ScotBeer Edinburgh Review by Thomas B, 2019-06-13T00:00:00
I visited Barney's Brewery as part of a Brewery tour plus walking tour with beer tasting. Our tour guide, Jenny, delivered a superb experience. She conveyed a good understanding of the beer making process. She engaged those present with touching, smelling and tasting during the technical discussion of the brewing process. However, those in the group were not interested in the technical aspects. Our tour guide adjusted her discussion accordingly. We left the brewery and went to a pub. Our tour guide did try to connect the brewing process with the taste and flavors we experienced from the different beers she provided. However, it seemed the quirkiness of the pub and elements of local folklore created more discussion from the group than the brewing process. Our trip to the second pub provided the occasion for discussing more local history. In hind sight, I realized she was highlighting historical "facts" that later she would weave into a masterful tale. She took us to several more pubs, pointed out several more places of historic interest and poured numerous samples of beer. We buzzed in discussion about the sense or non-sense of the historic facts she brought to light. She delivered her final tale in masterful form drawing upon previously mentioned "facts". Measured, pausing between statements, she looked at each of the participants. Mentally, I raced ahead of her, attempting to anticipate the story's conclusion. By fact four I had a theory. Fact...I visited Barney's Brewery as part of a Brewery tour plus walking tour with beer tasting. Our tour guide, Jenny, delivered a superb experience. She conveyed a good understanding of the beer making process. She engaged those present with touching, smelling and tasting during the technical discussion of the brewing process. However, those in the group were not interested in the technical aspects. Our tour guide adjusted her discussion accordingly. We left the brewery and went to a pub. Our tour guide did try to connect the brewing process with the taste and flavors we experienced from the different beers she provided. However, it seemed the quirkiness of the pub and elements of local folklore created more discussion from the group than the brewing process. Our trip to the second pub provided the occasion for discussing more local history. In hind sight, I realized she was highlighting historical "facts" that later she would weave into a masterful tale. She took us to several more pubs, pointed out several more places of historic interest and poured numerous samples of beer. We buzzed in discussion about the sense or non-sense of the historic facts she brought to light. She delivered her final tale in masterful form drawing upon previously mentioned "facts". Measured, pausing between statements, she looked at each of the participants. Mentally, I raced ahead of her, attempting to anticipate the story's conclusion. By fact four I had a theory. Fact five matched my theory and that theory held as she laid out facts 6 and 7. Highly unlikely I thought. But when she looked my way with gleaming eyes and a devilish smile, I nodded in approval. I, like all the other participants, nodded in agreement and roared with laughter. That indeed was how it happened. I purposely left out the specifics of her tale. It's best to hear such a tale first from a master.More