Over the last few days, we have blogged about the ongoing collaboration between chef Mark Greenaway and Scotland’s oldest brewer, Tennent Caledonian.
Mark has been busy devising recipes that use traditional and sometimes forgotten Scottish ingredients, along with a new beer from Tennent’s which is aged with whisky oak.
If you want an example, take a peek at this video of Mark demoing rack of mutton with whisky beer glaze and a nettle herb crust.
Last week, the 5pm Dining blog was at One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow to hear Keith Lugton, Tennent’s Master Brewer, talk about Tennent’s Beer aged with Whisky Oak.
Sold in 330ml bottles, the beer is honey in colour and has an ABV of 6%. It’s made with Scottish barley malt and uses four different hops – Tettnang, Aurora, Zeus and Summit.
Single malt whisky
The stand out point of the beer is that it is aged with oak chips which have been infused with single malt whisky. A feature which will be familiar to fans of Innis and Gunn beers.
The finished beer has a rich and fruity aroma with a hint of malt. It’s medium bodied and slightly viscous.Woody flavours, spice, cloves, vanilla and even coconut were among the descriptions which emerged from the tasting.
We could imagine sipping it slowly on a cold winter night.
Tennent’s recommend their Whisky Beer as the ideal accompaniment to traditional Scottish fare such as haggis, game, steaks and rich stews, but also spicy cuisine such as Indian, Vietnamese or Mexican.
You can book into Restaurant Mark Greenaway here.