Black Isle Brewery

We like to treat all our beers with the same care and passion. Occasionally one comes out which we believe deserves to be treated a little differently. That was the case with the Black Run. Whilst this was an amazing beer in it’s own right Head Brewer, Colin Stronge, thought we could add something a little extra special. 250.5 litres of this 8.4% hoppy imperial stout were bottled in December 2012 with the remainder of the brew being given all winter to pick up flavours and mature in a range of casks borrowed from Tomatin. We have Sherry Butts that have had a single fill of Tomatin Whisky, Bourbon Casks that also had a single fill of Tomatin Whisky and triple fill Tomatin Whisky casks.
This aging has allowed each cask of this beer which is the strongest, blackest and hoppiest beer we have produced to date, to develop its own unique flavour:

Sherry butt – 4 months 8.4%abv
Starting with cedar wood and molasses in the aroma then leading to flavours of raisin, plum, liquorice, some smoke, coffee, oily green leaves and a slightly boozy finish.

Tomatin Whisky cask – 4 months 9.5%abv
A boozy nose with notes of eucalyptus & Demerara sugar. The flavours start with a little sherbet, oily green hops, leather, tobacco, oak and a lightly sweet finish.

Bourbon barrel – 4 months 9.7%abv
Aromas of vanilla, wood and red berry fruit. The flavours of vanilla, leather, oak and elderflower marry wonderfully. Finishes with a boozy and woody nose and full palate.

All three beers are available from our website

Here is a link to our friends at Tomatin.

We are currently looking to fill the position of – Brewer
The individual we are looking for is an upbeat, forward-thinking and talented individual who possesses the following skills to:
• Brew exceptional beer as dictated by standard operating procedures from malt handling to finished, packaged product.
• Complete necessary paperwork for all brewing activities including recording production and test data such as; processing steps, temperature readings, boil/rest times, batches processed and test results; maintains neat and accurate production logs.
• Perform designated QC and QA checks at various stages of brewing process.
• Perform basic testing with regard to recipe specifications, record changes in raw material specifications and adjust recipes to suit. Collects and examines product samples during production to test them for quality, colour, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity and specific gravity.
• Ability to follow set CIP and SIP protocols.
• Follow all safety and health regulations and notify Production Manager when issues arise.
• Control ingredient and material inventory, make requests for materials and forecast inventory.
• Perform daily maintenance and cleaning of brewhouse machinery and surroundings.
• Report any maintenance issues of machinery to Production Manager.
• Periodic weekend work, including monitoring fermentation and determining when to crash cool products at end fermentation, yeast collection and management, beer transfers, etc.
• Taste packaged product at intervals to ensure product consistency, stability and shelf life.
Specific skill sets and education:
• Minimum of 2 years brewing experience.
• BSc in Food Science Technology, Chemistry or Chemical Engineering; or BSc in Brewing and Distilling, Brewers Diploma/Certification preferred.
• Demonstrated knowledge and a passion for the craft brewing industry.
• Participates in festivals, promotions and company activities.
• Ability to organise projects and routine maintenance on brewery equipment.
• Commit to excellence in all areas of job performance, relationship building and customer service.
• Contribute to building a positive team environment.
• Exhibit support for the organisation’s goals, mission, vision, values, initiatives and cost control.
• Prioritize and plan work activities, demonstrating the use of efficient time management.
• Willing and able to learn/apply new skills and software applications; adaptable to change.
• Follow all safety and security guidelines to properly safeguard employees and organisation assets.

Please email c.v. and covering letter to info@blackislebrewery.com

In just under a week Black Isle Brewery will again be taking over the taps at the wonderful Nobles.  As well as bringing ourselves there will be beers you know, beers you don’t and twists on our usual beers.

On Keg:

Blonde

Goldeneye

Red Kite

Porter

Introducing:  Cask Aged Black Run

Cask:

Unfined and Extra Hopped Nobles Ale

Breakfast Beer

Last chance to try: Oak Aged Hibernator

From the very talented Nobles kitchen there will be a special menu with beer pairings for each dish.  Reservations can be made on 0131 629 7215.

If you have not heard of or tried the Black Run then this will be special.  Not only is it our strongest beer at 8.4% this imperial stout is also our hoppiest.  The un-aged version was released last December with a limited release of 501 bottles.  For the last three months the remainder of the brew has been aging slowly in wooden casks borrowed from Tomatin distillery.  It has been hibernating in single whisky fill sherry casks, single whisky fill bourbon casks and triple fill whisky casks.  For our take over at Nobles we will have a mixed version of the triple fill whisky and single fill bourbon.

As with all our events you will get to meet the hard working people behind the beer as well as having the chance to win some Black Isle goodies.

Food will be served and drinks will be poured from 5pm Wednesday 27^th March 2013 at Nobles Bar, 44a Constitution Street, Leith, Edinburgh.

We look forward to see you there.

 

 

 

For those who wish to reduce rather than rescind their alcohol intake for lent or purley for those who want to try a lower alcohol yet full bodied and full hopped we have the 2.8% Cold Turkey Breakfast Beer.

For the next 28 days this 2.8% beer will be available by mailorder from our website for just £2.08 a bottle.  Yes, we did let the percentage go to our head.

We think everyone can agree that good beer should have good flavour, aroma and body.  For those who wish to enjoy a pint or two without feeling guilty about drinking a stronger beer we at the Black Isle Brewery have developed a lower alcohol beer.  This may be a lower abv than the rest of of our beers but with a higher hop charge than most it does not compromise on quality or taste.

Just in time for 6 long weekends of rugby we have the Cold Turkey Breakfast Beer.  Using oats, barley and wheat in the brew it has all the malty taste of multigrain cereal, a refreshing grapefruit flavour coming through from the hops gives it a fruity character, and to finish it off the heavy roasted barley gives a subtle coffee edge to the overall taste to this all day breakfast in a pint.

It will be available in cask around Edinburgh from this weekend with bottles available in selected outlets and direct from our online shop from Friday 8th February.  The pubs about to vent their casks of Cold Turkey Breakfast Beer include:

The Waiting Room

Bow Bar

Cloisters

Holyrood 9a

Black Cat

Caley Sample Room

Jolly Judge

Mash Tun

If hanging around till Friday is not for you we are launching it at The Waiting Room, Belhaven Street, Morningside,Thursday 31st January, 7:30pm.

 

The month is almost over with many/ most resolutions forgotten.  We believe in continuing the year as we started.  Drink in hand.  To celebrate the end of January we are launching a brand new beer and having a Meet the Brewer event to give you all the chance to try it.  

Colin “Mr Brewer Man” Stronge and friends will be heading down to Edinburgh to the delights of The Waiting Room for a night of some very special aged beer and exciting new beer just days out of the conditioning tank.  We will of course have all the beers you would expect at a Black Isle Brewery event along with a chance to win some excellent prizes including tickets for the 2013 Black Isle Shindig in April.

Here’s all you need to know:

7:30pm, Thursday 31^st January 2013

The Waiting Room

7 Belhaven Terrace, Edinburgh,  EH10 5HZ

 

 

 

Lewis and Richard are just back from the most exciting and interesting food and drink events anywhere on Earth.  Slow Food did a brilliant job of getting together a staggering number of small scale farmers, producers and community projects in one place for over 20,000 visitors to see whats out there.  Along with all the stalls there were seminars and tastings.  This  included a beer and cheese pairing with Lewis as one of the speakers.

 

 

 

Over the course of five days the people of Italy and the rest of the world got to sample our full range of beers and a few special ones at the Salone del Gusto in Turin.  For most it was the first time they had tried our beers but it was also fantastic to speak to the Italians, Swedes, Finns and French who had already tasted it in there home country as well as a few who had actually toured the Brewery.

 

 

 

Our friends at Ales & Co. were running the British Bar at the event.  They were tearing through the Black Isle bottled and kegged beer at such a pace it was all gone long before the festival finished.  Here are the bar team enjoying a very well deserved, first taste, of the cask conditioned Porter.

 

 

 

A big thank you to Ales & Co for getting Italians drinking organic Scottish ale, Slow Food for organising the whole thing, Slow Food Edinburgh for helping us over there and to all friendly people who came to say hello.  

We hope to see you all at the next Salone in two years time.

Ales and Co.

Salone Del Gusto

Slow Food

Slow Food Edinburgh

From the Highlands of Scotland to down town Tokyo.  After a long voyage Black Isle Brewery beer is now in the shops and bars of Japan!!!

 

If the beer being in the country of Japan is not close enough you can get it delivered direct to your door through Liquorland.

For those who would rather drink their beer proudly in a bar here are your places to go: 

Tokyo 

Helmsdale 

Hazelburn

Highlander Inn

Osaka

Qbrick

The Dog House Inn

Kyoto

Ann Tigh Siennse

Nagoya

Kildalton

Hiroshima

Phi’s 

 

If you would rather have a cold bottle of Goldeneye waiting for you at home bottle shops include: 

Tokyo

Tanakaya

Osaka

Ueda

Kyoto

Asaosaketen

Nagoya

Marumata

Hiroshima

Liquorland

Come up to the Black Isle Brewery on the 8th of September for a day of live bands, locally produced quality food and unique beers from some of Scotland’s finest breweries.

On the beer front we will be brewing some very special beers which are:

Dunkel Wheat Beer

Black & Tan

5.8% Nelson & Motueka Hopped I.P.A.

Guest beers to be announced.

For the musical entertainment we have:

We See Lights

Hoodja

Easy Tigers

Miniature Dinosaurs

The Merrylees

Whisky River Band

The Galipaygos

Todd Cook

Esperi

Toby Michaels Rolling Damned

More bands to be confirmed with other shinanigans happening throughout the day.

Free camping is availbale on the farm and for those wishing to make a weekend of it live music starts in the bar on the Friday night, £5 entry on the door.

Advanced tickets £20 available here.

For more information see Jocktoberfest.

These little beauties have been born and raised on our own organic farm.

They feed on natural grass pastures supplemented by the draff (spent grains from the brewery mash tun) and complete the cycle whereby we; grow barley, make beer, feed the bi-products to our stock, they then fertilise the ground and keep the weeds down so that we can grow more barley!

We are selling the lambs whole or half. They come as legs, chops, shoulder, shanks etc. ready for the freezer.

Price £10/kg.

Available from Thursday 5th April.

There is only a limited amount available. We and our family and friends will all be tucking into it this Easter so contact us now on 01463 811871 to avoid disappointment.

(Purchases can be picked up from the brewery.)