Their portfolio includes seasonal beers, limited editions, out of the ordinary brews and wild beers made with wild yeast or foraged botanicals, like Spruce tips used for a Scottish Export. All STF beers are vegan friendly, unfiltered, unpasteurised and naturally carbonated. And it’s these characteristics which match Slow Food’s ethos of eating and sharing more of the amazing local and seasonal ingredients on offer to us in Scotland. So when we got in touch to arrange a tour, we were so excited to learn about what goes on behind the scenes.

During the first half of the tour, Phil opened the doors of the Southside brewery to share stories of beers and to explain his favourite brewing techniques and ingredients including which malt yeast, hops and seasonal foraged ingredients he likes to use. Phil, the mind behind STF, made us feel at home surrounded by the vessels and 'mush tuns'.

The second half of the event was dedicated to a tasting experience of two beers, a double dry-hopped IPA from the Big Ideas series and a Scottish Export with Spruce Tips from the Seasonal Series. We kept ourselves entertained by trying to identify their aroma profile by using our tasting note flavour wheel.