A Dundee brewer has pulled kegs of beer from City Quay – where they have been maturing under the water for two months.
Danny Cullen, owner of Law Brewing Company, was inspired by a Mediterranean wine maturing concept and decided to put a Dundonian spin on it by submerging his latest beer in the dock.
On Wednesday he hauled two kegs of the rum-oaked ale from its resting place beside HM Unicorn.
He believes he is the first brewer to try out the practice in a Scottish waterway and hopes the water and rum casks will give his limited edition ale, ‘Splice the Mainbrace’, a unique flavour – but he is yet to taste it.
Danny said: “I thought if it could be done with bottles of wine why couldn’t it be done with kegs of beer?
“I reckoned the Tay is an ideal place to give it a go.
“It may not be as warm as the Med but I hoped the conditions would be perfect for the beer kegs to mature.
“I brew all my own beer locally and wanted to try something a little different and this seemed the perfect thing to try.”
Beer profits will help restore HMS Unicorn
The kegs will provide enough beer for 100 bottles and all profits will go to the Unicorn Preservation Society to help repair the ship.
Danny plans to sell the beer through his own company and other local outlets, but hopes he can also sell some to Unicorn operators so visitors can sample it when the ship reopens in January, following repairs.
The brewer says he chose rum casks and to mature the kegs beside the Unicorn to promote Dundee’s seafaring history.
Danny added: “This is a first for Scotland and I’m really excited.
“I will get 100 bottles of beer out of the two kegs.
“The beer will go on sale once I get it bottled.
“I hope to sell some of the bottles to the Unicorn and I’m hopeful I can interest other local outlets as well.”
Conversation