Pub Tour of Edinburgh: Discounts

Hail!

As the posters around Edinburgh, on the facebook event page and on this very site may have alerted you, there will a special offers afforded to us by several pubs on the route.

Those of you joining us on this journey into ale will be issued with Ale to the Kingcards that will prove to staff at participating pubs that you are entitled to these discounts.

I’ll print off enough for all who have signed up as definitely coming, so you won’t have to be sharing around.

Follow Ale to the King on twitter or share your beer experiences with us on untappd.

Join us for our first ever event in Edinburgh here.

Ale to the King: A Live Pub Guide to Edinburgh

Date: 04/06/12
Time: 11AM
Place: Teuchter’s Landing, 1C Dock Place, Leith, Edinburgh

“Quaintest thoughts, queerest fancies come to life and fade away. What care I how time advances; I am drinking ale today.” – Edgar Allan Poe

Ale to the King in association with CamRGB are staging a royal coup.

This bank holiday may be in honour of one particular woman, but there’s a better reason to celebrate these extra free days. So ready yourselves ale lovers! Join Ale to the King on the 4th of June for a leisurely afternoon of quaffing only the finest real ale in Edinburgh’s most welcoming drinking establishments.

Join us for an afternoon (and, let’s face it, evening) voyaging to some of Ale to the King’s top ten best real ale pubs Edinburgh has to offer. Meet fellow ale lovers, talk ale and try something new – with discounts and special offers along the way.

Have a hearty breakfast then get yourself down to Teuchter’s Landing at the Shore for an 11am kick off. Wear comfy beer boots, because we’ll be taking in lots of the city and remember to bring a mere £1.40 for a bus ride we have planned.
Cider/whisky/gin/whateverthehellyouwanttodrink lovers also welcome, but we think you really should give ale a try – because it’s great.

Just sign-up at the official Facebook Event Page, e-mail us at robertjbayley@gmail.com or give us a Tweet or Direct Message!

While there are discounts on offer from pubs this is a totally free event which Ale to the King, CamRGB and the pubs  have arranged purely in the spirit of promoting great craft beer culture, no matter where its brewed or served.

One final note – remember to pace yourself, you don’t want to miss any of the fun now do you?

It might be Queenie’s big day, but on Monday 4th June we’ll be saying – Ale to the King!

Join us on the day by joining our Facebook Event Page, Tweeting us or e-mailing: robertjbayley@gmail.com

Ten of the Best Edinburgh Ale Pubs

As the 2nd most visited tourist destination in the United Kingdom, Ale to the King hasn’t quite managed to tackle every real ale pub and bar in the capital, but a damn good effort is being made.

Below are my favourite spots to go ale hunting at the moment, ranked from 10 to 1 (1 being, predictably, my absolute favourite).

10. Teuchters Landing

1c Dock Place, Leith
A cosy little establishment on the watery edge of Leith, Teuchters Landing seems both fairly modern and contemporary yet linked to the seafaring past of its area. This unique, squat little building houses one of Edinburgh’s best stocked bars, with 14 beers, both macro and micro brewed, on draught and more bottles in the fridge. It also boasts a particularly good selection of whiskys should you choose to chase that Deuchars IPA. A nice warm fire and comfy leather and wood furniture complete this assuredly professional establishment.

9. Blue Blazer

2 Spittal Street, Old Town
For a brief three months I used to live in this area, charmingly known as the ‘pubic triangle’ due to the abundance of strip clubs. Residing literally round the corner this became a well-visited and loved pub. This Pub of the Year winning, traditional ale house is splendidly decorated in the way a proper, old-fashioned, gentile,  boozer should be. On last visit there were six cask ales ready to be drunk in the numerous hideaways and alcoves in this relaxed, well-maintained place. Prepare to make some compromises in personal space; Blue Blazer is becoming alarmingly popular with the young, fashionable professional crowd post-work, especially given the area and craft beer’s increasing prominance.

8. Stockbrige Tap

2 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge
A place that was unusually full of Black Isle is alright in Ale to the King’s books. For an area so erudite and swish Stockbridge Tap brings a needed earthy not to the area, sitting across from Hector’s and thus proffering up something a little less considered, a little more down-to-earth and a little more honest. It has a charming atmosphere and proper pub games while serving up some of the finest quality drinks going. It also plays host to some cracking beer festivals, so make sure you get down to these when they’re on and join the locals in expanding one’s taste horizons.

7. Brauhaus

105 Lauriston Place, Old Town
Rammed to the rafters with dozens of ale varieties, the Brauhaus, situated at the edge of Old Town, near the Meadows, is in a ripe position to take advantage of the upcoming, arty, area it borders. The beer selection really is vast, albeit most of these are in bottles. The ramshackle, mashed-together aesthetic really speaks volumes of what you can drink here, from more common brews like Stewart’s Edinburgh Gold to £10 bottles of the finest Belgian beer, its all under this roof. While I wouldn’t describe it as particularly cosy, and there can be a horrendous draft if you sit too close to the door of this small place, the number of ales on offer make up for everything.

6. Bow Bar

80 West Bow, Old Town
It looks and feels like its as old as St. Giles itself, but was actually only renovated in the 1990s.  Much of the furniture and decoration here was actually reclaimed from other pubs as they were ‘modernised’ giving this place a lived-in yet spruced-up feel. There are always a great selection of craft beers on pump and its somewhere that’s innocuous enough to be frequented by mostly locals, despite its location in tourist-central. With knowledgeable staff its a great place to start an evening or while away an afternoon. A whole day if it takes you, they have a frankly punishing array of craft beer on at any one moment.

5. Dirty Dick’s

159 Rose Street, New Town
If you thought Brauhaus was a collection of oddities wait until you get a load of this place. The dimly lit pub is so crammed full of unusual items, trinkets and decorations it would be almost impossible for a patron to catalogue them all. Believe me, I’ve had some of the most intense games of drunken eye-spy in Dirty Dicks.  However its not just the unique interior which gives this place the thumbs up. There are regularly four cask beers, well poured by the attentive staff. Easily the best pub on Rose Street.

4. Roseleaf Bar Cafe

23/4 Sandport Place, Leith
Another Leith institution, the Roseleaf Cafe Bar is a welcoming place. Situated just by The Shore, its a fine starting point to start a journey round some of the other real ale pubs Leith has to offer. Something, as you might have gathered by now, that scores big points with Ale to the King is great staff who are happy to serve and advise with your purchases. The staff that have served Ale to the King in the past have been great here. They really know what they’re talking about and always seem happy to chat. There’s a very good selection of beers on tap, expanded upon by the numerous bottles behind the bar. If you’re a fan of Williams Brothers Brewery in particular, this place is for you. A vintage style place without the pretentiousness that often comes with it (and old comics as wallpaper in the toilets to boot!). The food here is nothing short of the best I’ve had in a pub.

3. Malt and Hops Freehouse 

45 Shore, Leith.
Hops hang from the ceiling, a reassuring layer of dust sprinkles the less-used corners and a satisfying beery mustiness fills the air in this proper old fashioned ale house. Much like the Blue Blazer, but turned up a notch and taken back a few years, this is something of a nostalgic blast from the past; it take me back to a time before craft beer wasn’t the coolest booze on the block and my fellow regulars were at least 30 years my senior and wore scratty green jumpers over checked shirts. The Malt and Hops Freehouse stands resolute against the tide of craft beer’s and the Shore’s rising popularity and mainstream attention. At last visit there were a very respectable six casks and the rotation is regular. This is a lovely, cosy, relaxing place to absorb an evening and enjoy the warm fire.

2. Brewdog Bar

143 Cowgate, Cowgate
The Cowgate area of Edinburgh is often undeservedly written off. But amongst the less than reputable drinking establishments, its home to two of the best rock and metal clubs in Edinburgh as well as the quite excellent rock and ale pub venue Bannermans. Ale to the King has already given this place a review worthy of this place on the list, but in brief this exemplifies what it took to get the craft beer revolution into full swing. Offering a great range of Brewdog’s own beers as well as a great selection on others bottled and on tap, this cool bar has a modern, minimal style that is a far cry from the sedate, dank, remote pubs from craft beer’s history. Attracting a crowd that like to stay on top of the newest thing as well as veteran ale drinkers, Brewdog Bar is a refreshing place to spend a Saturday. Careful though, your quest to ‘try just one more’ may leave you crawling instead of walking back home. Or falling into drumkits at Bannermans. Take your pick.

1. Kay’s Bar

39 Jamaica Street, New Town.
Ale to the King has been to many pubs in the capital in a quest for the ultimate ale pub, but none has surpassed Kay’s Bar. This has everything an ale drinker would wish of a bar to a tee. A mighty seven ale pumps often stand ready to dispense barley-pop  and slake even the mightiest of thirsts. The atmosphere is at times  cramped, but the surroundings are so ship-shaped and resolutely, jovially British that this Victorian pub forces this to be nothing less than convivial. There is a games room stocked with games that, shock-horror, have all their pieces. There is a wonderfully warm fire. There are dogs running around your feet, always the friendly kind, looking to say hello. The patrons are uniformly friendly and chatty. There’s the staff, who know more about beer than the staff of anywhere I’ve been and are really nice characters (he’s called Fraser. You’ll know the one I’m talking about). And there’s that one thing that seasoned public house patrons will know; seasoned patrons who go to proper pubs and for whom stepping into a Weatherspoon’s, Varsity or Walkabout is an alien, unfortunate experience; a staircase you’re not sure if you’re allowed to go up or not. If you enjoy going out for a drink in Auld Reekie, you owe it to yourself to go to Kay’s Bar.

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Brew at the Bog Special: Review: The Beers

Brew at the Bog, a festival who’s beer is supplied almost exclusively by Brewdog? This is something Ale to the King couldn’t say no to!

Ale to the King believes that beer is best viewed in the context in which it exists, be that history, whether its from bottle, draft or pimped-out carton, environment its drunk in, distance from birthplace… the list is almost endless. So Brewdog beer served at an inaugural festival that bears much of their branding in the Highlands was a special context indeed.

The beer selection looked great, with pre-festival reports of Punk IPA, 5AM Saint, Zeitgeist Black Lager, 77 Lager and the IPA is Dead range (Citra, Bramling Cross, Sorachi Ace and Nelson Sauvin). Sadly, upon arrival the IPA is Dead range was nowhere to be seen and bar staff weren’t sure what had happened to it. A shame, since I was really looking forward to trying those I have yet to have the pleasure of, but the beers offered were still something to get excited about!

The weather was incredibly cold, the wind and chill blasting in from the Moray Firth, bringing with it flakes of white from the snowcapped mountains. The first beer I tried, and my general go-to grog, was the Punk IPA. The cold really pervaded all the beers, blasting them ice-cold. Using Ale to the King’s previous review as a control, the iciness of the Punk IPA on pump really brought out the tropical flavours, totally overriding the citrus notes. It also boosted the sweetness in the after-taste, leaving the mouth feeling like it was coated in glycerine. Certainly odd but for a different, exciting tasting experience I’d really recommend throwing a can or two in the freezer and drinking at sub-zero temperatures.

The 5AM Saint on pump was similarly altered by the temperatures (I really felt sorry for the bar staff, clutching freezing cans and plastic cups all day). Compared to how it normally comes it was especially sharp and mouth-clenchingly tart. Unusually it took on a very bitter quality on the mid-taste and there was a great, new prickliness to the after-taste. Another one to put in the freezer for a taste experiment.

The 77 Lager was, predictably, unaltered by the cold. Being a lager its naturally served cold; not this cold mind, which lowered the flavour intensity somewhat and really brought out a quality of fine mineral water.

The Zeitgeist Black Lager felt extra carbonated and left a pleasurable tingle on the lips that turned prickly in the cold air. Despite this extra fizz the Zeitgeist Black Lager brought out a unique and overwhelming peppery flavour. A serious twist on an already intriguing beer and another worth experimenting with.

So despite the lack of the IPA is Dead range the beverages on offer at Brew at the Bog were a brilliant, very interesting lot that really changed in the conditions the festival afforded. Unless the beer storage and delivery are changed next year, prepare your tastebuds for an intriguing and surprising journey.

Brew at the Bog Special: Review: Bogbain Farm/Brew at the Bog Venue

Continuing Ale to the King’s coverage of Brew in the Bog festival we turn our eyes to the venue itself.

Bogbain Farm is just south of Inverness, a good three hour drive from Edinburgh (obeying speed limits).

However, what a drive it is; its almost worth the excursion itself when you get across the Forth Bridge, past the dual carriageways (why are there no motorways in Scotland?) and hit Cairngorms National Park.
Before long you’re cruising through some spectacular countryside of snow-capped mountains and mirror-like lochs.

Make sure you check your petrol guage before setting off however, there was a slightly hairy moment when I underestimated how lacking in filling stations some areas of Scotland are.

Also take care when you hit the A9. This stretch is known for lunatics and we encountered our fair share along here.

Arriving at the farm, the camping area was located at the furthest end of the field. Here the cold weather works for the venue. Since campers were allowed to drive right up to the camping area the hardness of the ground prevented the field turning into a boggy, tyre-tracked sludge.

The camp-site was surprisingly small, but then this was the inaugural event, thus was never going to attract the numbers of, say, Wickerman Festival. This had both its merits and flaws. On the meritorious side it kept everyone together and created a more friendly, communal feeling amongst the small number of campers. Had it the run of the whole field then no doubt everyone would have spread out separately and it just wouldn’t have had that special ‘festival’ feeling.

However, that inability to spread out also meant those who would have preferred a quieter experience and got to bed/rise earlier were penned in with those who preferred to party until daybreak.  If you’re coming next year and prefer to wake a little earlier make sure you bring some earplugs.

Something everyone appreciated though, regardless of party-disposition, was the view. Stretching out across the horizon was a gorgeous scene of the Moray Firth. Make sure you face your tent away from this to avoid an incredibly chilly, draughty night!

As for the performance and, more pertinent/important to Ale to the King, ale serving area, the building and surrounding grounds seemed very appropriate. Being a farm it felt suitably earthy and unpretentious for something that was supplied exclusively by Brewdog, yet had a slightly left-of-field feeling which fit the beverages  equally well. Ale to the King believes all craft beer should be considered within the context of that around it, and there’ll be more talk of that in tomorrow’s post on the beers, but in brief, it worked very well.

As a venue to partake in proper beer it offered something really unique that I’d highly recommend. Outwardly it was very scenic, a large, pretty farmhouse and barns with charmingly decorated disused farm equipment dotted about. Inside was the small The Bothy stage which played host to some great acoustic acts and was, crucially, warm! Decorated with a ornate accordions, fairy lights, tables and chairs and a stuffed otter, it was a great place to relax with a Zeitgeist Black Lager.

The second stage, Go North, was a mid-size white-walled barn. From the roof hung ropes of those old-fashioned fairy lights which are essentially painted lightbulbs. The whole thing was very charming, if bitterly cold.

The main bar itself was something of a treat. Inside the larger, more exposed wooden barn, the beer was ice cold, no doubt helped by the weather but the staff remained friendly and were very pleased to help and even offer advice on what brew would suit one’s palate. Looming over this was a massive wagon (or some other farming contraption this writer is too ill-educated to have identified otherwise).

Beside this was, amusingly a sandpit, replete with toys to play with and the straw-lined floor made the whole area utterly unique. Just outside this was the grassy courtyard, surrounded by an overhanging roof that allows one to stand outside yet be sheltered from the elements should the sun raise its head.

Its an utterly charming, interesting, and with all the odd bits and pieces around, intriguing place to drink craft beer; if there’s another ale-filled event here in the future, festival or otherwise, Ale to the King has no reservations in recommending this as a great, unique place to enjoy yourself.

Review: Punk IPA

Beer: Punk IPA
Brewery: Brewdog
Type: India Pale Ale
Served: Bottled
Alc: 5.6% Vol.
Film watched while reviewing: Total Recall

This is a powerhouse of a beer. Punk IPA isn’t weak, weighing in at a respectable 5.6% and has a Hell of a nose. As soon as I poured it into my dimple mug I was hit by an immediate kick of overwhelming elderflower with a slight hint of flour. It also comes with a pungent citrus flavour that lights up the nostrils.

The colour is gorgeous, a bright golden hue like sunshine topped with a bright white, thick, foamy head.

The first element of the sip doesn’t have a great deal to it. There’s a slight lime and grapefruit flavour. Its on the midtaste however where things really kick into gear. The grapefruit becomes ultra-bitter, along with the lime and other tropical fruit flavours, but the kind of fruits that come in sugary sweeties. These really cling to the sides of the mouth.

The after-taste to finish has the highest level of carbonation of what is a very lightly carbonated drink. The flavours die down and stay at a nice level, hovering at a level most other beers never reach the punch of at their height; and boy does it linger. It won’t dislodge from your maw any time soon.

This is a fantastic beer and one of Ale to the King‘s all time favourites. Its a very singular experience, pure, driven and powerful, like watching Crank or listening to a Motorhead album, and thus it delivers exhilaration few can match.

When in doubt, when you can, go for Punk IPA.

Review: Joker IPA – Aledvent Calendbeer 17

Beer: Joker IPA
Brewery: Williams Brothers Brewing Company
Type: IPA
Served: Bottled
Alc: 5% Vol.
Aledvent Calendbeer Number: 17

This is going to sound odd, but for this reviewer, Christmas is intrinsically linked with Batman. Without fail I will get something Batman related and Batman Returns is my favourite Christmas movie.

So for me the link to Christmas time is clear with Joker IPA. The colour is pale golden, very clear and perfect and the nose is dry and hoppy. A little one-one note you may think but its such a sharp, singular smell its unusually so and smells a little of cushions or feathers.

It starts out a little flat on the tongue but there’s a definite repfreshing citrus taste of lime cordial at the back of the teeth to keep things interesting which is preceded by a decent nutty taste. The mid-taste also taste like slurping a frothy head of beer which is a nice sensation which doesn’t hinder or complement another taste; it kind of sits there on its own at the side.

On the middle and back of the tongue there’s clear gooseberry as well and as it goes down the beer seems to wake up and begins to dance nicely on the tongue.

Its a very nice session-tasting type beer then, even if the alcohol content is stronger than session level. Well worth your time and a beer that’s not laughing matter.

Review: India Pale Ale – Aledvent Calendbeer 9

Beer: India Pale Ale
Brewery: Knops Beer Company
Type: IPA
Served: Bottled
Alc: 5% Vol
Aledvent Calendbeer Number: 9 

Christmastime is where you can indulge and shamelessly treat yourself to some of your favourite things. So Ale to the King  included India Pale Ale by Knops Beer Company on the list for exactly that reason. But here’s why this underrated little beauty gets such high marks from this reviewer.

When you pop the cap off the bottled (and as is usually the case  thinner version) the nose immediately delivers a jolt of very sweet yeast that tickles the nostrils.

The colour I was finding hard to pin down; its definitely golden but I couldn’t place what kind. Then I realised I see that colour many, many times, and this might put you off, but if your urinary system isn’t troubled, you’ll see it a lot as well. That’s not to say its a bad thing, it took some time to liken it to something specific, so it shouldn’t put the drinker off.

Clocking in at 5% its perhaps at some people’s higher end of the session scale, but its certainly incredibly drinkable. Very light and refreshing it has a real thirst quenching quality to it. All the way through the taste there are plenty of citrus notes, really homing in on the lemon, which gives it its refreshing quality.

This switches direction on the mid-taste however, to something a little more bitter and tart, which is the yeast kicking into the taste-buds. This plays nicely with the spikey fizz which contrasts with both the citrus and yeast elements and follows right the way through to the syrupy sweet after-taste.

There wasn’t any doubt for Ale to the King already, but its good to point out a really charming beer you might overlook due to the less than exciting label.

Seek this dangerously drinkable ale out and you won’t be disappointed.

Aledvent Calendbeer selection 2

If you haven’t been keeping up, Ale to the King has been counting down to Christmas in the best way it can think of.  While many go for the common or garden advent calendar with chocolate and others prefer the more traditional advent candle, Ale to the King has created the Aledvent Calendbeer. A carefully chosen beer that reflects Christmas in one way or another (no matter how tenuous the link!) will be decapitated, drunk and deliberated over until the big day itself.

Selection 1 consisted of Christmas Ale by Goose Island, Paradox Isle of Arran by Brewdog, Black Lager by Zeitgeist, Finch by Natural Selection Brewing, Samuel Smith’s India Ale by Samuel Smith Old Brewery and There is No Santa by Brewdog.

But that was just Selection 1 and as 007 once said, you’ve had your six.

So, without further ado Ale to the King presents you with Aledvent Calendbeer Selection 2:

If you want to drink along with Ale to the King and compare notes, then you will need:

• Hefeweizen by Stewart Brewing
• Winter Ale by The Brooklyn Brewery
• India Pale Ale by Knops Beer Company
• Hop Trials – Nelson Sauvin by Tryst
• St. Mungo by West Brewery

If you’ve not been able to keep up with the Aledvent Calendbeer  then now’s a great time to get on board and even make up for lost time by having a second beer a day from Selection 1!

So charge your glasses and raise it in honour of the ever approaching jolly Saint Nick. Because Christmas is a time for treating yourself as well!

What did you think of the Aledvent Calendbeer Selection 1? Disagree with Ale to the King‘s verdict on There’s No Santa or the praise heaped upon Goose Island’s Christmas Ale? Please, do sound off in the comments below!

Review: Samuel Smith’s India Ale – Aledvent Calendbeer 5

Beer: Samuel Smith’s India Ale
Brewery: Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery
Type:  Indian Pale Ale
Served: Bottled
Alc: 5% Vol
Aledvent Calendbeer Number: 5

Christmas, for many, is about home and home for me is Yorkshire. Flat caps, whippets and moors spring to mind. But what Yorkshire is also associated with is some truly great beer.

Most of the spotlight is shone on beers like Pale Rider from Kelham Island Brewery or Landlord from Timothy Taylor but another great brewery is Tadcaster’s Samuel Smith’s, or Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery to give it it’s full name.

This reviewer has never had this particular beer from a bottle before, but right from popping the cap I knew from smell alone it would be worthy of “God’s own county”.

Its a really hearty aroma, with an initial hit of roast parsnips rolled in parmesan cheese. You can smell it a mile off, it just seems to shoot right out of the bottle when opening and straight up your nostrils. Pouring it into a dimple jug the smell mellows a little and turns sweeter, toffee apple billowing from a lovely frothy head. The colour is nutty, fairly transparent oak, maybe a little more so than most IPAs.

The taste, funnily enough, is a lot less powerful than the nose, but no less enjoyable. A perfect session beer, there’s a mild bitterness on the back of the teeth and its got a little chewiness to it. Like the aroma its also very fresh tasting. There’s an overlying flavour that washes all the way through from beginning to end of dew on a young tree’s bark, especially so on the foretaste, mixed with fresh water from a babbling brook.

From the mid-taste on and then fully developing on the tail and diminishing on the after-taste, hints of quality tobacco. Not muck from a cigarette bathed in chemicals but proper, tasty tobacco from a cigar; like when you’ve had it in your mouth a little too long, the end disintegrates and you get those fragments floating around your mouth.

So its not a punchiest beer, but appropriately for a brew from Yorkshire, it is very smooth, bursting with unique character, comforting and deceptively tasty.