Dundee’s first brewery in almost 50 years, 71 Brewing launched last year, hoping to revive the lost art of brewing in Scotland’s fourth city. Having discovered a newfound passion for beer when visiting family in Melbourne, Australia, Managing Director Duncan Alexander eventually teamed up with Mark Griffiths to launch 71 Brewing in the city where Alexander grew up. Having obtained £650,000 in funding from Scottish Enterprise, Regional Selective Assistance, The Scottish Investment Bank and private investment, the brewery took over a disused industrial building at 71 Blackness Road: inspiring the brewery’s name, honouring the industrial heritage of the building and the area. The 25hl brewhouse now produces around 15 different beers and houses an on-site Taproom with 10 draught lines.
Initially a lager only brewery, 71 Brewing’s first beer was a Dundonian Pilsner, inspired by the brewing traditions of central and eastern Europe, utilising Dundee’s soft water with low mineral content that’s akin to the water typically used to craft Czech Pils. Having since built a strong core range of classic and experimental beers, the brewery’s website states: “Our goal is to make beers packed with flavour and character, both sessionable and familiar, funky and weird, but most importantly, with balance and consistency. We always strive to make beer you will want to drink again and again.”
The second coming of 71 Brewing’s rhubarb Hefeweizen, Rhuby Weiss volume two has a lower ABV than the original, fermented for longer in order to extract further depth of flavour. The beer is also unfiltered, unfined and vegan-friendly. On pour, Rhuby Weiss is hazy like a New England India Pale Ale; amber and crowned with a foaming white head. On the nose, rhubarb’s unsurprising presence is joined by aromas of banana, soft lemon, sherbet and some biscuit. A slightly funky herbal note also prevails, complete with a whisper of toffee. More rhubarb continues on the palate, joined with a profound yeast character; the tartness of rhubarb somewhat counteracted by some vanilla and toffee, followed by an underlying hint of clove. Sweet and sour, Rhuby Weiss is eventually rounded with a very feint refreshing bitterness, continuing on the tart, juicy finish.
Further information on 71 Brewing can be found here.
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