The Bowsing Ken

Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Ltd :
    Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer Original

 Beer and Rum...Rum and Beer...Oh, yes please...Yes please, indeed...And all from Scotland, nonetheless...

   Such was my introduction to Innes & Gunn.

   Like my wife, who has an intuitive eye for the distinctive shape of a porcelain Scottish terrier statuette when we happen to be trolling around in an antique store, I personally have an eye for certain key words, one of which is "rum." Well, combine the word "rum" and the word "beer" and, heck I am like a moth to a flame. I am all over it like ugly on an ape. So, when a few years back while I was canvassing my local beer merchant, my trained eye fell upon Innis & Gunn's Rum Aged Beer - Holy Toledo! - I was on it. What is this wonderful thing? I have been drinking it ever since.
  I love this story: It seems that the folks at the Grant's Distillers (founded in 1887, by Major William Grant), a whisky maker up in Scotland, needed a beer or two, not to drink while their whiskey was taking its time mellowing out, but to season the oak barrels that would be the whisky's home while it was, in fact, mellowing out. This whisky was appropriately named Grant's Cask Ale Reserve, although today I think it is called Grant's Ale Cask Finish Whisky. Grant's wanted to infuse their whisky with hints of beer malt and hops by soaking the barrels with beer prior to use. So, in 2002, Grant's struck up a deal with craft brewer Dougal Sharp to brew this special beer, which once it had done its 30-day duty of seasoning the oak, would simply be tossed out. We are talking thousands of gallons of beer.

   Ah yes, enter now a crafty distillery worker - Innis and Gunn calls them an "inquisitive soul" - who, maybe after taking a careful look over his shoulder, decided to take a taste of the "used" beer. He - or perhaps it was a she - had found that this beer had aged quite nicely, taking on the distinctive character of the oak barrels, and far from being a waste product to be sent down the drain, found it absolutely drinkable. Something this good couldn't be kept secret, word soon got out, and the workers at Grant's began spiriting (pun intended) the beer home in their own jugs.
  In 2003, Dougal Sharp received a telephone call: "You have got to taste this beer that we are pouring away. The workers have sampled it and they say it tastes absolutely delicious." Dougal Sharp agreed and struck another deal with Grant's, whereas Sharp retrieved the beer once it had served its original purpose. He began to bottle and market this beer, which he christened Innis & Gunn Original. By the way, "Innis" and "Gunn" are the middle names of Dougal Sharp and his brewing brother Neil Sharp. Anyway, after the Original, Innis & Gunn, now one of Scotland's largest independent brewers, began developing other beer profiles, all still based on the concept of oak aging. After the Original came the Rum Aged (my favorite), a Blond (although I think this one has be discontinued), a Toasted Oak IPA, and a White Oak Wheat. There are also a number of special and seasonal releases. Additionally, thinking outside the barrel (yea, sorry about that) there is a non-oaked Helles-style lager.

  On a regular basis, I pester my local beer merchants to check and see if there is anything new from Innis & Gunn. This is a great lineup of beer, most of which - at least the main lineup - is available here in North America. As a matter of fact, in a press release a few years back, Innis & Gunn was noted as the top selling British bottled beer in Canada. You owe it to yourselves to give one a try - you won't be disappointed. Cheers!

I wonder if the Grant's workers still get to take home free "samples."

  At the right is Grant's Cask Editions Blended Scotch Whisky - Ale Cask Finish.  

  Before anybody starts - yes, yes, yes, it is a blended Scotch, so if you are a single malt purist I would suggest you simply pass this one by. This, of course, would be a pity. However, if you have a more open mind I would highly recommend that you give this a try. If you are a single malt purist, I would try to suppress your preconceived notions about blended scotch, pour a dram of this in a glass, splash in a drop or two of water (or toss in a cube, if you can handle the heresy), and enjoy. I think you will like it.