| Product: |
Caledonian Deuchars IPA |
| Date: |
17/10/03 (116 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Tasty and refreshing, Easy to find, Good clear beer
Disadvantages: Let down by inconsistency
The Caledonian Brewery, known locally as The Caley, began in 1869 in Edinburgh. They were purchased by Vaux in 1919 and were eventually saved from closure in 1985, by a management buy-out. The Caley still has three open coppers in its Victorian Brewhouse (which gives their beer a rather distinct and unique flavour) and produces a variety of cask beers which it supplies to free trade outlets ~ they don't own any pubs of their own.
Their beers are produced using water from what is known as Edinburgh's Charmed Circle of Brewery Wells ~ the water and other ingredients are all found locally and techniques are virtually unchanged from the 19th Century.
Caledonian Brewery produce a range of seasonal and regular ales, including Flying Scotsman (4.6%ABV), 80/- (4.1%ABV) and Golden Promise (4.4%ABV). They are recognized and respected throughout the UK ~ this culminated in their flagship brew, Deuchars IPA, winning the Champion Beer of Britain Award at the Great British Beer Festival (at Olympia) in 2002.
For a while I had been doing Deuchars a disservice! I had been judging it on one very dodgy, and two distinctly average pints I had tried...I couldn't work out what all the fuss had been about. It had all these awards and everyone was raving about it but I was as unimpressed as Simon Cowell at a Pop Idol audition! Then I went out to a CAMRA branch meeting and one of the other members bought me a pint of Deuchars as Deuchars should be served ~ and it was lovely!
Deuchars IPA weighs in at 3.3% ABV when sold as a Cask Ale and 4.4% ABV when found in 500ml bottles (you can buy it in lots of pubs throughout the UK, in bottles from usual stockists and via the brewery web site). It is made using Pipkin, Crystal and Wheat malt, along with Fuggles and Goldings hops. At this low alcohol content it makes an ideal "session ale" ~ you can drink it during an afternoon or evening and still be able to negotiate the way home ok!
Looks wise, it is a very pale golden IPA that is clear, crisp and light ~ almost the colour of light amber (hopefully without a dead insect imbedded in it! LOL). There is very little by way of a head, but what there is is thin, lacey and pretty short lived. The aroma is quite hoppy, but balanced with a soft maltiness, a hint of fruit and a lemony scent. Deuchars is quite thin in body, but is rather silky in the mouth...making it a pleasure to drink (when kept correctly of course).
Taste wise, Deuchars is refreshing and light. The flavours mirror the aroma nicely ~ there is a good balance between the malt and the hops, there's an element of fruit and the same citrus notes too. This leads into a slightly syrupy sweetness and a faint flowery taste.
There's a lot going on in Deuchars ~ more than you would expect in a beer of this low alcohol content. The finish is dominated by the flavour of the hops, but this leads to a long lasting aftertaste that is bitter yet extremely refreshing.
I had my average pint of Deuchars IPA at the Rutland Arms in Chesterfield ~ their beers are generally very good so I can only assume it was the end of a barrel or that the beer wasn't stored correctly. My awful pint of Deuchars was served in a pub in London whose name I instantly erased from my memory ~ but I think they could have managed to ruin water if they served it through a hand pump!
My excellent pint came from The Victoria at Brampton (just outside the centre of Chesterfield), a good pub that seems to sell some really good Real ales. We paid £1.90 a pint and it was worth it to have my opinion of Deuchars IPA changed for the better.
I will recommend Deuchars IPA to you, but I have reservations. If you find a good pint then it is a truly excellent beer, well deserving of the praise it has received, but if you are unfortunate enough to try a pint in a pub where it isn't kept correctly then you WILL be disappo
inted. So...an excellent beer, but let down sometimes by inconsistency!
Brewery Details:
Caledonian Brewing Company Ltd
42 Slateford Road
Edinburgh
Scotland
EH11 1PH
Telephone 0131 3371286
www.caledonian-brewery.co.uk
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