SCOTCH IN ALL BUT NAME
Serving special dram for Burns Night
It is by definition not a Scotch whisky, but that shouldn’t stop you from raising a dram on Wednesday for the Bard of Ayrshire, Robbie Burns.
Central City’s first whisky — dubbed Lohin McKinnon Single Malt after its creators — is the product of more than three years of careful distilling and aging in oak Jack Daniel’s barrels right here in Canada.
“We don’t call it scotch, but it is full of scotch technique,” said head brewer Gary Lohin. “I think it’s completely appropriate to drink to Robbie Burns.”
Lohin McKinnon is crafted in the tradition of a Glenfiddich, with honey and heather notes, but with- out the added smoothness of long aging.
“We fully intend to shake up the world of Canadian whisky,” he said. “We take the same approach to distillation as we do to brewing beer, so we are going to experiment and try different flavours than you’d get from a Wiser’s or Canadian Club.”
Indeed, there are a variety of new whiskies in the Central City pipeline, aged in barrels formerly filled with everything from Muscat and Hungarian Tokaji to Pedro Ximenez sherry.
“We have a peated whisky with lots of smoke flavour coming right in behind this one and that will be released by the end of this year,” he said. “That one is aged in PX sherry barrels like Macallan does and Lagavulin does.”
Granville Island Brewing will launch its small-batch Scottish Ale on Tuesday as it has for decades, just in time for Burns’ birthday celebration. The venerable brewer remains a stickler for tradition.
“I’m wearing a kilt right now,” said GIB beer merchant Mike Sharpham. “Our brewer Kevin (Emms) owns his kilt. Mine is a rental, but I thought I would wear it the rest of the day and just hang out.”
The two shared an early morning brew with a bagpiper as part of a promotional video shoot for the Scottish Ale launch.
Because hops don’t thrive in Scotland, Scottish ales tend to be more malt-driven and this hearty 6.5 per cent copper brown brew is no exception, he said.
“It’s really restrained on the bitterness, with caramel notes but not a lot of sweetness,” said Sharpham. “We will be serving it with Scotch eggs, but of course you can put it with haggis or roasted meats.”
The mantle of bestselling B.C.made Scottish ale likely belongs to Russell Brewing’s A Wee Angry Scotch Ale. The 19th century recipe calls for Scottish specialty malts, including peated malt, which imparts a subtle smokiness. Serve it between 5°C and 10°C for full flavour, according to the experts at Russell.
Howe Sound Brewing is also a great believer in a) beer tradition, b) celebrating Burns’ birthday, and c) all things Scottish. Their Wee Beastie Heavy Scotch Ale hon- ours the Burns’ famous poem To a Mouse, according to brewer Simon Jongsma.
East Vancouver’s Storm Brewing will have Highland Scottish Ale available for keg and growler fills at the brewery. Make sure you have an appetite as brewer James Walton fortifies his amber ale with roasted barley, peated malt and flaked barley. It’s like breakfast in a glass.
We are going to experiment and try different flavours than you’d get from a Wiser’s or Canadian Club.