BEER AND BEYOND
Q. An alien just landed on earth and conveniently right at the front door of the Vault City brewery – how are you explaining the taste of Iron Brew to them? Describing the taste of Iron Brew is no mean feat, a fact that’s well known in Scotland but perhaps not in outer space. There’s an almost subjective approach to gauging the flavours, so providing they came in peace, we’d recommend they try some for themselves to get a feel for the tangy (orangey?) bubble gum flavours that we’ve come to know and love as a nation. Q You guys are firmly at the forefront of the Sour Beer Movement in Scotland, why do you think the category has been so enthusiastically welcomed back by Scots drinkers? Scotland has a vibrant craft community, especially in our home city of Edinburgh, where things have potentially been accelerated through Heriot Watt’s Brewing & Distilling course. Sour beer in general was often considered to be the far end of the craft beer spectrum, and not typically known for accessibility. Our approach was to flip this on its head, creating accessible fruit froward sour beer using trusted flavours that could be enjoyed by craft beer fanatics and non-beer drinkers alike. This helped Vault City engage a wide audience and hopefully recruited new consumers to the category. Q. Sour Beer and food pairing isn’t the first thing people think of but give us your Vault City line-up (current or historic range) to enjoy with your Haggis Neeps and Tatties this Burns Night Pairing a fruit-forward sour beer with haggis is an interesting choice, as the tart and fruity flavours of the beer can contrast nicely with the rich, savoury taste of haggis. As an inherently Scottish flavour, Iron Brew is an obvious choice for Burn’s Night but there are plenty of other options to create tasty pairings. A sour beer with berry notes, such as raspberry or blackberry, can provide a bright contrast to the earthy, meaty flavours of haggis. The tartness of the berries can cut through the richness of the dish. A sour beer with a citrus twist, like lemon or grapefruit, can add a refreshing element to the meal. The citrus notes can lighten the perceived heaviness of the haggis and cleanse the palate between bites.
Q. Rabbie Burns was the first person to ever appear on a commemorative bottle of Coca-Cola. Who’s the first person you’re putting on a commemorative can of Vault City? I’m sure there would be much debate over this in the brewery, but in my opinion we’d have to use one of our first ever customers, or create a competition for our new brand ambassador. The love we see for Vault City is absolutely amazing so it would be cool to give something back! We did also do a collaboration release with comedian Ed Gamble last year, so perhaps a can with his face on it would be overdue for a future collab! Q. What can we expect in 2024 from Vault City? 2023 has been an exciting year for us at Vault City and we want to carry as much of that momentum into the new year as possible. We're implementing a transition to a 7-day production schedule meaning we’ll be growing our team and making a lot more beer. We can then expand on our 6 rotational releases per month, with more collaborations, trade, and export growth. It’ll allow our production team to continue working on new R&D projects for alcohol free and gluten free releases.
Kegs and cans from the full limited edition range are available to pre-order but once it’s gone - it’s gone! Contact your Dunns rep or Telesales representative to secure your allocation.
Q. BRODGAR IS CENTERED AROUND AN INGREDIENT THAT’S VERY SPECIAL TO THE ORCADIAN PEOPLE - CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT BERE IS AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE ISLAND? A. BERE IS AN ANCIENT FORM OF BARLEY, WITH A UNIQUE APPEARANCE AND TASTE, GROWN SINCE VIKING TIMES AND PERHAPS EVEN EARLIER ON ORKNEY. A HARDY CROP WHICH IS RESILIENT TO THE OCCASIONALLY CHALLENGING ORKNEY CLIMATE. HISTORICALLY. ITS AGAIN PROVING POPULAR AS A SPECIALITY INGREDIENT, IN BISCUITS, GIN, WHISKY AND BEER. FOR BREWING IT OFFER AN INTENSE FRUITY MALTINESS WHICH IS UNIQUE AND HIGHLY DISTINCTIVE. Q. WHAT MAKES DARK ISLAND THE PERFECT BURNS NIGHT BEER? A. ORKNEY DARK ISLAND, OUR MOST RENOWNED BEER, IS A SCOTTISH DARK ALE BREWED WITH CRYSTAL AND CHOCOLATE MALT WHICH OFFERS RIPE, FRUITY AND ROAST COFFEE AROMAS AND FLAVOURS OF DARK CHOCOLATE, DATES AND NUTS. IT’S A PERFECTING PAIRING WITH HAGGIS BY TAMING ITS SPICY DRYNESS WITHOUT OVERPOWERING THE BEAST. OF COURSE BEER IS THE AUTHENTIC “PINT-STOUP” FOR SUCH A NIGHT AND IF OUR FRIEND WHISKY COMES TO THE TABLE, THEN DARK ISLAND’S SUBTLE DARKER MALT NOTES HAVE THE IDEAL HARMONY TO CREATE THE “HAWF N’ HAWF”.
Q. IF YOU HAVE TO PICK ANYWHERE ON THE ISLAND AS THE PERFECT SPOT TO CRACK OPEN ONE OF YOUR BEERS – WHAT’S THE BEER AND WHERE ARE YOU DRINKING IT? A. WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE MANY INSPIRING PLACES TO ENJOY OUR INSPIRED BEER ON THE ORKNEY ISLANDS. OUR MD LIKES TO WALK DOWN TO SKAILL BAY, SIT ON THE BOULDERS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BEACH WHICH OVER LOOKS SKARA BRAE, IT WOULD BE A DAY TIME AND THEN SUITABLY ENJOY AN ISLAND LIFE, SESSION IPA. FURTHER DOWN THE COAST ARE THE IMPRESSIVE CLIFFS OF YESNABY, WHICH WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR CLIFF EDGE IPA. FINALLY AS THE AIR COOLS AND THE SUN BEGINS TO SET, THEN SOMETHING MORE SUBSTANTIAL TO SAVOR WOULD BE OUR DELICIOUS DARK ISLAND, WHILST LOOKING ACROSS THE RING OF BRODGAR TO THE FALLING SUN AND FADING LIGHT.
Impact Full, Alcohol Free.
Our new smooth, alcohol-free pale ale with tropical notes and a mellow body, making for a clean and crushable brew.
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