With the continuous high winds in Scotland in this festive season, the bike is again ready to roll, only to be stood down the morning of my ride to Belhaven Brewery. Fortunately, there’s a bus that takes you from the middle of Edinburgh and drops you off at the end of Brewery Lane – How fantastically convenient. The bus gave more comfort than a bike might have, and allowed me to bring a flask of coffee and drink it on the move, a needlessly treacherous move on a bike, so I was not too upset. Unbeknownst to me however, my good friend Andre, who was joining and indeed organising this trip, had also brought a little something: Bus Beers! Safe to say the coffee remained stowed, and we made our way through a couple of said bus beers on our hour-long trip to Dunbar.
Before our tour guide arrived, we wandered around the shop for a short while looking at the various merch they had on sale, and I got to ask the stupid question of the day nice and early. There were these things, long, like the pepper grinder your favourite authentic Italian pizzeria has, a little hole in the bottom of it. It also reminded me of those short little pipes you see in the windows of corner shops, but far bigger.. and as a whisky enthusiast it had a very similar shape to a Vallinch but much shorter, ‘I wonder what that’s for?’ “A tap handle…. For pulling the pints, “ came from the remarkably friendly Chris, who was to be our guide on our tour in a few moments. It turns out I had met Chris months back on a tour of Glen Kinchie. It was lovely to be visiting Belhaven on the day he was working as I had said I’d pop in to see him so a lovely reunion for the two of us.
The tour started off with a look to the outside of the brewery in the low winter sun, making a beautiful silhouette. Chris spoke of Belhaven being the oldest working brewery in the UK, opening up its doors way back in 1719. The base for logistics and distribution used to consist of a small barn where they kept the hay, and an other barn where they kept the horses. I can’t think of too many sites where they can say that confidently. With the advent of trucks, the horses out of a job(good riddance), These barns were then converted to the Lab where they ensure product consistency and work on new products, one of which is due to be released in a few short weeks. They also welcome other breweries to come and check their own products in this area if they don’t have the resources to do it in-house. It’s Lovely to see brands that could be considered competitors working together to raise the standards in the industry.
A quick snap of the ventilators originally used to dry the malted barely and it was time to head inside where we dove into the history of Belhaven, the different grains used to create various beers in there roster and we also got into a chat about cask ale, and kegged ale. I asked because to my eye we were looking at two Kegs. the difference was that one is naturally carbonated by keeping a live yeast and some fermentable sugars in the cask, typically served a little warmer, the other artificially carbonated by CO2 and traditionally served chilled. And unlike the world of whisky, ‘Cask’ doesn’t mean wood. I asked ‘Which is better?’ to which Chris said ‘each to their own’, some folk swear by cask ale. Ultimately, we agreed that on a colder night, a cask ale would hit the spot, and that a super cold, heavily carbonated kegged beer was perfect for summer sipping and that like most things in the world of drinks, there’s room, and indeed a place for both.
From the history of Belhaven and our cask ale tangent we then went into the brew house, warm, about 30 degrees during our visit, it’s said to reach 65 degrees in the height of summer – perfect place to drink one of those afore mentioned Ice cold kegged lagers… It’s no doubt a modest-sized brewery, though I’ve not been to any breweries of comparable size, for a brand I see all over, they must be making good use of the equipment and time.
Moving from the brewhouse we took a quick stroll through the garden before making our way to the Monks’ Retreat. Their onsite bar. What a space! They’ve really leaned into their heritage and made it look like the kind of pub you’d hope to stumble into on any evening. Where the locals would welcome you in on their chat, and you’d leave hours later with a pub full of friends. Being a private tour for just Andre and I, it was bar top seating as we got down to business. A number of samples were poured, starting with the ‘Best’. I was first acquainted with Best on my first ever cycle tour, from Callander to Elgin, by the end of day two we had made it to Pitlochry where Chris introduced me to ‘Best’. It alongside a plate of chips was a pretty lovely replacement for the countless cereal bars & just off warm porridge we’d ate over the two days thus far.
I’ve come a long way in the expected distance per day. Earlier this year Callander to Pitlochry was the route of choice for my proposal, as I wanted a route that was an ‘easy days cycle’ with lots of time for photos and café stops. I was even lugging my entire kilt getup along with several dresses and shoes for the other half. It’s crazy what practice does for improvement!
Back to the tasting, after the lovely Best that will always have a warm space in my heart. We had a try of the 80 shilling, a little lighter in favour, more air behind it, incredibly sessionable as they say. Then my favourite of the sampling was the Belhaven McCallums, an export-exclusive stout. Beautiful dark, silky toffee & caramel, but with a lingering smoky note, oh it was beautiful. It tasted like a stout(the secret to any nice stout), but while gathered round a campfire with friends. Or maybe while paired with a smoky whisky like the Scottish half and half, where a half of beer is complemented by a dram of whisky. No whisky needed, and saves on washing another glass!
With our tasting concluded, Chris had a final surprise in store for us. I won’t spoil it. Well worth a visit though! With the fantastic tour at its end, we had two more orders of business before heading on our travels…
The last thing to do before heading for our bus home was to pick up as much of the McCallums’ as could fit in my bag. Having finished my half pint of it, I knew it was to be my taste of Christmas this year. Though my provisions won’t last long, I’m hoping I can hold on to at least a few until the big day. I’ll have to cycle out and resupply before new years no doubt.
After the tour the coffee was utilised on the bus homeward to keep me a little more awake to make sure I made the connection home, Where I stopped off for a little stint to Monkey Barrel Comedy where unfortunately they had no Belhaven. So with my Williams bro’s I sat front and centre to burn my discontentment into the eyes of each act. Of course, though… I also love a William Bro’s
I hope you’ve enjoyed my jaunt to Belhaven, do pop in if you can, their beers are lovely, and its always a treat to be in such an old historic site with friendly staff and a generous tour. Apparently Dunbar is lovely too. When I pass on the bike next time I’ll let you know.