Gold Rush! (Cairngorm Black Gold)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Cairngorm Black Gold
Date:	21/02/06 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, well balanced stout

Disadvantages: Not as easy to get hold of as some stouts

We had some really good beers at Chesterfield Beer Festival this year. My favourites (as always) tended to be the darker beers ~ the stouts, milds and porters. For this reason my feet directed my body to Cairngorm Black Gold. I have tried (and generally enjoyed) beers from this brewery before, so I was looking forward to sampling a few ~ purely in the interests of research of course!

~~~THE BREWERY.

The Cairngorm Brewery was set up in 2001 and produces beers from two breweries that were based in Aviemore and Tomintoul. This brewery can be found in the village of Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland ~ according to their postal address it is based on Dalfaber Industrial Estate, so maybe it isn’t as nice as it first sounds!

Using water from the Cairngorm Mountains, traditional brewing methods, no preservatives and their own unique yeast culture, they brew bottled and Cask Conditioned beers. Their beers are available bottled nationwide and via the internet (there are quite a few websites that list them) and as Cask ales all over the UK (either in pubs, often as a guest beer, or at Beer Festivals). Some are easier to find than others however!

Some of their beers you may see include Sheepshagger’s Gold (review to come so I won’t give too much away, at 4.5% ABV), Wildcat (a nice strong bitter beer at 5.1% ABV) and Highland IPA (a dry, hoppy beer at 3.6% ABV).

~~~THE BEER.

***A bit of Background***

There a quite a few beers called Black Gold! Castle Rock Black Gold, Copper Dragon Black Gold and Cambrinus Black Gold to name but a few. Not surprisingly most of these beers tend to be dark ones. Black Gold is generally taken to refer to coal ~ a valuable commodity in some areas; maybe even as precious to people’s livelihood as gold!

***Vital Stats***

Black Gold weighs in at 4.4% ABV and is available in the spring and the autumn, either bottled or on cask. It is brewed in the style of a Scottish Stout ~ an opaque black beer brewed with dark roasted malts and with a slight sweetness and roasted barley in the flavour.

***Look, Aroma & Texture***

Looks wise, Black Gold is a deep dark brown, almost black stout with a light creamy head that leaves a decent amount of lacing on the side of the glass. At the Beer Festival it was served directly from the cask via a small tap ~ this didn’t affect the taste or colour, but did have some effect on the head and the texture (the head was less pronounced and the texture not quite so creamy).

Aroma was predominantly coming from the dark roasted malts and was quite strong. Mixed with this are elements of caramel (giving a slight sweetness), nuts, bitter dark chocolate and coffee. There is also a faint flowery sweetness that is not overpowering or unpleasant. Texture is rich, creamy and smooth with a very slight amount of carbonisation ~ this gives it rather pleasant mouth feel.

***Taste***

Black Gold is a well balanced beer that blends a variety of tastes together. To start with it is quite bitter and tastes of a good coffee. This progresses into a chocolaty flavour, mixed with elements of black treacle, liquorice and a dark fruit and caramelly sweetness. Throughout there is an underlying maltiness. This all leads to a finish that is dry and bitter and finally an aftertaste that is rather like a pleasant cup of proper coffee.

~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.

I have one thing to say first about Cairngorm Black Gold….YUM! That just about sums it up I think. It is easy to drink, smooth and rich and well balanced too. At 4.4% it is also makes quite a good beer to drink during an evening’s drinking. It is tasty and creamy, but doesn’t feel too heavy and settles nicely without making me feel too full (some stouts can be too full bodied and make me feel like that). It combines sweet and dry flavours and has a lovely soft malt flavour that balances it all out and works well.

Black Gold also looks rather appealing and is a fine example of a stout. It is roasty, malty and nutty, but thankfully doesn’t display that burnt toast flavour that you can get from stouts like Guinness. This is a far superior example in my opinion! I have no hesitation in recommending this one and hope that other people enjoy it as much as I have done.

At the Beer Festival I paid one token for each half pint of Black Gold (beer is purchased using pre-paid tokens to make less work for the bar staff), meaning that it was £1.00 per half and £2.00 a pint. Not a bad price for a great quality beer. When I have had it as a guest beer at my local Wetherspoons I paid £1.59 a pint ~ their current standard Guest price. It isn’t available all that often in my area though, which is a bit of a shame…mind you, I do appreciate it more when I DO find it!

Thoroughly recommended! I think I’ve struck Gold with this one….black or otherwise!

~~~BREWERY DETAILS.



The Cairngorm Brewery Company
Unit 12 Dalfaber Industrial Estate
Dalfaber Drive
Aviemore
PH22 1ST

01479 812222

www.cairngormbrewery.com

Summary: A dark stout with a lovely flavour!