Our Ales

Islay Ales produce a range of cask and bottle conditioned beers, which are neither filtered nor pasteurised and so continue to ferment and mature in both the cask and the bottle! We brew the following eight beers on a regular basis. Look out for our special limited edition beers which Paul and Paul produce from time to time. These have included beers for the Islay Festival of Music and Malt in conjunction with Bruichladdich, Bowmore and Laphroaig Distilleries.

Finlaggan Ale 3.7% ABV
Finlaggan Ale is brewed with pale and crystal malts, giving the beer a mid brown colour. The use of Golding as the bittering hop gives the beer a gentle, rounded bitterness, while Mount Hood and Styrian Goldings hops added towards the end of the boil give the beer a fresh, fruity and hoppy flavour.

THE GOLD MEDAL WINNING Black Rock Ale 4.2% ABV
This was CAMRA’s Scottish Champion Real Ale in a Bottle Gold Medal winner in 2009. The use of pale and crystal malts and un-malted roasted barley gives a darker, reddish brown hue than Finlaggan Ale and adds a softer, nuttier flavour to Black Rock whilst also giving it a more robust body. Golding is used as the bittering hop. Late hopping with Fuggle and Mount Hood gives a floral, grassy and herbal nose.

Saligo Ale 4.4% ABV
Saligo Ale is a beer for the summer. Using lager, pale and wheat malts produce a golden coloured beer, reminiscent of sandy beaches and sunshine. While Golding hops give their rounded bitterness, adding Bramling Cross hops as both a flavour and aroma hop give Saligo Ale a refreshing and citrusy, lemon and grapefruit nose and taste.

Ardnave Ale 4.6% ABV
Ardnave Ale is a dry, thirst quenching, hoppy bitter. Brewed using mainly pale malt, a small amount of crystal malt adds just that little bit of extra character. A high hopping rate, using Golding, Mount Hood, Fuggle and Styrian Goldings give this beer real thirst quenching dry character.

Dun Hogs Head Ale 4.4%ABV
Dun Hogs Head Ale is a dark, dry stout brewed using pale, crystal, chocolate and wheat malts together with un-malted roasted barley. Golding and Bramling Cross hops are used for the bittering; giving a fruity edge to the dry bitterness that comes from using highly roasted malts. Late additions of Bramling Cross hops to the boil add another dimension to the aroma of the beer.

Nerabus Ale 4.8% ABV
Nerabus Ale is our winter warmer; a deep ruby colour beer brewed with pale, caramalt, dark crystal, chocolate and wheat malts. The hops used are Amarillo from America and Bramling Cross from England. It has a black treacle, spicy flavour balanced by the use of spicy and citrusy hops.

Angus Og Ale 4.5% ABV
First brewed for the 2004 Feis, this beer is made from pale and crystal malts with Golding, Mount Hood and Styrian Golding hops. At 4.5% ABV, it is not as strong as, but is closer in taste to a traditional India Pale Ale.

THE GOLD MEDAL WINNING Single Malt Ale 5.0% ABV
This was CAMRA’s Scottish Champion Real Ale in a Bottle Gold Medal winner in 2010. First brewed for the 2005 Islay Festival of Music and Malt, Single Malt Ale is just that. Brewed using only pale malt, it has a light colour with a sweet edge from this lightly kilned malt. It has a high hop rate (about 2¼ pounds per brewers’ barrel) using Amarillo and Bramling Cross hops, giving Single Malt Ale a long, bitter finish.