When we found out we’d been selected for this year’s Collabageddon, we were genuinely thrilled – and truly honoured. Now in its eighth year, the project was founded by Andy Parker of Elusive Brewing to bring breweries together, share knowledge, spark ideas and strengthen connections across the UK beer scene. Just twelve breweries are invited each year and their collaborative beers are then showcased in venues around the country, including our very own Canalhouse.
And so began Part One of our Collabageddon journey.
For our first collaboration, we were paired with Fierce Beer and made the 420-mile train journey from Nottingham to Aberdeen to brew a traditional Scottish 80/- (eighty shilling). It’s a style rarely seen south of the border, so our brewers Jon and Matt were especially excited.
For the uninitiated, an 80/- is a full-bodied, malt-forward Scottish ale with notes of dried fruit, gentle sweetness and rich depth – a style steeped in heritage and perfectly suited to the season.
Duke from Sales and I went up a day early to get settled and be ready for a fresh start on brew day.
Bags dropped at the hotel, the research began – in the form of a mini pub tour to see what cask beer looks like in Aberdeen.
The city certainly lives up to its nickname “The Granite City,” with its striking silver-grey architecture.
Coming from Nottingham – where we’re spoilt for cask choice – it was a surprise to see how firmly keg dominates in Aberdeen. Still, the search wasn’t in vain.
Under The Hammer offered one solitary cask line, but it was a perfect pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, so no complaints there.
On the bartender’s recommendation, The Stag was next. Duke enjoyed a nostalgic pint of McEwan’s Export, a throwback to his early drinking days.
Several people pointed us towards the nearby Grill, and it didn’t disappoint. A beautiful one-room pub with mahogany panelling and moulded plaster ceilings, it offered a warm welcome and multiple cask options as well as a huge selection of whiskey.
Bar manager John even threw in a history lesson: The Grill opened in 1870, but women weren’t allowed in until the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 – and there was no ladies’ toilet until 1998! Until then, female drinkers had to pop over to The Stag to use the facilities.
The evening ended just 50 yards from our hotel, with a Wee Heavy at Fierce’s own taproom and an early night in preparation for the brew.
Bright and early the next morning, it was time to meet the team. Ghyll was leading the 80/- brew and got us started with a mash-in before taking us on a tour of the brewery.
A highlight? Discovering an entire collection of barrels filled with Very Big Moose Imperial Stout – and the promise that we’d get to taste a few later.
There had been jokes earlier in the day about Storm Amy potentially stranding us in the north, but as the hours passed, the news started to sound less like banter and more like a warning.
After mash-out came something magical: sampling the Very Big Moose aged in American rye whisky barrels – they were rich, bold and dangerously moreish.
Then came a tap on the shoulder from Fierce owner Dave, who’d just heard word from ScotRail: all trains out of Aberdeen were being cancelled, and if we wanted any chance of getting home, we’d need to abandon plans for the Castle Rock tap takeover at Fierce’s taproom that evening and make for the station – fast.
Reluctantly, we said our goodbyes, jumped on one of the last trains and headed south.
Storm Amy had thrown a barrel into the works – we made it as far as Edinburgh – only to miss the final connection home thanks to speed restrictions on the line.
With trains cancelled left right and centre, and the evening slipping away, the first priority was finding somewhere – anywhere – to sleep. Every reasonably priced hotel seemed to have been snapped up by other stranded passengers. Eventually, we found a place that didn’t require selling a kidney, in the Edinburgh suburb of Leith, and jumped in an Uber.
The less said about the hotel, the better. Imagine Fawlty Towers meets Rising Damp, with a dash of municipal hostel. That said, it was warm, dry and came with a roof – all the essential boxes ticked. But it wasn’t somewhere to linger.
Rather than sit staring at the questionable carpet, we headed out to make the best of things. Pure luck (or fate in beer form) led us to discover that Campervan Brewery – who are also part of this year’s Collabageddon – had a taproom just a ten-minute walk away.
We opted not to follow Google Maps suggestion of a shortcut through a dark, tree-filled park and took the long way round, arriving with spirits lifted.
Sam, the taproom manager, asked how we were doing, and when he found out who we were and why we were in town, conversation flowed instantly. Between pulling pints and serving customers, he joined us for a proper industry catch-up – the kind you only get when plans go wrong and pints are poured late.
We were so engrossed that we forgot we hadn’t eaten since lunchtime.
With most kitchens around Leith closing at 10pm, Sam suggested heading into the city centre if we wanted food. Luckily, another customer chimed in with a recommendation that we try local gem: Storrie’s – open 24 hours and serving hot pies around the clock.
We hotfooted it over.
Duke ordered a lasagne pie (yes, really).
I went classic with a traditional Scotch pie.
Both were excellent, but pies demand pints, so we wandered over to The Victoria, just a few doors away. What a find – a cosy, continental-style bar with a vibe not unlike Jam Café in Nottingham. Friendly crowd, a couple of dogs, and exactly the right atmosphere for regrouping after an unexpected detour.
After a couple of pints, we headed back to the hotel for what we generously called “a night’s sleep”.
The next morning, news confirmed we’d made the right call leaving Aberdeen – trains from there were still suspended. Thankfully, services between Edinburgh and Nottingham were running.
Not wanting to return empty-handed, we swung by Storrie’s one last time and stocked up on pies to take home – souvenirs of the storm.
And with that, Collabageddon Part One came to a close:
✅ 80/- brew complete
✅ New friends made
✅ Imperial stouts sampled
✅ One surprise mini-break survived
✅ Pies secured
A huge heartfelt thank you to the whole team at Fierce Beer for their hospitality. We can’t wait to try the beer!
Stay tuned for part 2 – our Collabageddon collaboration with Elusive Brewing!
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