Octoberfest 2016

Alfresco dining October 2016

The dramatic change of colour in the glen marks the arrival of Autumn, shades of green turn orange and brown, the temperature begins to drop and whilst Rowan trees are loaded with bright red berries others are shedding their leaves. It’s a great time of the year to visit for a brisk walk in the woods in the crisp autumn air. Octoberfest is about getting out and about before the onset of winter and enjoying all that Mother Nature has provided. and you can be sure we’ll have the log fires lit for your return. 

A wee dram by the fire?

It’s hard to imagine October at Clachaig without a festival.  We’ve been doing it for so long that it’s almost second nature. It’s not that hard is it? Stick on a few more beers and plant a banner in the paddock, ‘if you build it they will come’, to misquote the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams. 

But we’re better than that and our customers expect and deserve more, so what is our autumn festival all about? Well, as you’d expect there will be beer, music and hearty grub as usual but this year we have a few surprises in store.

Cascading Hops

There’s a definite hoppy theme in the boots bar where Ann Marie has been busy festooning or whatever it’s called. Our arty bar staff have been busy waxing lyrically on the chalkboards about our deliciously moreish hot chocolate drinks, new additions to our growing gin collection and upcoming live music whilst the rugged outdoor types are stacking logs for our guests to enjoy cosy nights by the fire.

We will, of course, be showcasing the very best of Scotland’s cask and craft ales including some new brews from Loch Lomond launcing exclusively at Clachaig. This year we introduce Strathaven Ales and can’t wait to taste their Fiery Cauldron along with a variety of aptly named autumnal cask ales including Octoberzest, Witches Cauldron and Lochtoberfest.  

We will be rotating a very tasty craft lager selection from Cairngorm, Loch Lomond, River Leven, West, Orkney and Williams Bros and we’ve not forgotten the stout either with Silkie Stout and Black gold both putting in an appearance. For cider lovers we have cask and keg delights from ThistlyCross and
Cairn ‘O Mohr. 

 

For those pondering which ale to have, why not try our new beer flights offering your choice of 3 glasses x 1/3 for the price of a pint. Flights are a great way to sample our vast selection without committing to a full pint. On the other hand, if you know exactly what you want you could double your pleasure with our new 2-pint steins 

Enjoy 3 ales for the price of a pint

double the pleasure

Over 300 malt whiskies and a growing collection of 40 something Scottish gins grace our shelves so there's plenty to choose from. If you're a newby to the mystical world of whisky or baffled by rise in popularity of Scottish produced gins then we have the very answer to your prayers. Our ever popular Whisky and Gin  Tasting Masterclasses hosted by our supplier Gordon and Macphail are back. Pre-booking is strongly advised. Our evenings are relaxed and informal, and very unpretentious. An ideal opportunity to get to grips with what can appear to be a very daunting (but equally very pleasurable) part of Scottish culture.

Glasgow School of Art students enjoying a dram

Hungry? Allow our talented chefs to set your taste buds drooling with impressive daily specials using the very best local produce available including Prime Scotch Steak, local hill-shot venison and award winning freshly culled haggis. They’ve been busy creating a variety of casseroles and sausages using beer, whisky, cider and gin and not your average bangers either, fancy a foot-long hot dog with a variety of toppings including Chilli, cheese or fried onions....or all 3. 

Foot long banger anyone?

 So now you’re suitably fed and watered, what next? Depending on when you visit you could:

• Put your feet up and chill by the fire with a wee dram
• Join in our ever popular quiz with great prizes on offer  
• Simply listen to or join in the Sunday evening openmusic session
• Expand your knowledge and treat yourself to a malt whisky or Scottish gin tasting masterclass from the experts at Gordon & Macphail.
• Are you a pool shark? New this year for the more competitive, Friday night is pool knockout. Great prizes on offer for the winner and runner-up with spot prizes for the flukiest or most ridiculous shot. 
• Dress up in your scariest fancy dress forHalloween. Try your hand at pumpkin carving. Prize for best costume and best Pumpkin 

Did we mention our legendary live music? This year we really have rolled out the big guns.

Join in the music session

·         Friday 14^th Derek Young; Derek has amassed a strong repertoire of songs, including both contemporary and traditional Scottish, Irish, Country and Folk music.

·         Saturday 15^th Kinky Karma; Predominantly a covers band playing music from the 60’s to present. Songs by  Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kasabian and many more…

·         Sunday 16^th – Open Session;  All musicians, twangers, strummers & part time whistlers  – and everyone else for that matter – are very welcome.

·         Saturday 22^nd Lewis Hamilton; Lewis and his band are Scotland’s hardest working Blues-Rock trio. As a guitarist he pays tribute to some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, taking influence from people like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher.

·         Sunday 23^rd – Open Session; don’t be shy, bring along your Bodhrán, guitar or violin and join in....or borrow one of ours.

·         Saturday 29^th Halloween fancydress/pumpkin carving and music from Moonshine Maggie; Dig out your dungerees for some good old Foot-stompin’ country, southern and classic rock…..Yeehaa!

For full details see: http://www.clachaig.com/whats-on/?whatson_id=2245

So there you have it folks, Scottish cask and craft ales, locally produced food, Scottish gin, vodka, rum and  whisky, Scottish stouts and ciders, Scottish music and the best craic you can experience, surely something for everyone.

Special Offers on our Hotel Accommodation to coincide with our autumn festival in Glencoe.
For 2016 we have held our prices from last year. No increase, offering even better value, especially on our Dinner, Bed & Breakfast packages.

Now THAT’S Octoberfest.

Snow, Sunshine & Giant Wooly Mammoths - The story of Febfest 2016

There's something just a bit special about winter in Glencoe although we did have to survive storms Henry, Imogen & Jake before the weather finally settled down.

Storms, what storms?

We managed to un-batten the hatches just in time for our winter festival Febfest and whilst we were busy stocking up the whisky shelves some folk were out on the slopes or riding their bikes, lucky devils.

Cracking view

Ice, Ice baby!

With all this snow around it was no surprise that our Winter Safety Lecture series that ran throughout the month was well supported. Over the four weeks we welcomed over 300 folk to the lectures.

 

Opening night

These four evenings, delivered by qualified mountain guides, are a chance to refresh and learn about the skills and planning required before heading out into the mountains.

Top tips from the best

Having done this for some 31 years we felt it was time for a change of venue and with plenty room to spread out and roaring fires to add atmosphere the Boots bar was the obvious choice.

Room with a view

We never tire of looking for new cask and craft ales and this year we added 4 cask ciders and over 30 Scottish gins to our range.

is it your round?

We are extremely proud of our food and top marks to the kitchen brigade for producing an interesting and varied selection for the specials board as well as our revamped menu. Well done lads

local produce.......from New York?

Throughout the month our staff were busy selling tickets to anything that moved for our Big Winter Raffle. We had a shed load of prizes including 100 baby mammoths accompanied by their dad.

What do you mean 'it's too warm'

Stacks of beer, cider, whisky, Mammut holdalls, accommodation, gear, food and activity vouchers along with t-shirts galore were all up for grabs.

Sorry, Pool table out of action for a bit

So where did you get all the prizes?, who won what?, how much did you raise? Good questions.

Many thanks to our sponsor Mammut who, as well as throwing lots of goodies at us, also dig deep into their pockets to pay for the lecture series. But we couldn't do it without the support of our suppliers and local businesses who get right behind our fundraising efforts.

So a big 'Thank You' in no particular order to:

Mammut UK

Rich Pyne

Glencoe Independent Hostel

Nevisport

Letterfinlay Specialist Foods

Ice Factor

SeaXplorer

Cairngorm Brewery

Isle Of Skye Brewery

Thistly Cross Cider

Anteallach Brewery

Orkney Brewery

Benromach

Gordon & Macphail

Alex Roddie - Epic author
Karl from Glencoe Photographic for taking the snaps
Kristin, Will & Liam for assisting with the draw

Special thanks to the lecturers:
Andy Nelson
Davy Gunn
Andy Spink
Rich Pyne

We are still counting the pennies but we have raised over £1000 so far.

And now for the Winners!

Mammut Goodie bag

Well done Ryan



'I'm gonna look cool in this hoodie'

Just what Sergio needed 'another t-shirt'

'I can't believe my luck' says J



Rich Pyne with his latest victim, eh!,client Jim

No favouritism here then Will, party at yours?

Jeff now has a better shirt for under his fleece

Looks like Stuart will be staying local next time

All proceeds from our fundraising efforts throughout February will go to Mountain Safety Initiatives

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team in action

Thanks to all our customers and guests for parting with their hard earned cash and we look forward to doing it all again next year. 

Reasons to be cheerful - Febfest 2015

Skiing in 'the' Buff

February is one of our favourite months here at Clachaig. The winter helps, of course, sub-zero temperatures bring hardy axe wielding climbers, fresh snow brings boarders & skiers and our winter beer festival brings just about everyone else. This year it would be fair to say that we experienced a mixture of weather conditions from crisp blue skies to wet and windy days with temperatures high enough to dine alfresco, albeit in your thermals.

Thanks for the award CAMRA

For those in the know Febfest is so much more than just a beer festival, although we never miss an opportunity to fill our cellar with award winning beers.

Pie and a pint anyone?

During the four week celebrations we host regular live music sessions along with Quiz nights, 

Whisky/Gin/Vodka Tasting Masterclasses, Weekly Prize Raffles and Winter Mountain Safety Lectures. Add some tasty accommodation deals, excellent grub and the largest range of cask and craft ales this side of the Pennines to the mix and it’s easy to see why this time of the year is so popular.

go on, have another dram

The weekly raffle

Whisky & good company. What else do you need?

This year our Winter Mountain Safety Lecture Series celebrated it’s 30th anniversary and with numbers topping the 100 mark on two of the four nights it looks like it could roll on for another 30 years. By our reckoning over 350 folk attended the series.

Eyes down for a full house

Airbag demo

Mammut shop @ Clachaig

Once again we were joined by Nevisport who set up a Mammut stall in our residents lounge to allow for leisurely browsing during the lecture break. Many thanks to all who attended and in particular the lecturers Mike Pescod, David ‘Heavy’ Whalley, Richard Bentley and Davy Gunn who educated, enlightened and entertained those present. 

The Big Winter Raffle is now very much a part of our Febfest celebrations here at Clachaig and this year the swag fund was the largest to date with some 40 individual prizes

Mammut's contribution to our prize fund

We are very grateful to Mammut who continue to sponsor the Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lecture series and also dig deep into their pockets to provide some great prizes.

Huge thanks also to the many local businesses and accommodation providers that have also chipped in and made it all possible.

Thank you, in no particular order, to:

Mammut

Trail Magazine

Glencoe Mountain Resort

Letterfinlay Foods (Fort William)

Glencoe Independent Hostel

Gordon and Macphail (whisky merchants)

Kinlochlaich Garden Centre

Clachaig Inn

Vertical Descents

Claymore Filling Station

NTS Glencoe

Thistly Cross Cider

Lewis Hamilton (The Band)

Edencoille B and B

Ice Factor Kinlochleven

Craiglinnhe House

Nevisport (Fort William)

Sea Xplorer

Tomatin Distillery

Cairngorm Brewery

Perception Chocolates

Sinclair Brewery
Loch Ness Brewery

Wallaces Express
Glencoe Photography

So, how much did we raise?

Total raised this year £2,335.78

And where does the money go?  

The money is split 50/50 between Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team and the Transceiver Park at Glencoe Mountain.

 

Always ready when called upon

Training Park Glencoe Mountain

But we couldn’t raise all this money without our guests and customers who year after year part with the contents of their wallets at every turn, so your generosity is noted, and very gratefully accepted. 

Thank you for your support. 

Want to see some happy prize winners?

You'll never get lost with this Transceiver (or that shirt)

Ready for the trip

another winner roped in

No more camping for me, I'm upgrading

Fashion icon

nothing beats your neighbour winning a bottle of whisky

some great tunes from Lewis Hamilton

should have gone to specsavers

Rucksack stuffed with goodies - thanks Trail Magazine

Well that's about it for another year folks. Big shout out and high fives all round to our hard working staff, who spent the whole of February selling raffle tickets to anything that moved. Not least of whom is our Alfie who sold countless tickets and is crowned this year’s King of the Raffle who was joined by his Queen, Erin, on the final night.

drummers eye view

remind me how to lower this mic?

And finally, a very special thank you to our mistress of ceremonies, Shauna. 

A job well done. 

See you again next year.