Cromarty Brewing is a cracking wee brewery on the Black Isle on our east coast.
In the three and a half years since their launch, Cromarty have built up a brilliant core range of beers. From their Brewed Awakening coffee stout to the award-winning Red Rocker rye ale, you'll genuinely struggle to find a Cromarty beer you won't like. Their occasional black IPA, Black Hop Down is a must-try.
Though still considered a wee brewery, the Cromarty team have upped their production capacity from about 12,000 pints a week to just over 20,000, and export to countries such as Estonia, Italy, France and Australia. A new bottling line is on the cards, explained co-founder Jenni Middleton, as is an online shop. Should be ready just in time for Christmas.
Not bad for a family firm that wasn't much more than a dream just five years ago, when head brewer and co-founder Craig Middleton was doing stints at Colorado brewer Odell and Cairngorm Brewery in the Highlands – he was awarded a first from the renowned brewing and distilling course at Heriott-Watt.
Cromarty have also made a name for themselves for their one-off batches. As well as their five core beers they regular push out more challenging beers. Earlier this year they produced a Kiwi-flavoured wheat beer, and have just brought out Udder Madness, a 1.6% vanilla milk sour. This is more for sunny afternoons rather than early morning, so leave it off your cornflakes.
They've also recently released Finders Keepers (5%), a one-off saison brewed in collaboration with local landlord Jim Anderson, whose eponymous pub in Fortrose has itself achieved great acclaim for its whiskies, cask ales and diverse bottled beer selection.
Finders Keeper was made using local ingredients, sourced during a foraging trip by Jim in nearby woodland, and pours a hazy, straw coloured gold. The tangy aroma offers notes of cloves and forest fruits - the former suggesting the saison's Belgian influence. Flavours of tart white grapes, sweet berry flavours, some citrus and wild berry are also there, though they possess enough sourness to remind you of their wild origins. A light biscuit malt that will be familiar to lager drinkers helps round off this smooth beer.
FIVE OTHER GREAT CROMARTY BEERS
Burgundy Union (5%) oak-barrel fermented ale
Another special from Cromarty - pours a dark woody brown, like wet mahogany, and has a windy aroma that is fragrant and light; like a simple fruit bowl from your childhood. You really get the sense of the wood in the flavours though, with the fresh flavours fading fast and a dry sourness slipping in with an overlay of vanilla.
Rogue Wave extra pale ale (5.7%)
A lip-smacking pungent hop-heavy pale coloured beer that’s packed with citrus and tropical fruit flavours of grapefruit, mango, pear. Finishes, unsurprisingly, very bitterly, and leaves you with a need for more.
Brewed Awakening stout (4.7%)
Dark, rich and intriguing, Brewed Awakening is a stout that’s heavy on the coffee and roasted malts but also offers a fragrant citrus and earthy sweetness. Its dry and bitter finish is smooth and delicious.
Red Rocker rye ale (5%)
Took bronze in the recent Champion Beer of Scotland awards (losing out to Cairngorm’s Black Gold and Highland Brewing’s Scapa Special). This is a rich red-brown beer that kicks off with a subtle sweetness then leads you to a satisfying bitter finish, with flavours or tropical fruit, spices and resin along the way. Made with a variety of US and New Zealand hops.
Hit the Lip (3.8%)
Cromarty’s session ale is a bittersweet medley of peach, citrus and pine hop flavours. Made almost exclusively with New Zealand hops, there’s also a light biscuit malt backbone helping round off this easy-drinking summer beer.
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