Meet Patrik — A Trainee Brewer and One of Scot Beer’s Tour Guides

Meet Patrik — A Trainee Brewer and a ScotBeer Tour Guide

Here at ScotBeer, we’re proud of our team! We’ve worked hard to build a team that love beer, tourism and making sure our guests have the best experience possible on any of our Glasgow and Edinburgh beer tours. Patrik leads tours of the Old Town in Edinburgh and is incredibly knowledgeable about beer. Originally from Finland (via Texas), Patrik’s international experience makes him an invaluable member of the team. So, we thought we’d share some of his story.

Take it away Patrik!

Why Scotland?

I spent my formative years in Texas, until the age of 10. Then I moved back to my motherland of Finland. I had all my schooling in English and decided to study Chemistry abroad. My sights were set on Scotland, and I was accepted onto a course at Heriot-Watt. After 4 years of work, I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Biochemistry. Having not found my calling in that field, I set my sights on the Master’s program offered by Heriot-Watt in Brewing & Distilling. This is where I find myself today.

What’s the Brewing & Distilling Course like at Heriot-Watt University?

The course so far has focused on the brewing process utilizing barley malt. e.g. How barley is made, why it’s used and how it’s malted. From there, we’ve moved on to how the brewing process proceeds, discussing everything from water hardness in the mash to the chemical makeup of hops. We also have lectures on the chemical engineering aspect of brewing, focusing on pipe flow and heat transfer.

Can beer be a good Christmas drink?

As a brewer, I’m certainly going to try to make my own beer this Christmas! A Christmas beer is lovely to have, in between all the mulled wine. A lightly hopped amber ale with cloves and cinnamon thrown in at the end lend it that lovely warmth that one is seeking when the weather outside is oh so frightful …If full cloves and cinnamon sticks are hard to come by, I’ll settle for a nice porter. A chocolate porter is a good enough replacement for a hot cocoa, right?

What are your impressions of Scotland’s craft beer industry?

Scotland’s craft beer industry is booming right now. This Christmas I’m looking forward to enjoying Black Isle’s Scotch Ale. A lovely classic, drinking that while listening to Crosby crooning and “It’s A Wonderful Life” on TV just has you enjoying the platonic ideal of each ones respective field. I’d also recommend Fierce Beer’s Chranachan Killer. Why have a solid dessert when you could have the liquid version! Lots of flavours, lovely raspberry coming through the body. Absolutely lovely for a boundary- pushing beer.

Give the gift of beer

Patrik is a guide on our Old Town tour, which can be found in our range of Edinburgh beer tours. You can sign up for one of our beer tours of give here or even gift a beer tour by purchasing one of our ScotBeer gift cards. If you have any questions about our Scottish beer tours, please feel free to get in touch!