A DRAUGHT FROM THE HIGHLANDS

Neil Caird brings us the story behind Beer, giving us a tour of Afters Brewing Company in Sao Bras

Afters is all about family; a Father, Son and Grandpa who started brewing as a hobby in a small village in the hills of Scotland 10 years ago. The feedback he got from friends and family gave him no choice but to start selling his beer and his hobby quickly became a growing business.

Neil spent some time working with a friend who had a brewery in Peebles called the Ale House Rock. Neil was considering early retirement when his friend offered the brewery up for sale. Neil loved the idea of having a brewery, but not in Scotland, Neil had spent years holidaying in the Algarve and decided that was where his future resided. He sent 4,000 bottles here to the Algarve to test the market and the feedback was very encouraging, so they started their pilot brewery in Vilamoura three years ago to put the theory to the test and based on the success of it, towards the end of last year Neil decided to take it to the next level by buying a 10 barrel system and settling in S.Bras. Now on to the beer, having produced beer in Scotland, they had a head start on balancing flavours and strengths and so they set on 5 core beers, each perfected through the years. “Bounce, “Havoc”, “Helix”, “Rogue” and “Ruby” and they all have unique stories behind them. Due to the mix of people here in the Algarve, they have worked hard to produce beers to suit the locals, the expats and the tourists

who each have different wants and needs when it comes to enjoying a nice cold beer. The final products can be found in bars throughout the Algarve, The Brewery is soon to be open to the public with a tap room for tours so you can sample the range of beers and learn how its made and a brew kitchen where you can design your own beer in 4 hours! This is the real experience for Beer enthusiasts, to taste the grains and choose your favourite aromatic hops, your choice of beer ranges from a dark stout to a light larger. As some of you may know, Hops give the beer its distinctive flavours, these can vary from pine to herbs and tropical or citrus fruits; there are hundreds of different hops to choose from to adjust profiles. You can also use different types of Yeast to make adjustments, the yeast consumes the sugar and produces CO2 (the bubbles) and of course, the alcohol.

Neil solely uses natural ingredients and even donates the used hops to local farmers to use to augment animal feed. The prices are also kept low to give as many people as possible the chance to try and enjoy other great beers.

If you are interested in getting some beer in stock or perhaps a tour of the brewery, please contact Neil at the following outlets: Email: info@afters.pt Facebook: Afters Brewing Co.