啤酒的创新

This programme is a snapshot of what many believe to be the most creative period in our brewing history. It's a big subject but one that can be captured in a small barrel lying on the floor of a warehouse on the outskirts of Aberdeen. Surrounded by pallets and boxes, it still draws the attention of visiting beer writer Pete Brown.

You can really smell that really rich, sort of liquor.

Pete Brown has travelled to Aberdeen to try the latest beers of Scotland's BrewDog brewery, co-founded by a former home-brewer James Watt. And please don't be put off by the terms he's about to use.

This is an American oak barrel that then hosts some Spanish wine. We got it within two weeks of it being emptied. We shipped it over directly from Spain and we've now got a 10% black Imperial Saison in that barrel.

Roughly translated that means a beer being brewed in Scotland is drawing on a tradition found in a French-speaking region of Belgium that, in strength, is linked to the tastes of 18th century Russian czars and, in style, takes inspiration from modern American craft brewing with a detour to Spanish wine country thrown in. It sounds like the most esoteric form of brewing but the flavours inside that barrel reflect an important shift taking place in a drink that's been part of our culture for nearly 2,000 years.