Isle of Skye Brewing Co., Tarasgeir

Here’s your cheat sheet for Tarasgeir by Isle of Skye Brewing Co. Wondering about that name? A Tarasgeir is the Gaelic name for a Peat Iron, which is used for cutting Peat.

Isle of Skye Brewing Co., Tarasgeir / Smoked Ale / 4% ABV / IBU 9

Featured in main subscriber on 8 November 2018.

Find Isle of Skye Brewing Co. on Twitter at @IsleofSkyeBrew and on Instagram at @isleofskyebrewery.

Serving temperature

Serve this beer between 10°C and 13°C; stick it in the fridge for a little over 30 minutes.

As ever, be wary of over-chilling your beer. More chill means less flavour. To learn more read my post on recommended serving temperatures.

Flavours to expect

This beer is going to be malt led. It’s brewed using peat-smoked malt from the Ardmore Distillery. You don’t use fancy-pants malts like this and then smother them with hops. Expect “a delicate smoky aroma and wonderful burnt peat flavour which lingers well into the aftertaste”. The hops are just there to provide a bit of balance:

• Challenger: spicy, cedar, green tea

Food pairings

If you want to pair this with food you might do well to echo the smokiness of the beer. So smoked meat or fish, perhaps a smoked cheese. Strong flavours should also work. Barbecued pork, mutton could work, perhaps a kofte or other similarly spiced middle eastern lamb dish – perhaps in conjunction with charred or roast aubergines. Roquefort might work well. And dark chocolate is a good bet.

I have an inkling that Maltesers might work here too. Give it a go!

Further info

Read more on this beer from BeerBods and Isle of Skye Brewing Co.. You can also check out some of the previous cheat sheets if you want to catch up on a beer from past weeks.