Stewart Brewing

Stewart’s Hollyrood is now officially the World’s Best Blonde/Golden Pale Ale!

 After being told last month that the Hollyrood had won the European title we found out today that it beat of some stiff competition to be crowned overall winner in it’s category.  Here is what the judges had to say…

 “Hazy golden in colour…Bready aroma…Brisk citrusy hops (earthy, herbal, tart) on top of sweet caramel…Light malt body with hops predominating…Juicy oranges lead in the taste, which is mostly sweet but with a little countering bitterness…Light, bready texture and some spicy warmth…Bittersweet, bright with lots of fruit; pineapple, mango, grapefruit and orange characters…Oranges linger the drying finish…Sweetness slowly fades and then a little bitterness kicks in…Highly quaffable.”

Hopefully this is the first of many awards for the bottled range. Production is being ramped up to cope with demand and there is another beer in the Premium range waiting in the wings for an October release.

Stewart’s Pilsen is now available to purchase from the brewery shop and will be coming to an outlet near you very soon over the next few weeks. We are extremely pleased with the beer and our first foray into the world of lager. It’s taken three months but it’s well worth the wait.

Pilsen Stats

IBU = 34

EBC = 5

ABV = 5.6%

PG = 7

Malts

Nothing but pure lager malt.

Hops

Lashings of Saaz in three additions which gives it a full, smooth bitterness with plenty of hop flavour and aroma.

Tasting Notes

Light in colour, this is a full bodied Pilsner with a beautiful hop crispness. A perfect summer beer.

The Pilsen can be purchased in person from our brewery shop and is priced at £2 per bottle. We have 200 cases available and if it continues at the rate it’s going it will be gone before the summer is out.

*****NEW BEERS IN THE PIPELINE*****

The good folks at Charles Faram have managed to sort us out with some rare New Zealand hops so those of you who fancy a pint of something new in August should keep a look out for our Edinburgh Festival beer.

Iain’s maiden brew Stewart’s 6 will be available on cask at the beginning of September to celebrate our 6th Birthday. Having tasted the trials, I can tell you it’s shaping up to be a very tasty one.

And finally, I’m setting my sites on brewing a Belgian style ale to continue our range of premium bottles.

That’s right the Brewery Blog is now available to read on the Stewart Brewing Facebook for everyone that’s signed up to the fanpage.

For those of you that love the Hollyrood in bottles we are pleased to announce that we will be running it as a special for the whole of July and possibly the end of June. It’s pale, it’s crammed full of Amarillo hops and we think it’s going to make a great summer session ale. 

We tasted the Pilsner in the brewery again last week and it’s coming along nicely in the conditioning tank. It’s got a massive Saaz aroma and a clean, strong bitterness to it. I reckon this stuff could well be flying out the door when it gets bottled at the end of June. 

Those of you who attended our Birthday celebrations last year will remember that we brewed Stewarts 5 especially for the occasion and as we approach September and our 6th Birthday, trials for Stewarts 6 are already underway. This year it’s Iain’s turn to step up to the recipe plate and you can see a pic of him brewing the first trial below. 

This weekend the Beer Trailer got it’s second outing of the year at the Taste of Edinburgh Festival. The Trailer has the capacity to hold almost 3000 pints. If you have an event that you think we could take it to please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. It will be down at the Rat Race in July and Foodies in August for anyone attending those events and fancying a cold, fresh pint of ale. 

Next on the trial front for me is a special brew for the Edinburgh Festival.  New Zealand hops are on the shopping list…

After almost 3 months spent fermenting and conditioning in the brewery we are pleased to announce that our Dopplebock is ready. It really is amazing how much this beer has changed in flavour and aroma since being brewed way back in February. This is our first foray into this particular beer style and we would go as far as saying this beer is holding it’s own against it’s European counterparts. Those of you looking for a big beer that will challenge your taste buds should look no further.

Dopplebock Stats

IBU = 32

EBC = 63

ABV = 7%

PG = 18

Malts

A blend of the finest Munich Malt, Crystal, Chocolate and Wheat.

Hops

A mixture of Saaz and Tettnang hops give this beer a very smooth and gentle bitterness.

Tasting Notes

A strong dark beast of a beer with a pleasant sweetness and slight chocolaty aroma. This is a beer to be savoured like a good wine.

The Dopplebock can be purchased in person from our brewery shop and is priced at £2.85 per bottle or £15 for a 6 pack. It will also be available from some of your favourite bottle outlets and restaurants so keep your eyes peeled. It’s a limited run of 190 cases so make sure you get some before it runs out.

*****PILSNER UPDATE*****

The second beer in our premium bottle range has been conditioning for almost a month now. It’s going to be a fantastic summer beer with a little bit of a kick!

These are busy times at the brewery. So thought I’d give you a quick update on what we are up to.

The Forth Mist was released at the start of April and is proving to be every bit as popular as it was last year, it’s a 3.9% wheat beer made with coriander and some very mellow German hops it’s only available in cask so pester your local publican to order some in. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Well you might be disappointed at the end of April when it’s all run out.

The Stewart’s Dopplebock is reaching the end of it’s two month conditioning and is due to be bottled at the end of April. I will post some tasting notes next month but one thing’s for sure it’s 7%, malty, with a pleasant sweetness. The sort of beer to be slowly savoured rather than poured down the neck. All things going well it will available to buy from the brewery at the beginning of May in 330ml bottles.

Also fermenting as I speak is the first Stewart’s Pilsner. To celebrate our 1000 brew this is going to be a cracker. Brewed purely using Lager Malt, Lager Yeast and Saaz Hops this will be a Pilsner through and through. Like all good lagers though it’s going to need a couple of months to condition, so it will be out to quench your thirst in the summer months.

And as if that’s not enough to wet your appetite we are also about to brew our first batch of Light Edinburgh Draft or LED as it will be known. At 3.5% it will be the ultimate session beer but with all the flavour you would expect from something stronger. Keep your eyes peeled for the special pump clips coming to a pub near you very soon as it’s going to be released in May on cask only.

Oli

Our SRA was launched last weekend and went down a treat in the pubs. You can see the staff from the Stockbridge Tap in Edinburgh enjoying the very first cask on their brewery tour last Friday. It’s just a shame Scotland didn’t come through with a result on Sunday.

SRA PROFILE, APPERANCE AND TASTING NOTES

Modelled on a traditional English bitter the SRA is deep golden in colour, with a fresh hoppy aroma and a lovely bitter finish. This will make a great session ale for those of you who like their beers light, quenching and sessionable.  Have a look at the pic below.

IBU = 30

EBC = 16

ABV = 4%

Malts

A blend of Marris Otter, Crystal and Wheat

Hops

A mixture of traditional English hops for bittering and American/Slovenian for aroma

Stewart’s Rugby Ale will be available all over Scotland throughout the Six Nations Tournament.

The Bock Beer Update

The as yet unnamed bock beer has been brewed and what a beast it was too. It’s the biggest mash we have ever done and the strongest beer we have ever made. Once the fermentation is over we are going to transfer it into some demountable tanks and let it condition for the rest of the winter. I’ll try and get some pics of the process and get them up on here as soon as possible.

Hi my name is Oli, Head Brewer at Stewart Brewing. As this is my first blog and the first of the year I thought I would give you a run down on what you can expect from us beer wise in the first half of 2010.

January

As well as keeping the cask ale and new bottled range flying out the door, we have been slaving away developing two brand new beers. A 4% classic hoppy bitter to get your mouths watering for the Six Nations

and something we have never tried before. A traditional Bock beer. This is getting brewed next Thursday and will be left to condition for a few months before we release it hopefullly at the beginning of April.

April – The return on cask of the much loved Forth Mist and the introduction of our Bock beer in bottles.

May – Stewart’s 5 for those who like their grapefruit.

June – We are looking to release our first lager in bottles.

July – Hollyrood our current best seller in the bottle range, makes the jump to cask for one month only.

August - A special beer is in the pipeline for the Festival.

So as you can see we have plenty planned to keep us busy over the nest few months. Sign up to the blog tell your friends and I welcome your comments and suggestions. I’ll be back when I have some pictures of the Bock and some tasting notes for the Rugby Beer.

Oli