RETURN OF THE SAINT

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What’s in a name? Well, on the one hand it gives you simple identity – something to be used as a verbal marker any time you reserve a table, or book a taxi. But there’s more to it than that, of course. It also gives individuality whilst at the same time connecting you to your lineage; your roots. It’s about history – and that is something that we are fully conscious of.

So we are turning back the clock – to 5AM.

Yes, our ever-popular Headliner – which over recent times has borne the subscript ‘Red Ale’ has now returned to its roots and fully reverted to type. 5AM Saint is back. Just as with the recent re-embrace of Dead Pony Club, we realised it was not only something that our fans wanted, it was something that they pretty much called it all along anyway.

But let’s go back, and ask of it that opening question. What’s in a name?

Well, the short answer is that it’s one of those beer names lost to history – scribbled on a long-recycled jotter or hastily typed on an email that vanished into a trash bin many moons ago. There is a rumour as to its baptising – and as with most stories that float around our Ellon HQ, it’s one best-told by our head brewer and barrel master Bowman.

According to him, it referred to the magical hour before shift changeover at dawn, back in the Fraserburgh days. At the ‘broch it was customary for those arriving in relief of the overnighters to appear bearing bacon rolls and other early morning sustenance for their fellow brewers. These ‘Five AM Saints’ would then hang around and catch up before beginning their shift, as their newly-fed colleagues went home.

At around the same time, we were experimenting with our dry-hopping regime (anyone remember Punk X?), and once the additions to our flagship had been dialled in we realised that a similar process could transform one of our amber ales – The Physics. First devised back in 2007, our original English-hopped red ale won World’s Best Amber at that year’s World Beer Awards.

Not resting on our laurels (or even possessing any) we realised in a classic brewhouse lightbulb moment that the application of this new epic-level dry hop would utterly transform The Physics. By switching the base hops of the beer from UK varietals to their resinous, punchy North American cousins – and then dry-hopping it to the brink and back – it would truly rock.

Our new hopped up red ale needed a name, and the 5AM Saint designation just seemed a perfect fit; a beer worthy of those who go the extra mile and also demand it of what they drink. And in a neat twist of symmetry, 5AM itself won World’s Best Amber at last year’s World Beer Awards. So with such a pedigree – and history – we have returned to its rightful roots.

5AM Saint is back!

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