At Pub 27 in Pompeii
Innis & Gunn Barrel Aged Kindred Spirits, Perth, Scotland
Date: November 24, 2018
The Story— Innis & Gunn sort of snuck up on us a decade and a half ago. A brewery that had a presentation and image that suggested they’d been around for a couple of centuries was actually brewed its first beer in the 21st century. Clever labels and, often, glass bottles hollered “gimmick” and some of the beers were certainly that. A distressingly affection for additions of vanilla and other flavorings buried the quality of some of their early creations. But lately they’ve been winning us over with sophisticated presentations of wood aged beers — some more and some less in traditional Scottish styles, but most relying more on the wood and less on the kitchen to reach deep and satisfying flavors.
When we last communicated with the brewery they were brewing many of their specialty beers in Perth and offered no tours our readers could easily arrange. But we think things are in flux for this rapidly growing brewing enterprise. They brew in Edinburgh and Perth, but a couple of years ago acquired the Inveralmond Brewery and have used that to expand their range.
The brewery now operates a trio of beer kitchens which showcase a wide range of their own beers, plus some additional guests and serve a good range of traditional Scottish dishes to go with them. A trip to a “Innis and Gunn Kitchen” will be high on our list the next time we’re in the British Isles.
The Beer— Milky clean and very flavorful. Lots of roast but a deep fruit adds some sweetness. Barrel sweet vanilla and very soft coconut. Hints of cola as it drinks but all of it is pretty yummy. Ellie, quite correctly, pointed out the good use of the barrel to achieve a range of interesting flavors.
Value — Good. But sometimes very good if you can find a store that ordered too much of it and want you to keep it from languishing on their shelves.
This week have been featuring a half dozen really good European beers that we found in the United States. We make pilgrimages to some of the best beer stores in Eastern America once or twice a year and we also just bump into incredibly good beer in places we don’t expect. Not all of these are on the shelves, but beers much like them are.
Tomorrow we return to the US to highlight some great American craft beers, some of which we’ve found in researching out first US Beer publication: Brews and Snooze-– Breweries you can visit and walk back to a fine place to spend the night. Look for it in 2019.
About these posts: We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year. The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings. Values: “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.
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