AN APPRENTICE at a Lockerbie micro-brewery has created a new ale being served-up at Scotland’s first Golden Eagle Festival in Moffat next month.
Less than four months ago young Corin Skinner was helping out with odd jobs at Lowland Brewing’s base on Well Street.
“One of the first jobs I did was moving sacks of grain, we got a delivery in of quite a lot of grain in 25 kilogram bags and I was running that up and down all the stairs,” he said.
But when the 22 year-old was offered an apprenticeship by owner Michael Tough, he jumped at the opportunity to learn about the beer making process and try his hand at it.
“Michael needed more help and so I ended up helping out more and more and then the idea came up for me to do an apprenticeship,
Corin added. “I wasn’t that well-versed in brewing, but in my family we make elderflower champagne and my grandfather used to do it a bit.”
Just weeks after starting in the new role, Corin was tasked with brewing his first product after Lowland were approached by organisers of the upcoming bird of prey festival and asked to create an exclusive beer for the event.
He said: “Michael ended up suggesting that I do a draught and so I came up with an idea and we’ve been working on it and tuning it together for the preference of what the beer should be like, looking at the amount of wheat and such – it’s a good leaning process, which is why Michael is getting me to do it, because it teaches me about the actual beer and is helpful for future endeavours.
“We interpreted from the theme Golden Eagle, so we decided it would be a golden ale and then the rest was just making the beer. But it will be a unique product.”
Golden Eagle Golden Ale will be brewed and casked at the end of the month ahead of September’s bird bonanza in Moffat, Scotland’s first ‘Eagle Town’.
Corin, who prior to working for Lowland Brewing studied animal conservation biology at university, said he hopes to make it along to the festival, adding: “It’s something I’m quite interested in myself. I’ve done some birdwatching and I find it a very humbling activity.”
