Levenbank Distillery, founded by the team at Loch Lomond Brewery, is partnering with Northern Monk on an innovative project bringing the worlds of craft beer and whisky together.
The collaboration will see Northern Monk’s head brewer & co-founder Brian Dickson come to Loch Lomond Brewery/Levenbank Distillery to brew an Imperial Stout which will be developed into three distinct products over the coming years.
Imperial Stout – Some of the brew will be released in its original form in keg and can for both the on- and off-trade. A portion will also be bottled to be included in a future curated set.
Oloroso Cask-Aged Imperial Stout – The remaining brew will be matured in Oloroso casks, allowing the beer to develop additional depth and complexity.
Single Grain Scotch Whisky – The same Imperial Stout recipe will then be distilled into whisky and laid down to mature for a period of 3-4 years in the same casks used to age the cask-aged imperial stout release.
Upon completion of the whisky’s maturation, there will be a three-part collection, offering consumers a unique opportunity to explore the transformation of a single recipe across beer, cask-aging, and whisky distilling.
Head brewer/distiller and company director Euan MacEachern said “We are delighted to be partnering with Northern Monk on the first of our beer to whisky exploration projects.
“It marks the beginning of a wider initiative to explore the relationship between brewing and distilling through collaborations with leading craft brewers.
“Future collaborations will experiment with a range of styles, including Barley Wines, Doppelbocks, Imperial Reds, and Sour Beers, with the aim of demonstrating that the style of beer, or wash as it’s known in the whisky world, has a significant influence on the flavour of the whisky.”
“At Northern Monk, we’ve always been passionate about pushing the boundaries of what beer can be,” added Brian Dickson, head brewer and co-founder of Northern Monk.
“This collaboration is a perfect example of that. Working with Levenbank/Loch Lomond Brewery to create an imperial stout designed to be drunk fresh as a beer, and also to be barrel-aged and used for whisky-making, is an incredible opportunity to explore the relationship between brewing and distilling.
“We can’t wait to see how the rich, bold flavours of the imperial stout evolve through the distillation and cask-ageing process into something truly special.”
As an award-winning brewery and an experimental distillery, the team behind Loch Lomond Brewery and Levenbank Distillery are committed to showcasing the importance that raw ingredients and brewing methods have in shaping the character of whisky, and that flavour is derived from much more than just the cask.
