Holy Goat is a Dundee based brewery specialising in the production of mixed-fermentation and barrel aged beers.
Mixed fermentation refers to the use of unconventional yeasts and bacteria in brewing, which allows production of beers with unique character. Holy Goat are driven by experimentation and are obsessed with the awesome flavours which can be achieved from mixed-culture fermentations.
‘Inspired by traditional mixed fermentation beer styles we seek to pay hommage to our brewing forebears, using new techniques, fermentation styles and the highest quality ingredients to produce complex, interesting and (most importantly) tasty beer!’
We love Jonny’s experimentations with wild yeasts and barrels – in particular his experiments with the Belgian Trappists Orval yeast, that saw several beers including ‘Seabeast’, ‘Unicorn Wizzard’ and ‘Riddle Of Steel’ play with this famed inoculator.
‘Hyper Violet’, a BA Golden Sour with Blueberry, Honeyberry and Violet Flowers was another stand out that utilises locality as a byword in their recipes. As well as blending and of course barrel ageing – in their words…
‘This beer is blended from a mix of golden sour fermented with our ‘Seabeast’ Brettanomyces culture, along with another golden sour aged in oak wine barrels for two years (80/20). We refermented this blend with 200g/l of blueberries and honeyberries which were harvested within 60 miles of the brewery, in addition to a hot violet flower infusion.The resultant beer is a deep reddish-purple colour with sweet fresh aroma of violet flowers and forest berries with a slowly developing Brett funk.‘
The breweries name references the tongue-in-cheek description of the ‘goat’ like qualities of wild yeast (Brettanomyces) characteristics. A reverence to this yeast and to the beers which display these characteristics is a strong part of the identity of the brewery. If you’re on the hunt for UK based wild beers then this is as good a place to start as any. All Hail the Goat!
