Dookit: Afresh Organic Spring Ale With Land And Sea Weeds (330ml)

Back in November, on a dreich and dreary Glaswegian night, Federico Lubrani from Slow Food Glasgow, Peter McKenna from The Gannet and myself, got together to dream of Spring. The idea: to produce a light and refreshing ale while making the most of some intriguing and delicious seasonal foraged goods.

We recruited the help of expert forager Amy Rankine and herbalist aficionado and illustrator  Indre Simkute. After little debate and much agreement the idea for an organic Extra Pale Ale flavoured with sticky-willies and sugar kelp came to fruition.

Our experiments led us to the conclusion that less is more and to only add the land and sea weeds in very small amounts for a very brief steeping period.The seedlings of sticky-willies have a fresh cucumber note we thought would pair perfectly with New Zealand Wakatu and all the zesty-limey notes it’s renowned for. However, like any good and effective Spring tonic, you don’t want to be inundated with fruitiness. A savoury and very subtle saline character is secured with the addition of sugar kelp, not to mention the grassy greenness of the sticky-willies. The umami sugar kelp also bulks up the body & creates a silky soft mouthfeel.