A Highland craft brewer is retracing centuries of history to bring a rare red lager to the Scottish market.
Distilling and brewing company Uile-bheist, one of the most sustainable ‘brewstilleries’ in the country, will launch ‘Rare Bird’- Franconian Red Lager, on 10th October.
In doing so, they will join only a handful of small-batch brewers in Scotland producing red lager, reprising a Bavarian beer style stretching back to the Middle Ages.
The bottom-fermented lager is based on Nuremberg ‘Rotbier’ or ‘red beer’ which is undergoing a revival in Germany after declining in production following its zenith in the 15th and 16th Centuries.
It has also been a labour of love for Uile-bheist’s Head Brewer, Lukas Pretzer, who hails from the town of Bamberg in Upper Franconia, the region at the heart of the renaissance of red lager.
To signify the new product’s uncommon status in Scotland, the lager, with an ABV of 5.2%, depicts the Capercaillie in its branding – a bird now rarely seen in Caledonian woods.
The Rare Bird lager, a seasonal offering, is a malt-forward lager with a deep red/orange hue and a caramel or biscuit sweetness and lightly hopped flavour.
With slight ale complexity, the distinctive red colouring comes from a mix of three malts; one base malt being one of the oldest certified German malting barleys for flavourful, unfiltered lagers.
The new lager will be available in the Uile-bheist tap room for visitors and tours from 10th October and will be kegged for highland distribution as a seasonal Autumn edition.
“Red lagers are quite rare in Scotland. It is a connection to my roots in brewing,” said Head Brewer, Lukas, who hails from Bavaria’s brewing epicentre.
“It will be appealing to both ale and lager drinkers. Apart from being rare in Scotland it combines a malt driven flavour with the crispness and drinkability of a lager. This unique flavour profile targets craft lager fans as well as ale fans.
“What we wanted to do with this was create something new and Autumn-related for our customers. The red, slightly orange hue fits that Autumnal feel perfectly. Its high drinkability is important in order to be approachable and reach a wide customer base.”
In 1597, Nuremberg, entitled the ‘home of Rotbier’ had 35 working breweries producing red lager.
In recent times, in the region, producers such as Tucher and Schanzenbrau have brought the tradition back, with great success and popularity.
Glasgow brewery, West, produces an award-winning Munich Red lager and Uile-bheist are hopeful its new take on the Rotbier style taps into drinkers’ curiosity.
The red lager is conditioned for 10 weeks and has a nose of roasted malt, caramel, honey, pine and hay.
The flavour is crisp and floral, with light caramel notes, resin and honeymelon.
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“It is approachable and different, and it is a beerstyle which has become popular again in the last decade,” added Lukas.
Rare Bird Franconian Red Lager joins the best-selling Uile-bheist Lager as this Autumn’s seasonal release, alongside Highland Storm Session Ale, Forest Dweller IPA, White Witch New England IPA and Dark Horse Highland Stout.
Visitors on the Uile-bheist Distillery and Brewery tours will have the opportunity to taste all the beers and the whisky blends, as part of their tour.
