[Postsed January 23, 2012] Sometimes my travels take me to an event that is not small brewery centric, yet I seem to have a 6th sense, encountering small breweries nearby. A half day side trip or a stop on the way to an airport to a small brewery usually makes my trip complete.
In May, I found myself in Scotland to attend the European Brewing Convention Conference in Glasgow. Before the event I journeyed to the area of Loch Fyne a couple of hours north and west of Glasgow. There I took the opportunity to visit friends and enjoy a few 60+ year old meads during a visit to their small castle. Unquestionably I dropped by the small microbrewery at the top of Loch Fyne. Two years ago I stopped by unannounced at now, the award winning Fyne Ales brewery. Both then and now I was pleasantly surprised by their hospitality and beer line up.
Situated on a small farm complex, Fyne Ale Brewery is at the very northern tip of Loch Fyne, recently expanding their production and sales area. What’s unique about Fyne Ales is their extensive use of American hops. They’ve been producing some creative brews Scotland could call its own. Not quite American in character, but obviously the use of several varieties brings life and creativity to several of their dark and light ales.
We enjoyed discussing the use of Simcoe, Columbus, Citra and other varieties of hops in their dry hopping of otherwise not excessively bitter dark ales. I had recently brewed a dark lager and dry hopped with a combination of aromatic American hops. They had brewed mildly bittered dark ale with dry hopping the same way. We were both convinced that the influence of dark roasted malts, even in small amounts, creates a pleasant and complex synergy with dry hopping. With pleasure we compared two identical dry hopped beers with one difference: the addition of roast malt to one of them. The dry hop characters were different in each, despite the use of identical late hopping.
The nearest town is Inverary and you can get pints and halves at The George as well as other location in the area. And absolutely if you are in the area a lunch or dinner at the Loch Fyne Oyster Barjust down the road on the west side of Loch Fyne is a must. Enjoy Fyne Ales stouts, porters and ales there too. Both the brewery and Loch Fyne Oysters are run by different members of the Delap family. Jamie Delap is the managing director of Fyne Ales and his mother tends the farm and animals and is was involved with founding the brewery and still keeps busy overseeing operations. There’s a tasting room and souvenir shop at the brewery. A can’t-miss experience. There are several other small breweries in the area destined for visits the next time I’m in the area.
Back in Glasgow for the European Brewing Convention conference I escaped for an evening to visit the WEST Brewery, Bar and Restaurant located in the Templeton Building in Glasgow Green. They boast that theirs is the only beer in the UK brewed according to the German Reinheitsgebot. They offered a house brewed Dunkel, Hefeweizen, Munich Red and St. Mungo Lager (Helles) – all quite spot-on. If you wanted a bit of diversity the bar also offered imports such as Anchor Liberty Ale and Steam Beer, Goose Island Ale, Belgian Kriek and Framboise, Duvel and Chimay, Budvar from the Czech Republic and a few other European brands of interest.
In June I participated in the annual National Security Seminars at the Army War Collegein Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There I was pleasantly surprised to meet many students and faculty who were beer lovers and/or homebrewers. A commemorative beer was brewed for the week long seminars. “U.S. Army War College Ale, The ‘Strategic Thinkers’ Brew, brewed and bottled by Appalachian Brewing Company.
After the Army War College “gig” I took the opportunity to visit the Appalachian Brewery in Harrisburg and both the existing Troegs Breweryand the one under construction in Hershey Park.
The Appalachian Brewerywas a lunch stop between the old Troeg and now the new Troegs brewery. Appalachian was also undergoing transformation, trying to maintain production to keep up with demand. At lunch there was a wide offering of beers, but I settled for a simple pale ale after tasting samplers of several other noteworthy brews.
At Troegs, Chris Trogner welcomed me at the brewery with a quick tour and tasty opportunities of of their award winning and excellent beers. Afterwhich we drove out to Hershey Park to visit their expansion; Actually Expansion is an understatement. Their new digs were under construction during my visit. The scale and size absolutely blew me away. I’ve never seen such a huge jump in size. There was no comparison between the then (June) existing and currently new facility. The new breweryis open. I want to check it out now that it’s open, but I’ll have to wait until I’m in the area.
Meanwhile I’ll have fond memories of the Troegenator, Hopback Dreamweaver and ohh was that Sunshine Pils fantastic on a hot summer day.
In midsummer I visited my parents who live in Sarasota so a visit to the brewpub seems to be an annual “gotta-do.” Good pub grub, good beer at what’s turned into a sports brewpub. A good option if you’re in the area. A few steps away is a local homebrew shop.
In December 2011 I visited the Cigar City Brewing Company. These guys were busting at the seams since my visit the year before. They were expanding into another warehouse facility nearby. Great ales and unusual fermentations both in and out of the wood. Taking its namesake, Cigar City, they even age some of their brews with Spanish cedar creating some very complex and well balance beers. In December an American Homebrewers Association Rally drew a packed brewhouse with area homebrewers attending enthusiastically. I also managed to stop by Florida’s oldest craft brewery, the Dunedin Brewery for a quick dinner in December. A small brewpub and packing facility staying close to its local roots and enjoying a local fan base with their excellent brews.
Next: Heading to Maine, Pikes Brewery in Seattle and the breweries of Boise, Idaho
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