Beer is backed by biology

An american microbiologist has launched a new range of Scottish craft beers from a brewery based in Nairn.

Heather McDonald, head brewer at WooHa Brewing Company, has released two 5% ABV beers, WooHa Lager and WooHa Porter.

Wooha Brewing Company, Nairn. 21/5/15
Wooha Brewing Company, Nairn. 21/5/15

WooHa beers are bottle conditioned and the brewery does not use any forced carbonation, filtration or isinglass (a substance obtained from fish swim bladders often used in beer filtration).

Since their release, WooHa beers have been featured in retailer Aldi’s summer beer festival and the brewer is expected to showcase the two brews at the North Hop beer festival in Inverness and Craft Beer Rising in Glasgow later this year.

The brewery also has plans to launch a further two brews, WooHa IPA and WooHa Wheat, in the coming months.

McDonald, who spent two years planning the launch of WooHa, said she made the choice to enter the beer industry while home-brewing as a full time mum.

Wooha Brewing Company, Nairn. 21/5/15
Wooha Brewing Company, Nairn. 21/5/15

“I wanted to go back to work but I couldn’t stand to sit behind a desk all day after being a full time mom for three years.

“Brewing made sense – I could use my knowledge of science and business to make a product I was really passionate about,” said McDonald.