White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA’s Newcastle beer brand is kicking off a brand-new series of “collaboration edition” beers made with some of Europe’s finest and oldest breweries. To brew the first offering in the series, the brand turned to its Edinburgh, Scotland-based sister brewery Caledonian to develop an ale that brings world-class traditional British brewing to casual beer drinkers around the world, Newcastle explains.
The Newcastle Scotch Ale collaboration is a limited-time offering from Newcastle and Caledonian that represents a rich, full-flavored and fulfilling Scottish ale with toffee notes at 6.4 percent alcohol by volume and 40 international bittering units, the brand says.
To promote the brew, actor, blogger and beer aficionado Wil Wheaton will star in a pair of videos aimed at making beer connoisseurship accessible and fun for drinks lovers of all nationalities. “One of our dreams is to get rid of the ‘intimidation’ factor that prevents so many people from foregoing boring ‘yellow beer’ and enjoying more interesting brews,” said Brett Steen, brand manager for Newcastle Brown Ale, in a statement. “Wil is an inviting and knowledgeable guy, and we’re stoked that he’s taking this herculean effort of humor and wisdom onto himself so we don’t have to.”
Newcastle Scotch Ale was developed as a true collaboration between Newcastle and Caledonian and is brewed at the latter’s Edinburgh brewery. The Caledonian Brewery uses only traditional British brewing methods, including using only whole-flower hops and heating the original 1869 copper kettles with open flames, the company explains.
The Newcastle Collaboration Series will roll out throughout 2015 and include new beers made in partnership with some of Europe’s oldest breweries. Fans can follow Newcastle on Facebook and Twitter to find for the latest information about Collaboration Series releases.
Newcastle Scotch Ale will be available nationally in six- and 12-packs and on draft in select markets through February 2015.
