Cairngorm Brewery’s head brewer Liam Anderson has worked there for the last 12 years, helping to make their award-winning milk stout beer.
31-year-old Liam started as a “spare pair of hands” at 19, but has worked his way up to the position he’s in today.
His role then involved cask washing, at what he calls “the lowest rung of the ladder”.
Now, he’s heading up quality control, ensuring recipes are being followed.
“You never perfect beer,” Liam admits.
“It’s an ongoing battle for perfection. And that’s what we’re aiming for.”
“A big part of brewing for me is consistency,” he adds.
“Anyone can make one good beer. But to consistently make good beer is what we strive towards.”
And it is this consistent quality that has ensured Cairngorm Brewery’s latest win.
Their 4.4% session stout Black Gold has won the Champion Beer of Scotland title for the second year in a row.
The competition is organised by The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
Liam was “over the moon” when he found out.
“I want to stress how much this reflects on the team and not just me personally,” he adds.
“To win it not only once, but to win it back to back, that was a phenomenal result for us.
“It really is the day to day work from these guys that gets these results.”
‘I’m not trying to be Guinness, I’m trying to be better’
Guinness is reportedly being rationed in some pubs across the UK.
Celebrities Kim Kardashian and Olivia Rodrigo have endorsed the beer, which has no doubt played into its increasing popularity, especially among young women.
Cairngorm Brewery, too, have experienced this boom with their Black Gold stout.
“We’ve seen an uptake in stout, predominately from female drinkers,” says Liam.
“Stout has just taken off.
“And I think there’s a big gap in the market there. Apart from Guinness, there aren’t that many stout brands.
“There’s a very big hole and that’s what we’re hoping Black Gold can fill.
“I’m not trying to be Guinness, I’m trying to be better.”
Brewing beer is the perfect job for Liam, he tells me.
“Whenever anyone asks how I’m doing, I always say I’m living the dream,” says the head brewer.
“And it very much is.”
How do Cairngorm Brewery make Black Gold stout beer?
I asked Liam what goes into Cairngorm Brewery‘s award-winning stout beer, Black Gold.
“A lot of hard work, I can tell you that much,” he laughs.
The beer has a “unique style” as a milk stout. They add lactose which creates a sweetness in the beer.
“What makes it unique is the body and the caramelisation of the flavour,” he adds.
“We have an internal gas-fired element in the kettle. So it’s in direct contact with the wart (pre-boiled beer).
“The unique reaction in there creates that caramelisation, a slight bit of that burnt flavour.”
Sam Faircliff, the brewery’s managing director explains what goes into the recipe.
“We use grain which comes from Scotland,” says Sam.
“It’s malted barley, roasted barley, and coloured malts, so that you get the dark colour.
“It takes a wee bit more nurturing than the other beers – though it’s not a problem child.
“The grain goes into the mash tun, then the wart – that’s the sugary liquid and the food for the yeast – goes into the copper.
“It is then boiled for an hour and a half, so that the liquid is sterile, and we’ve extracted as many flavours out of the malt as we can.
“Then it goes through to the fermentation vessel and the yeast is added, after passing through a heat exchanger.”
The process, from grain to cask, says Sam, takes 10 days.
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