St Andrews brewery and bakery join forces for '˜liquid bread'

Local brewer, St Andrews Brewing Company, has teamed up with Fife bakery, Fisher and Donaldson, to turn one of its most popular loaves into a micro-brewed beer.

The much loved ‘Dr Floyd’ loaf is a seeded bread made with a mix of seven different seeds, including sesame, poppy and sunflower.

The brown ale, which is set to hit the brewery’s St Andrews tap house this week, used this seed mix as well as roasted malts and hops to create a truly special beer.

St Andrews Brewing Company is currently the only brewery making beer in St Andrews and has grown in size and success since opening four years ago.

Priding itself on using the finest local ingredients in all itsbeers, teaming up with another local producer who also champions top produce, was a natural step for the brewers.

The bread inspired beer looks set to make a notable addition to their list of house and collaboration brews.

Simon Tardivel, head brewer, said: “When I was approached about making this beer I was excited at the prospect of, once again, brewing with some unusual ingredients.

“It’s turned out even better than I’d hoped!

“The flavours contributed by the bread mix have matched up brilliantly with the hops and malts we introduced and, as a result, we’ve made a really great ale.”

Fisher and Donaldson, a fifth generation family bakers, count this amongst a number of their creative ventures which have included an edible five foot christmas tree and playable chocolate records.

Now they are pleased to be making their first foray into ‘liquid bread’.

Ben Milne, manager, said, “It’s really amazing how much the flavour of the bread comes through.

“As I’m not a big drinker, I usually find the taste of alcohol overpowering but I didn’t find that at all with the Dr Floyd ale. The brewery has done a great job of making a tasty, balanced brew.”

This specialty brown ale will have an alcohol content of 5% and has malts to the fore with a hint of salt and, of course, Dr Floyd’s distinctive seed flavours.

Customers will be able to taste it fresh from the keg when it makes its way into the St Andrews Brewing Company Tap House this week.