Edinburgh’s Barney’s Beer has come on board with Scottish band Idlewild, brewing a new beer to celebrate their eighth album Everything Ever Written. The craft beer brewer, based at Edinburgh Arts Hub Summerhall, was approached by the band who were looking for a symbiotic way to launch their new album.
The album, predominantly written on the Isle of Mull and recorded in Edinburgh, launches in the UK on 16 February 2015. The beer will be available in Scotland as part of a limited edition batch to coincide with the launch. The band and brewer are very excited to be working together to celebrate the launch of the new album and the band’s return to music after five years away.
Brewer Barney commented:
“When the band approached me to collaborate on a beer I invited them down to the brewery to have a taste of some beers and throw around some ideas. We’re not new to artistic collaborations having worked with John Byrne, Ryoko Tamura & Will Pickvance – so it was great to have the whole band’s input and come up with something that reflects the ideas behind Everything Ever Written”
The Band joined Barney in his brewery in late 2014 to taste some beers and work out how best to match the album with a bespoke brew. The band tried Barney’s range from the very light Extra Pale ale to a new double Volcano IPA – the band, all beer drinkers, settled for a beer that would be sessionable and accessible to music fans and beer fans alike.
The final beer – Scottish Fiction IPA – named after a track from the band’s ‘The Remote Part’ album which featured the poem Scottish Fiction by the late Edwin Morgan – is made with Scottish malt and American hops to mirror the album’s musical ingredients – Scottish Folk, Hebridean psychedelia, americana and American alternative rock.
The band’s Roddy Woomble added:
“Idlewild are a band of committed and enthusiastic craft beer and ale drinkers and Barneys beer has been a favourite for quite a while. The fact that Barney’s beer and Idlewild both hail from Edinburgh makes a collaboration like this extra special….”
The very limited edition brew of 1250 bottles will be available at independent beer & wine shops and also will also be available on cask for a limited time only.
The bottles will also feature a QR code that will give access to a free download of a special acoustic performance of one of the bands earliest and best-loved tracks – A Film For The Future.
The beer will be available at stockists including Vino Wines, Great Grog & Cork & Cask and online at Beer52.com
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