Quaichshop’s own brew!
Even the hardworking Quaichshop folk have to have some recreation time, so we recently organised a staff day out (actually split into two half days) to make our own beer in the Craft Beer Kitchen at Stewart Brewing, Loanhead, near Edinburgh. Day One included the selection of malt and hops, and the creation of our brew mix. After 6 weeks fermentation, Day Two consisted of bottling, capping, labelling and packing. The only tenuous connection with quaichs which we could dream up was the historical observation that larger quaichs were probably used to drink beer, though quaichs nowadays are almost exclusively used in conjunction with whisky!
On arrival, we were asked what type of beer we would like to brew, and settled on a Czech-style pilsner, perhaps in the image of Pilsner Urquell or Staropramen, in due course to be named “Quaichshop Bohemian Pilsner”.
The very helpful and knowledgeable James at Stewart Brewing led us through the various stages of the process, beginning with the choice of our desired malt from a selection of semi-germinated grains – this involved smelling and tasting samples of the grains, which were surprisingly pleasant on the tongue. Once the malt grains were selected and ground mechanically they, and a larger volume of the matching malt extract, were added to the mix in the fermentation vessel.
A range of appropriate hops were surveyed by nose, and our favourite chosen, which was also added to the mix, now heating happily in the correct volume of water in the fermentation tank. Yeast was then also added into the mixture at the appropriate point, and the specific gravity set to produce the desired strength of pilsner (around 5.5% alcohol).
When the afternoon had flown past, we were left with two large plastic tanks of beer, which had to be left to ferment for around six weeks. During that period, we got to custom design our own label for the beer bottles, which Stewart’s would supply in due course, and send it to the brewery in advance of our second visit.
We returned to Stewart’s after the allotted time had passed and, after a brief demonstration, we set to the task of filling 144 bottles from a tap which was connected to our two plastic kegs, in turn. Our techniques improved as the morning passed and wastage was reduced. Each bottle had to be individually capped, hand dried and placed on the hand-operated labelling machine, to have its Quaichshop label firmly affixed, before finally being placed in its cardboard case.
After that, it was back into Edinburgh with a full car boot, to store the 12 cases of beer indoors, where some further fermentation was expected to take place, in the bottles. Then came the good part as we got to taste the fruits of our labours, which were not bad at all, though we say so ourselves. Perhaps we won’t be rivalling the world-renowned Czech breweries quite yet, but the whole experience was very enjoyable, and the end results were really quite palatable. Your good health!