Aldi beer: The best Scottish brews to buy on your next shop

It’s a good time to be a Scottish craft beer fan, as these days even big chain supermarkets like Aldi tend to carry an impressive collection.

Although I do my best to support my local and excellent craft bottleshops, sometimes there’s nothing better than getting a bunch of great beer at relatively bargain prices.

Next time you’re doing the weekly shop at Aldi, here are four varied beers I can heartily recommend you pick up from breweries all across Scotland.

Three cans and a bottle of beer from Aldi, with a glass full of one of the drinks. — Here are the four beers I picked as my favourite from my local Aldi.

Aldi beer 1: Fraoch Heather Beer from Williams Bros

Fraoch beer poured out into a glass. — Fraoch from Williams Bros pours crystal clear and crisp.

5%
£1.65 a 500ml bottle
Williams Bros Brewing, Alloa
Style: Amber Ale

Fraoch is really one of the OGs of the Scottish craft brewing scene, being on shop shelves years before the likes of Brewdog came on the scene.

Williams Bros says it’s based on a ancient recipe handed to them in 1988 by a “lady of Gaelic descent”, but whatever the story is, it’s a bloody good beer.

It’s made with extra ingredients like heather, bogmyrtle and ginger, and makes for a very floral and spicy beer.

You could probably serve this to a craft gin fan and they’d lap it up.

Rating: 3/5

Aldi beer 2: Peach Plaza from Fierce Beer

Fierce Beer's Peach Plaza poured out into a glass. — The Fierce Beer Peach Plaza.

4.2%
£1.89 a 440ml can
Fierce Beer, Aberdeen
Style: Pale Ale

Fierce Beer have done a number of peachy-flavoured beers, but as far as I can tell you can only get this one at Aldi.

While not as good as some of their other beers brewed with peach, like their amazing Peach Melba they used to do with raspberries, it’s a really solid hazy pale ale with a decent fruity backbone.

Grab it if you’re a fan of beers like Hazy Jane from Brewdog.

Rating: 3.5/5

Aldi Beer 3: Silkie Stout from Loch Lomond Brewery

The Silkie Stout poured out into a glass. — Of course, I had to pour the Silkie Stout into my Guinness glass.

5%
£1.89 per 440ml can
Loch Lomond Brewery
Style: Oatmeal Stout

You don’t tend to get a lot of good stouts from supermarkets that aren’t Guinness, but this is a definite exception to the rule.

As the name implies, it’s a silkie smooth, pitch-black beer that’s just on the right side of sweet.

I usually grab at least two of these on a trip to Aldi.

Rating: 4/5

And number 4: Mystic River IPA from Williams Bros

The Mystic River IPA poured into a glass. — The Mystic River IPA.

5%
£1.79 a 440ml can
Williams Bros, Alloa
Style: East Coast IPA

Yes, it’s Williams Bros on the list for a second time, but the Alloa brewery deserves it for this IPA.

It’s juicy, refreshing, and has a really soft fruity bitterness.

Another must-have from the Aldi beer aisle in my humble opinion.

Rating: 4/5

Kieran is a former craft beer barman and publishes his beer column every Tuesday online. You can also read his column in the P&J’s Food and Drink magazine, which you can find inside your Press and Journal newspaper every Saturday.