Happy New Beer!

As it turned out 2011 was a great year for great beer, but 2011 was so last year!

We're determind to make 2012 the new 2011 and to prove it we've bought a calender, some brewing shoes and cake (we have to eat too).

Whilst scrabbling around under cupboards, conditioning tanks and the occasional sheep looking for beer recipe books it suddenly dawned on us that we have a world class brewing team, may be they'd have some idea's? This is what Head Brewer Colin has cobbled together... 

1. Hops hops and just to make sure, some hops

Our first new brew of 2012 (Which should be mashed in by the end of the week) is an Imperial Pale Ale. The aim is for a 6.8 - 7.3% big beast of hop led yumminess. True to our roots this will be full of flavour but balanced and a bit too moreish for a beer of that strength.

2. Back to the beginning. Again.

Anyone who tried the original Export Scotch Ale should be pretty excited at the prospect of a second batch, which is this time being brewed on the big kit. The first run (which produced about 750 bottles despite the bottle numbering going up to 1400+) of this 7.9% gem was made in our old brewery with mains water.

The new brewery uses water from our borehole and gives the beers a whole new character and we're anticipating the effect on this already brilliant beer to be, well, brilliant. No doubt Colin will sneak in a tweak or two, and you can expect a whisky aged version. Don't be surprised if it ends up in red wine casks either.

3. Too Black, Too Stronge

Last year Colin brewed Black Stout, his first recipe for Black Isle. The beer was big, rich and suitably coloured. It was aged in organic Bruichladdich whisky casks and released for Christmas as Black Islay, a literal description and a word play on the reference to folk from the Black Isle. Well a new Black Stout "Too Black" will be on the agenda this year weighing in at tax man delighting 8.8% before it even gets a whiff of whisky. Whether this ends up in Rum casks too is merely a rumour we've just started and has absolutely zero foundation in fact. Yet.

4. Fields of Barley

The world doesn't have enough great Barley Wines, so we felt it was time to add to this small number. Expect a very big beer with a very high abv. The plan is to get it mashed in and through the brewing process early in the year, then lay it down for a while. This won't end up in whisky, wine, rum, baby food or anything else. Honest.

5. The Return of the Mad Chef

In June last year Tim Anderson, winner of the 2011 Masterchef competition, came to visit us and make a beer.

We let him loose on a recipe and the old brewery and he came up with a smoked weizenbock with chilli which we called Red Hot Chilli Bock. There is a good chance that the beer will be rebrewed on the new kit and given the Colin treatment. That however is immaterial as Tim is coming up to visit us again in May and he's already conconcted another brewer baffling idea which we shall launch at our Summer Shindig. Colin now has to make it work in practice...

Sometimes it makes sense to do things for marketing reasons or purely financial reasons but in this case it's because we had such a good laugh for three days the last time we wanted a good excuse to do it again. Tim also has a tendency to cook breakfast without being asked. We like that too.

6. To be or not to be that is a surprise

Despite last year being a great year for great beer one thing stood out like fox in a chicken coup and that was the UK government attack on microbrewers via the duty rise for high abv beers. However, you have to look for positives so Col is developing a recipe for a 2.7%er. We won't reveal the style, this one is a surprise!

7. To Berlin and beyond.

Jocktoberfest, our now annual beer, music and bratwurst festival will feature a very new beer from us. Last year we brewed a new wheat beer but this year the traditional German guns are coming out.

Colin did tell us what style it is but it's such an obscure sounding project we thought we'd leave it until nearer the time. It's a double pilsner with a twist, we think?

8. And if that wasn't enough...

We will also be collaborating with some other UK breweries we admire plus making a very special beer for our friends in Sweden, with some friends from Sweden.

We also have one other very different project which we will release on to the world in the next couple of months. Stay tuned.

Of course during all this fun we will be ensuring that we have plenty of the core range and that the quality is kept high and consistent. We have every intention of brewing all the beers in that list, but if they don't all make it to bar or bottle the reason is because we won't compromise what we do. 

If you have a great idea for a Black Isle beer, please keep it to yourself until next year. We have our work cut out already!

Happy New Beer folks, let's make 2012 the year of UK beer!