Epochal
Epochal brewery makes beer with a sense of place. Whether through use of local barley, unique house microflora, their special Scottish water, the impact of climate on the aging process or inspiration drawn from local brewing traditions, Epochal beer is particular to Scotland and to the brewery itself.
All of Epochal’s beer is fermented with their house Saccharomyces culture in open fermenters before a long, slow fermentation in wood with their house Brettanomyces strains. This process creates inimitable, complex, delicious flavours which were once common in Scottish beer.
While Scottish brewing history provides them with much inspiration, they are just as inspired by modern craft beer, contemporary brewing science and their creative curiosity as by the beers of the past. Their beer is modern and their own, but with roots in Scotland’s brewing heritage.
What to call such beers can be bit of a puzzle – the most common term is ‘mixed fermentation’, but this is also used to refer to quick-turnaround, sweet and sour fruit beers fermented in stainless steel without Brettanomyces influence and so, while such beers can be great, the term ‘mixed fermentation’ doesn’t really pick out what Epochal is up to in a sufficiently specific way. They have settled on terms such as ‘barrel fermented’ or the older alternative ‘stock beer’ to capture their special combination of complex, funky microbes and wood aging.
Epochal specialises in barrel fermented stock pale ales, table beers, porters, stouts and Scotch ales. Some of these they have released already, whereas some haven’t arrived yet - when you’re fermenting them in wood, these things take time. They’ll be good though.
