Six Degrees North celebrate 10 years of brewing by releasing 10 special one off beers, that celebrate the provenance of the brewery whilst also promoting a different food/drink producer from the North East of Scotland.
The first opportunity to taste the beers will be on Friday 31st March at the Marine Hotel Stonehaven. A number of events will then be held around the UK throughout April.
The beers are available to buy on the Six Degrees North website
(pre order currently live) as well as at a host of independent bars and bottle shops around the UK.
We are extremely excited to announce that April this year will see Six Degrees North celebrate turning 10 years old! Over the past decade we have sent our beer all over the UK and beyond, served at our favourite beer festivals across the land, collaborated with some of the finest brewers around and built many great friendships along the way.
As we set about blowing up balloons and ordering in some cake, we thought it would be great to brew 10 limited edition beers to mark the occasion. We wanted the brews to reflect the ethos of the company; embracing new styles whilst learning from historical brewing traditions and creating delicious, balanced beers with a continental flair that still reflect our own region. And so we decided that each of the ten one-off beers should contain an ingredient/process from a fellow producer in the North East of Scotland. The challenge was set, the beers are bold and flavourful yet, importantly, perfectly balanced.
Brewery founder Robert Lindsay said “It was a great honour to be able to work with so many fantastic producers from the local area. We wanted to showcase the depth of talent within the local food and drink scene and these beers really do just that.”
The beers, listed below, also each have a special connection to the history of the brewery. As a brewery that was founded upon Robert’s love of Belgian beer, it is fitting that the majority of the releases are traditional Belgian styles. In Robert’s own words “One of the hallmarks of all Belgian brewing is creating a balance within the beer. There is no point in using fantastic local ingredients if the base beer fights with their flavour, it is always about creating a harmony within the beer which in itself leads to a more pleasurable drinking experience.”
The Birthday Beers
Quad – 12% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #1 Our neighbours at Fettercairn Distillery make innovative and great tasting whisky. They also share our passion for provenance and are committed to using local ingredients where possible. They were kind enough to provide us with some top quality freshly emptied barrels in which to age this brew. We made a big, powerful and rich beer to stand up to take on the great flavours of the barrel.
DH Table Beer – 3.5% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #2 Vertegrow are relatively new to the local food and drink scene and we have been really excited to see how their vertical farming methods have been yielding some excellent results. Reducing food miles and not using any pesticides, they are producing fresh, nutritious, flavourful and healthy food all year round. We chose to use mint to create a light fresh beer with a tropical feel.
Wheat – Alexander’s Gin Botanicals – 4.6% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #3 Stonehaven resident and Marine regular, our friend Alexander ‘Fred’ Stockton produces the excellent Alexander’s Gin. The gin is juniper forward with a distinct twist of orange. We used these botanicals as a base for a traditional Belgian style wheat beer, orange citrus is well balanced by the dry juniper finish.
Berry Sour – 5.1% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #4 We have been using the great fruit from Denhead Farms for a few years now and the quality is always excellent. There are 3 generations of the Neill family farming alongside each other in the beautiful Strathmore Valley. We took their excellent raspberries and paired them with gooseberries to amplify the tartness.
Märzen Lager – 6% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #5 This beer is a few years in the making. The Henderson family started growing hops for 6DN back in 2018 and they now provide a base for a number of our beers. For this one we decided to do something special. We brewed with freshly picked hops and then we lagered the beer for 14 weeks to make sure that the result was naturally smooth and creamy.
Hazy IPA – 6.5% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #6 The team at Oat Co Scotland may have been growing oats on their land for generations. Nowadays they continue to use proven farming methods and are committed to using digital technology to provide a fully transparent process ensuring that the naturally gluten free grain has exceptional environmental, traceable and nutritious credentials. We used their Jumbo Rolled Oats to add depth and body to this excellent IPA
.
Saison – 6% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #7 Unravel Tea create a range of excellent and authentic traditional teas and herbal infusions to excite the palate. The ‘Unicorn Kisses’ herbal infusion has a wonderfully herbaceous aroma, subtle fruitiness and citrus edge. A saison was deemed a perfect base for the delicate flavours and they pair excellently with the signature spice of the yeast.
Honey Tripel – 9.5% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #8 Ranald of Honey Hill Farm has been providing us with excellent honey for a number of years. The heather honey comes from the Cairn O’Mount, just 5 miles from the brewery. It is beautifully floral and has a great depth of flavour. That allows for an excellent balance within this classic Belgian style Tripel, with the intensity of the honey growing as it warms.
Scotch – Mackie’s Honeycomb – 8% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #9 Mackie’s are a powerhouse of the local food & drink scene and another family business that we are proud to work with on this project. Their commitment to sustainability and renewable energy is an inspiration. And the Honeycomb ice cream is a sweet, moreish delight. We used honeycomb as a replacement for brewing sugar in this Belgian style Scotch to give an added depth of flavour.
Imperial Stout – Figment Coffee – 9% – 6DN 10th Birthday Series #10 An impromptu double collaboration as Brendon from Five Kingdoms Brewery joined us on a rather poignant brewday. Figment is a specialty coffee roastery and café located in the heart of Aberdeen, they source coffee ethically, responsibly and sustainably. Their Wonderland roast was cold brewed for around 19 hours before being added to the rich chocolatey stout base and a perfect balance was found.