Contact
Description
Spey Valley Brewery was the first commercial “micro” brewery to be located in the heart of Speyside, creating the finest hand-crafted beers from the same water as Speyside’s world renowned malt whiskies.
The company was founded in 2007 by a distiller, David MacDonald, and a local farmer, Innes MacPherson, who set out to produce world-class beers on the farm in Mulben. Initially brewing from a tiny pilot plant, for the first four years the brewery survived on the owners’ day jobs and focused exclusively upon getting the recipes and the products right. Distribution was deliberately confined to a limited number of informed, local buyers and it wasn’t until 2011 that the first commercial casks arrived on the market.
The first product – Spey Stout – was enthusiastically received by consumers and critically acclaimed throughout the wider brewing world. Encouraged by this early success, the company expanded production in 2012 and began distributing more widely throughout the North East and further afield. In early 2016, production moved to a dedicated unit – still on the farm! – that has seen Spey Valley Brewery become the largest brewery in the local area.
Brewery closed in 2020 and relaunched in Summer 2023 with a different beer lineup.
The company was founded in 2007 by a distiller, David MacDonald, and a local farmer, Innes MacPherson, who set out to produce world-class beers on the farm in Mulben. Initially brewing from a tiny pilot plant, for the first four years the brewery survived on the owners’ day jobs and focused exclusively upon getting the recipes and the products right. Distribution was deliberately confined to a limited number of informed, local buyers and it wasn’t until 2011 that the first commercial casks arrived on the market.
The first product – Spey Stout – was enthusiastically received by consumers and critically acclaimed throughout the wider brewing world. Encouraged by this early success, the company expanded production in 2012 and began distributing more widely throughout the North East and further afield. In early 2016, production moved to a dedicated unit – still on the farm! – that has seen Spey Valley Brewery become the largest brewery in the local area.
Brewery closed in 2020 and relaunched in Summer 2023 with a different beer lineup.
7/10
Bottle at Craig’s. Pours deep brown, nose is spiced, dung, roasted, taste is sweet, chocolate, spicy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Feb 2015
at 09:04
6.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle at Craig’s. Pours clear ruby dark brown with a head. Aromas are earthy, ginger. Taste is very thin, light spice. No real stout character.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2015
at 14:05
6.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle at Craig’s. Pours deep brown, nose is spiced, dung, roasted, taste is sweet, chocolate, spicy.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2015
at 14:05
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
bottle at home .. deep brown ... small tan lacing ...soft sweet spiced roast nose .. soft malts .. soft toffee fruits ... dark malts ... dark chocolate roast .. soft toffee malt ... sweet chocolate roast ... nice soft and easy malts ..
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Feb 2015
at 14:03
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Keg at North Hop, Aberdeen. Dark brown body with a thin beige head that fades. No lacing. Aroma of milk chocolate, roasted malt and light spices. Flavour of orange, nuts and warming spices. Thin to medium body with a creamy texture. Soft fizz. A tasty beer - complex and well balanced.
Tried
on 14 Jan 2015
at 17:58
6.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
500ml bottle. Pours clear, light brown with a white head. Soft toffee aroma with slight metallic notes. Taste is malty sweet with little bitterness. Not bad
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Dec 2014
at 15:32
5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5
Bottle at home. Pours copper, toffee/caramel on nose, sweet caramel, bitter funky aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Dec 2014
at 23:37
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Cask at SRAF 2012. Pours black, nose is fruity, roast malts, taste is chocolate, roasted, dry.
Tried
from Cask
on 04 Dec 2014
at 23:37
6.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Cask at SRAF 2012. Pours golden amber, nose is malty, fruity, taste is light lemon, toffee.
Tried
from Cask
on 04 Dec 2014
at 23:36
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle at home. Pours golden copper, nose is light toffee, fruit, taste is sweet, malty.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Dec 2014
at 23:34