Fierce Beer have the right attitude

Fierce Beers' new range of beers.

There’ve been wave after wave of new breweries opening over the past five or so years. Established newcomers such as Fallen, Tempest, Alechemy, Black Metal Brewery and Top Out and a good few others don’t seem like the babes on the block anymore. Not by a long shot. 

And in their wake another wave. This past year we’ve done well. Up Front Brewing, Dead End Brew, Camper Van all making a mark in the past 12 months or so. Most of these have been fairly lo-fi breweries, taking the leap from homebrewer to professional, or a professional brewer going their own way in the case of Up Front, and most cases using word of mouth to push their popularity rather than a PR budget. 

And there’s Fierce Beer, a bold brewing outfit from Dyce, near Aberdeen, who officially began life last year but who have clearly been impressing the right people for longer because they’ve just upped their game substantially with new premises and new brewkit, and have just recently released ten beers. 

Ten. All with nicely made up labels with Photoshop montages and jaggedy, edgy writing. And they’ve also had the budget to hire a PR, who in her, err, wisdom saw fit to send me some beers in the hope I’d write about them. 

And so here we are. 

First off, I was skeptical. Fierce is one of those words that Tyra Banks owned on America’s Next Top Model. (That clip is bonkers by the way.) 

Or maybe it was the logo. An angry looking hop that made me think of wee Banksy stencilling an radge strawberry onto a wall somewhere. Or maybe an alien silhouette with a beard, and a jaggy beret. Or Shaggy meets Paul from the film Paul. Anyhow it’s stuck in my head and done its job. So well done Fierce, a striking bit of branding there. 

Fierce also colour-code the angry hop-berry to help you know what you’re drinking. Green for porter, purple for IPA, blue for pale. Red is fruit beers, obviously. I think that’s right ... Maybe check the site first.

And then there were the names. Ginja Ninja is neat, though it’s a spicy beast not a ginger beast which is what I was looking for. Eskimo Joe is a cool coffee and vanilla pale. Works. Day Shift, a lovely, big hopped pale. Granadilla Guerilla is big fruit basket IPA of beautiful passion fruit flavours. I loved it. Juicy, packed, heavy bodied and solid. 

And then there was Dirty Sanchez. Maybe that phrase means something to you. Maybe it doesn’t. But for god’s sake don’t look it up on Urban Dictionary at work. A touch of chilli gives you a wee burn at the back of the throat. The beer. I’m talking about the beer here. 

A few others also had that chilli thing going on too. Fuego Feroz chief among them. I wasn’t mad on it, but a couple of my pals liked it a lot. Certainly different, and, err, fiery. Which is kinda fierce. Check the Tyra clip if you still need persuaded. 

Peanut Riot (great), Cranachan Killer (ok), clues in the name both helped position the brand character and gave you a hint of what you were about to be consuming. 

I’m assuming that WAS NOT the case with Sanchez. 

For me, the Cafe Racer porter was standout. Solid, thick, rich, it was like eating a rich chocolate pudding at your granny’s after she’s just been polishing the furniture and has made herself a cup of coffee (and she likes it black). 

So as an opening salvo from this souped-up brewery, I can’t wait to see what Fierce Beer will bring out next. And if you’ve not yet tried their beers do try them out, they make some cracking, interesting beers.  

Beer Review: Chew Chew by Fallen Brewing

Chew Chew by Fallen Brewing

Fallen Brewing have been around for a few years now, brewing some outstandingly awesome beers from their brewery in pretty Stirlingshire village of Kippen.

Fallen might be a wee brewery in a wee village but owner Paul Fallen has some big ideas backed up by some brilliant beers. Whether it's an easy-going lager or a challenging hop-heavy IPA, their four original beers and five specials can be enjoyed by a broad range of beer drinkers. The accessible and easy to drink, yet also complex enough for the connoisseur. Quite a feat.

Fallen began life in 2012, though the idea for the brewery had seeded a few years before when founder Paul Fallen was given a homebrew kit (a Woodforde's Wherry bitter) by his wife. At the time Paul worked for an Oxford-based genetics company, but after several years making beer at home he decided to use his scientific background to help him turn his hobby into a business.

Fallen spent the first couple of years contract brewing (when a larger brewery makes your beer to your recipe), tinkering recipes, and building up their reputation and distribution. Last year, they finally opened up their own brewery in a converted station shed in Kippen, bumping up their output from about 1400 pints a week to more than 6000. Not only did this give Paul complete control over what went into the bottles, it also allowed him to perfect their look: the labels, for example, show the skyline visible from the brewery looking north to Ben Ledi, Stuc A' Chroin and Ben Vorlich.

The beers themselves tend towards American and New Zealand hops and big but accessible flavours. As Paul says: "Anyone should be able to come to my bar and order something they're going to enjoy."

From a one-man operation, Fallen now employ a team of five locals, and have grown their offering of just four beers and added another five core, what Paul now calls the Station Specials, among them Chew Chew (6%), a salted caramel milk stout.

The aroma on Chew Chew is sweet chocolate and thick, rich syrupy malts. Like Shreddies with heaps of treacle poured on top. It's a dark, dark beer, as black as any beer you'll see for a while, with a thick, creamy head the colour of light sand.

But this beast has a big beautiful personality. Its texture is smooth and velvet, though there's a wee rush of life at the start as you move off on this beer trip.

Chew Chew eases in at first, then in flow flavours of liquorice, vanilla, sea salt and juicy blackcurrant. The sweet caramel malts provide a strong and smooth balance with hints of fudge and lactose adding to the beer's solid character.

Then, without really noticing, you're enjoying a gentle dose of bittering in the back of the mouth before the beer moves towards a smooth, clean finale that leaves a mildly bitter and salty aftertaste in its wake.

Five other Fallen beers to get your chops on
Dragonfly amber ale (4.6%)Beautifully balanced amber ale, with sweet citrus and pine hops resting gently against a rich caramel malt backbone. Great with everything.

Blackhouse porter (5%)The big peaty smoke and roasted flavours with touches of coffee and chocolate and fruity hops make this dark beer a firm favourite. Don't waste it on its own. Enjoy with a glass of Talisker.

Odyssey blonde (4.1%)This refreshing lagerish beer has had its hop levels upped over the years, but it remains an easy-drinking, accessible beer - a good gateway beer for potential converts. It's got a fruity aroma, with fresh citrus flavours and a crisp, dry finish.

Just The Ticket pale ale (4%)One of the new releases from Fallen, Just The Ticket is a refreshing pale ale brewed with US and New Zealand hops. Crisp and zesty with plenty of tropical and citrus flavours and aromas coming through.

Platform C IPA (6.3%)A strong and bold IPA with pungent new world hops and an easy-going juicy base. Bursting with flavour: pine, resin, citrus and toffee.

Beer is the news

Full Malted Jacket. It's heavy, man. 

Proving that news flows faster downhill than up, The Guardian finally got round to reporting on BrewDog's continuing global domination ... about a month since Everybody and their Mum first reported James Watt and Matin Dickie's plans to bring their BrewDog chain to foreign shores, including Stockholm, Sao Paolo, Brussels and Tokyo.

To be fair to The Guardian, this story was only the hook on which to peg a larger piece about the Craft Beer Rising event in London (which attracted 1000 beer-buyers and 2000 hip London beer-drinkers and judging by the Twitter chatter was AWESOME!!! and A1!!!) and also threw in some pretty interesting beer business facts, such as:

• Sales of real ale have been boosted, rising for the first time in 20 years in 2011, with 1.6% more drunk than the year before. Last year sales are thought to have levelled out but real ale continues to outperform the wider beer market which has been hit by the economic downturn.
• Pubs may be closing at the rate of 18 a week but there are more than 1,000 microbreweries in Britain, according to Camra, with more than 160 opening last year.
• A new breed of pub catering for trendy young beer fans is springing up, such as the Craft Beer Company, which now has four bars, and the Euston Tap in London.
• Canada-based brewing giant Molson Coors UK has said that the craft beer market grew 13% year-on-year in the UK in 2012, and doubled in Ireland.
• Europe is following a trend in the US where craft beer sales nearly doubled between 2007 and 2012 to $12bn, according to market research firm Mintel. Over there the beers are most popular with 25 to 34-year olds, raising hopes that the trend will foster a younger generation of pint fans.

Nice.

Then there was the piece about Lothian brewer Knops Beer Company's expansion plans. Interesting to note that Robert Knops's beer is brewed at Traditional Scottish Ales in Stirling, along with a number of other microbrewers, including Fallen. Knops's expansion will allow him to brew his own beer on his own site under his own watchful eye, giving him full control over the whole process. It also means he doesn't have to hand over any of his precious recipes to strangers.

Lastly, American bevvy merchants Beachwood BBQ have launched their Full Malted Jacket ale.  Hundred-yard death stare aside, they badge this up as a Scottish-style "wee heavy". It's a mere 9.7%, which, by the way, is the amount of Scottish DNA in the US population. I kid you not. Available in Southern California, if you're ever passing...

This secret will change your life

Fairy magic by the Black Cuillins. Image: Damian Shields.

I want to share a secret with you. Before you read on you need to make sure no one's reading over your shoulder. This one's for you and you only. Keep on the lookout for prying eyes.

Dragonfly Daydream

Dragonfly by Fallen Brewing Co.

Wow.

I've just a had bottle of Dragonfly by Fallen Brewing Company.

It was superb. You know what, I kinda knew it would be.

It came from Kippen, a lovely wee village overlooked by the Fintry Hills near Stirling. Just say the name. Kippen. Sounds magical. Imagine you were from there. Kippen. Imagine telling folk you were from there. Your first date. Job interview. Police. Kippen.

Now think of a dragonfly. You're outside on a hot day. Imagine a light wind, some clouds up there. Cirrus and cumulous, drifting lazily, high and far away. You're by a wee stream, sunlight scattering on the water; oaks and beech and elm resting haphazard along its banks. Roots reaching into the river; above, the canopy casting shadows across the water - that's where the brownies are. You can see them rise now and again. But you're sitting on grass by the water's edge, your socks and shoes off, jeans rolled up, the water dripping off your toes hanging inches about the surface.

The breeze carries with it a sweetness from flowers unseen but nearby, a fragrance of pine and tablet. Maybe a hint of citrus. You've a couple of beers cooling in the water, stacked in a safe spot by the dam you built with rocks. You're about to go and reach for one of the bottles when you spot it darting over the water. Its bright Irn-Bru blue capturing the light so it appears almost neon, fluorescent. It's the length of your pinky. You watch it, entranced. Beer forgotten. You watch it, eyes focused, as it darts back and forth, here and there, in and out of shade. A fish rises. A bird calls. Then it's one last dash from the dragonfly and it's lost among those ancient trees. You reach for your beer. Open the bottle. A Dragonfly, and it's as beautiful as the day itself.

Kill List

Last post I mentioned a couple of daft decisions I'd made recently. Starting a blog about beer and then pledging to not drink for 31 ever-lengthening days is probably one of the daftest decisions I've ever made. I may have mentioned how fun it's been.

But it means I've had time to think about what beers I want to try, and about what I want to do with this site. I've put together a Kill List of beers I'm going to try on or after February 1st.

Top of the Twistedmouth Kill List is Skull Splitter by Orkney Brewery. On the back it says:

Skull Splitter is our strongest ale: which is named after Thorfinn Einarsson who was the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney. Sophisticated, satiny smooth with a deceptively light character, it is a tribute to our colourful forbear. On the nose, this strong beer has a fruity malt character, with hints of dark fruit, spicy hop, dates and figs. On the palate, rich and complex with sweet toasted malt, molasses, fresh and dried fruit and hints of warming spices.

Molasses and figs. That's beautifully over the top for a beer that's 8.5% and is surely going to make my eyes water and leave me with some sort of UTI. I'm half thinking about getting a can of Tennent's Supey and some paint-stripper and doing a wee Pepsi challenge or something ...

Next is a strong stout by Tempest, a Morello Cresta 4 grain stout. I bought this purely for the lo-fi, hand-printed label. I love that. It's 7.0%. A session ale for Borders folk then.

What else?

Well, I got me a Cromarty Brewed Awakening, recommended by my new beer chum Magnus, who has his own beer blog (far, far superior to this one). He also suggested Cromarty's Red Rock and Tempest's Cresta Black and Red Eye Flight, but I didn't see them in my last visit to Hippo Beers. Ho hum, next time.

And just before you start thinking I can't think for myself, I've also included West's St Mungo's lager cause it's my local brewery. And a Dragonfly amber ale from Fallen Brewing Co, cause it's from near where I grew up and not because it has a nice label and a dragon in the title, oh no.

Now, a wee clarification: as well as dumbass decisions, my last post may have falsely given the impression that this January has just been a series of loathsome days that have been relentlessly tiresome, each one more miserable than the last, apart from two auspicious days. This is not true; a couple of other great things have happened.

My wife and I learnt how to play Netrunner. And Utopia happened.

Happy (late) Burns Day.