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Monsoon Porter

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Recently the Black Isle Brewery has come together with the award winning Artisan Roast Coffee to produce a sensational storm in a beer cask now hitting the Stockbridge Tap, in Edinburgh, and other selected outlets in the city.

This huge dark front of caffeine and malt has been produced by a collision of Black Isle Porter, brewed with organic chocolate malt, mixed up with a heavy downpour of Artisan Roast Monsoon Malabar coffee beans, from Southern India.

These beans have been laid out to dry on racks after the monsoon rains and during this process the wet monsoon winds circulate around the crops turning the green coffee beans a rich golden yellow colour and absorbing the rich earthy, spicy flavours.

Black Isle Monsoon Porter 4.2% is a roasted, toasted, lip-smacker of rich bitter chocolate, cinnamon, espresso and cracked pepper – the perfect antidote for any rainy season.

A severe whether warning was issued this morning – whether, or not, to drop everything right now and head to the pub to avoid being marooned without it!

Monsoon Porter

Rudi Rye’ds Again!

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This year’s Christmas cracker, Rudi’s Red Rye, comes in the form of a 6.8% Rye Ale brewed with Organic Rye malt, Organic ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel. “A rich, warming red ale, packed with aromas of candied peel and fruit.”

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Beer Pairing for Thanksgiving

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we here at the Black Isle Brewery have decided to provide you with some beer pairings for your Thanksgiving feast!

Light meat like turkey should definitely be paired with either a Black Isle Blonde or a Yellow Hammer. These two beers are lighter, crisper and will compliment the meat. With their mild undertones of hops and malt they make a nice accompaniment for your main meal. The Yellowhammer is a refreshing beer with a flinty grapefruit aroma and has more body than the Blonde. That said, the Blonde on the other hand has a light biscuity taste that will refresh your palate and is the perfect beer to sip while having a hearty meal. Either of these beers will match up well with your turkey dinner.

For pudding, which is traditionally pumpkin pie we recommend you pick up a bottle of Scotch Ale or Red Kite. These two are more malt based and have a lingering sweetness, which compliments the tasty piecrust. The Scotch Ale has a rich spice finish with a full-bodied taste. You will get hints of candied peel and fruitcake with this beer. The Red Kite with its delicious balance of malt, citrus and berry fruit will also go very well with pumpkin pie. Actually these last two are so good they could serve as a dessert all on their own.

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Halloween Pumpkin Kegs

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To celebrate Halloween and to help you get into the festive spirit we have decided to show you step by step how to create a pumpkin beer keg!

It is a lot quicker and easier than you may think.

We have tried and tested this method ourselves ☺

Tools

Here's the pumpkin tools Drill, saws, pounce wheel and scoop.

Here’s the pumpkin tools
Drill, saws, pounce wheel and scoop.


Pumpkin carving tools (Waitrose & Tesco sell these)
Spoon
Spigot (beer tap)
Several bottles of your favourite Black Isle Beer (Porter should work a treat)
Pen

Step 1

Saw along the line you have traced to create your lid

Saw along the line you have traced to create your lid


Using your bowl, trace a circle on the top of your pumpkin. This circle is going to be the lid of the pumpkin. Once you have traced it using your pumpkin tools take the pounce wheel and run over the outline. Then take your drill and make an entry hole on the line. Remove the drill and then saw around the circle keeping to the line and…. ta-da! – you’ve made the pumpkin lid.
Remove the lid so you can scoop out the innards.

Remove the lid so you can scoop out the innards.

Step 2

Pumpkin flesh and seeds can be kept and used to create other culinary delights. Shame to waste it :)

Pumpkin flesh and seeds can be kept and used to create other culinary delights. Shame to waste it 🙂


Remove the pumpkin lid and start scooping out all of the pumpkin flesh and seeds. Don’t throw the contents away, if you can and have the inclination to, keep all this yummy stuff and cook with it later. After you have taken the bulk out, use a metal spoon to scrape the sides and get rid of all the stringy bits. If you aren’t diligent doing this you will end up clogging up your spigot later on.
Why not toast these in the oven for a nice festive treat.

Why not toast these in the oven for a nice festive treat.

This yummy stuff is the perfect filling for a pie or the right stuff for a good soup.

This yummy stuff is the perfect filling for a pie or the right stuff for a good soup.


Step 3

You will want to position your spigot lower on the front of the pumpkin so that beer pours out nicely. Using your pounce wheel, trace the spigot on the inside of the pumpkin. You will want to make the hole slightly smaller than the outline; this ensures you won’t have any leaks. Again, take up your little pumpkin saw and cut out the hole. Go slow and easy on this as this is as fiddly as it gets.

This is probably the hardest part and it is super easy!

This is probably the hardest part and it is super easy!


Step 4

Remove the hole shaped cut out and then insert your spigot into it. Ensure it’s tight so it won’t slip out or leak beer (we road-tested ours over the sink with water to make sure there were no leaks).

Now simply add beer to get the party started!

Now simply add beer to get the party started!

Step 5

If all is ship-shape then simply go ahead and pour your favourite Black Isle beer into the pumpkin via the lid. We have put ours in a stylish bowl to elevate it slightly to make it easier for people wanting to use it.

Once you've filled up your pumpkin get pouring and enjoy the Black Isle brew with a hint of pumpkin!

Once you’ve filled up your pumpkin get pouring and enjoy the Black Isle brew with a hint of pumpkin!

We hope that you like this suggestion and give it a go.

Send us photos of your pumpkin kegs on either

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackIsleBeer
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Have a happy Halloween everyone and drink responsibly.

Save the Planet, Drink Organic

Vorsprung durch Technik Indeed!!

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Recently the Black Isle Brewery received a very special shipment of 4 Rolec tanks from Germany with a 10,000 litre brew capacity per tank, which means we can keep all of you better supplied with our yummy beer ☺ What makes these tanks so special is that they are uni tanks, which can ferment and condition at the same time.

We just love this kind of multi-tasking!

Rolec Tank

Rolec Tank 2

Save the Planet, Drink Organic