öl med fruktig och blommig karaktär.

Jastank
Efterjäsningen sker sedan i kylt (6 grader Celsius) mognande tank - i vårt bryggeri bara två eller tre dagar tills ölet bedöms vara redo att gå in i tunnor, eftersom överjäsning öl är fort öl och behöver inte en lång mognad. Mognande Tankar

Då vi fyller enkelt fåtta med ölet och bort till puben.
Heja! Skål!

Ossian in its natural habitat

2009-09-16T21:27:00.008+01:00

Found a few pictures involving Ossian - one of my favourites. 'S e leann blasda a th'ann - it's tasty beer. This picture was from a barbeque on the Black Isle on a glorious summer's day.

Your local friendly neighbourhood brewmaster about to sample the fine Ossian in bottle complementing the olives and crisps on the table at a luncheon in the Sidlaw Hills.

Three happy drinkers from the Atholl Highlanders praising the speed at which the Ossian firkin was emptied at the Atholl Gathering 2009 - and hoping desperately that there was another cask in the tent.

A rooftop cask with a sensational pint awaiting the thirsty photographer at a housewarming in Perth a fortnight ago. The spire in the background belongs to St. Leonard-in-the-Fields Church. The firkin (of 72 pints) was empty after only an hour and a half!

It's a Foam Party!

2009-09-14T21:38:00.007+01:00

I thought I'd show you a few photos taken inside FV6 last week at the start of the fermentation of Ossian brew #2166. The above picture was taken 2 hours after the wort was all in the tank - you can see the yeast head staring to cover the surface of the wort.

1 hour later and the stiff peaks of the yeast foam start poking out.

Another hour gone by and the whole head of yeast is looking like the Cuillins.

3 hours after the first pictiure and the Cairngorms are about to climb out of the fermenter! Shut the lid quick!

Hash Bash

2009-08-30T17:31:00.009+01:00

This Saturday we had a group of 100 runners from the Hash House Harriers run to the brewery and enjoy some of our fine ales after their exertions. The pints above pulled by Graeme and George were just for starters!

The 'Down Downs' or Hash punishments for misdemeanors committed during the run. Running in step, singing ABBA songs or just wearing odd-coloured socks were typical crimes with the guilty party being ridiculed publicly by the Finesmaster - the big sergeant-major type above.

After the Hashers left, we carried on making sure that all the barrels were empty and were entertained by Andrew and Euan on the pipes which they only got this week. Well played boys!

Beer gone now. Ok, who's going to clean up the mess?

My trip home

2009-08-23T20:53:00.004+01:00

I'm lucky enough to be able to cycle to work every day. My journey home takes me from the brewery eastwards along the River Almond under the old A9 road bridge (above) then south alongside the River Tay. It's a lovely ride even in the rain and snow - plenty of wild life such as deer, rabbits, stoats and foxes. Birds of all sorts too - kingfishers, herons, buzzards, swans and wrens. This old bridge is a favourite haunt of Mr. Heron and I hear his other-wordly croak almost every day here.

The view west towards Scone Palace where the Lia Fail or the Stone of Destiny was kept at the Abbey for hundreds of years for the Kings of Scotland to be crowned upon. It was the inspiration for our scrumptious dark ale Lia Fail.

Dunsinane Hill in the distance, made famous by Shakespeare's Macbeth. That's barley growing below it. For beer of course.

Perth's Old Bridge seen from the North Inch, a lovely riverside park and sports field, where the Battle of the Clans took place in 1396. Only a few hundred metres ride home for me now, then a quick cup of tea and change out of my work clothes and off to Greyfriars for a pint of Friar's Tipple. Slainte!

New for Old

2009-08-16T20:20:00.007+01:00

Here's a photo of our existing Masher (mixer of the malt with hot water) on the left beside our new Masher from the new brewhouse. It gives an idea of how much larger the new brewery will be - instead of mashing in 300 kg of malt with 900 litres of hot water in 20 minutes, we'll be able to do 750 kg malt with 2250 litres in the same time. Wow!

New addition to the Brewery Fleet

2009-08-08T16:07:00.004+01:00

Our good friend, Paddy Buckley-Jones, let me take a snap of Fiona, our Heriot-Watt summer student, in his fabulous RS sportster. The pic doesn't show it but there is a polypin of Ossian and a polypin of Thrappledouser by the front seat. What a great dray!

Great British Beer Festival (2)

2009-08-06T22:46:00.009+01:00

Fergus, Dixie and I (R to L) outside the Jerusalem Tavern, Farringdon in London before heading off to the GBBF at Earl's Court. Top pub, tip top beer also. We'd started off at the Old Mitre in Hatton Garden for a pint at its Scottish Beer Fest but my camera batteries had run out so no pic there.

Independence and Lia Fail on the bar - I'll have a swift half please. By the way, do you know who brews these fine ales? Answers on a postcard please...

Chief of Sales Dixie and Managing Director Fergus trying not to look like kids in a candy store with all that beer about. And there was an awful lot of beer.

Czech interlude here - Adam Matuška and his girlfriend Karolina from the Matuška MicroBrewery in Czech Republic. Delicious wheat beer fresh from the kegs he'd driven over 2 days before. Na zdraví!

Ok...I think it's time to get the train home.

Great British Beer Festival

2009-08-03T20:03:00.007+01:00

On the late brew today, as Richard did the early first brew this morning. I mashed in at 1pm, cast the copper at 6pm, topping up FV5 with the 2nd brew of Ossian. Cleaning the wort line and paraflow at the moment, so have a few minutes to add to the blog.

Very excited today as Fergus and I are off to London for the Great British Beer Festival tonight on the night train at 23.21 from Perth Station platform 4. Not quite Hogwart's express but if there's any magic in the air we'll catch a few zeds before tomorrow's exhausting schedule.

First call is the London Scottish drill hall in Victoria (only London source of bottle Ossian) for a cuppa and shower, then off to the Old Mitre Tavern, Hatton Garden (a regular draught customer of ours), the Jerusalem Tavern in Farringdon for a bite to eat and a pint of St Peter's Ale, then off to the Beerfest at Earls' Court. Homeward bound on the night train from Euston at 21.15. Mashing in at 6am Wednesday, if train's on time....

Bohemian Rhapsody

2009-07-26T21:38:00.014+01:00

On a cycling holiday in South Bohemia recently I came across some fine beer. Here's me in the lovely town of Český Krumlov toasting its Eggenberg Brewery with its very nice pale lager.

Every brewer loves hops and what could be more fitting for a brewery than to have its own hop garden. This one is in front of the Zvikov Castle Brewery . The hops are the noble aromatic Saaz variety, which we use in our Independence Ale and Sunburst Pilsner. Great to see them in their native land!

They have a beautiful copper brewhouse with an amazing mural with the traditional Czech brewer's motto - Dej Bůh štěstí (May God give happiness). The brewery is also an inn with rooms above the brewhouse. Very comfy beds.

Brewmaster Michal Voldrich brews a wonderful selection of classic Czech beers, including this very special dark lager at a stunning 12% abv. He insisted on giving us a tasting finishing up with this glorious bottle-conditioned brew, called the Port amongst Beers, aged for 18 months and served in a chilled chalice. Perfect at 9 o'clock in the morning. Na zdraví or slàinte!

Welcome to Mash Tun Musings!

2009-07-19T22:32:00.009+01:00

Welcome to Mash Tun Musings aka the Brewer's blog! I hope you'll like what I have to say - mainly on the subject of beer, but I suspect malt and hops might creep in occasionally as well!

To get things started here's a potted history of our new brewery in full colour from March up to last Friday 17 July.

Steel framework complete with my Raleigh Banana bike to give the building scale.

Concrete floor down and office partitions going in.

Yippee! Big lorries and Hi-Ab cranes with new brewery kit.

Our three new fermenters still in bubble wrap! Wort Kettle and Mash Tun on right.

Top and tailing the Hot Liquor Tank.

A bit of elbow grease from John, Malc and Fiona.

We're still a few months away from the first brew in the new site as there's a good deal of engineering and commissioning work ahead of us, so in the meantime, enjoy your beer!

Slàinte,

Ken