Clachaig Mocha Stout - "It does what it says on the tin"

Recent visitors to the bar may have noticed a new beer on the handpumps  - a Clachaig Mocha Stout, the result of a collaboration brew with Fiona & Euan at the Loch Lomond Brewery.

Originally it was intended to be the latest home brew project, but finding the time always proved difficult. So when those folks at Loch Lomond suggested they give a hand, it was too good an opportunity to miss. Besides, any day away from the office is a good day. Why a mocha stout? Simply because that's what was tickling the taste buds when deciding what beer to brew next. Three of our favourite vices, beer, coffee & chocolate, in one glass. What's not to like?

So, it was an early morning start for the drive down to Alexandria at the bottom end of Loch Lomond, arriving to find Euan had already got the kettle on. No early morning cuppa followed though, he was simply making sure we'd plenty of hot water for the first stage of the brewing process.

First things first, we started by raiding the grain store for the various malts needed for this brew. A job made much easier thanks to the fork lift truck.

Unfortunately, neither Apple or Google have come up with a scratch 'n'sniff app, so you'll just have to take our word for it... the aroma from the mash was superb. Hints of roasted coffee and chocolate aromas were already coming through from the mash, though these from the various malts, rather than actual coffee or chocolate additions which would come later.

"What goes in, must come out". No fancy high tech plant here. Beer is still brewed the good old fashioned way. Hand crafted you could say.
"So. How do we get the spent grains out then?"
Next thing I know, I'm reminded of that scene in The Good, The Bad & the Ugly, with Clint Eastwood lobbing a shovel at Eli Wallach...
"You see, in this World there's two kinds of people my friend,.. you dig!"

Aroma hops are added at "flame out", and the hot wort is cooled, filtered and transferred to the fermentation vessel where the yeast is left to do its work. Here too, come the last additions, as roasted coffee grounds and cocoa nibs are added towards the end of fermentation.

Once fermentation is complete, it's off the the conditioning tank to allow the flavours to mature, before being racked into casks for the journey to Glencoe. A few more days final conditioning in our cellar, and it's time to taste the result.

Our verdict? We got what we were looking for, and it "does what it says on the tin". Rich coffee and chocolate flavours much in evidence, without overpowering the beer. But, of course, if you really want to know how it turned out, then there's only one way to find out. Pop in for a pint.  
Slàinte!

It's like painting the Forth Road Bridge

It's all change at Oak Tree Lodge this week. The carpets are out, the bath is out, even the toilets are out. And before you think that must leave plenty of room inside, think again. Last we looked it was hard to get in through the door for all the plumbers, joiners, electricians, decorators and carpet fitters who were all hard at work. Yes, it's time for a refurbishment at Oak Tree Lodge.

Everything out - ready for a fortnight of chaos

Keeping on top of things at Clachaig is a bit like painting the Fort Road Bridge. Just when you think you're finished, and everything is looking spick and span, it's time to start all over again.

 

Oak Tree Lodge has served us well. It looked slightly smaller and less well loved back in 1984 when we arrived at Clachaig. By 1988 it was in line for a bit of extending and alteration, although that could probably be better described as a near complete rebuild and a start again.

Preparing for a rebuild circa 1988

It then became a family home for a number of years, and quite possibly a family home with one of the most spectacular views in the country. As we became more established at Clachaig and the enormity of developing the business a little more became slightly less daunting, we were able to move out of the tiny flat in the hotel and take up residence in more salubrious surroundings.

Oak Tree Lodge Lounge (as was)

From 1998 things had changed again and Clachaig Holidays as a self catering business in it's own right came to the fore for the first time.  Oak Tree Lodge came into being as a lovely 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 4 star self catering holiday lodge. The rest, as they say, is history. 

The West Face of Aonach Dubh

The lodge is undergoing a complete makeover, and will be available for letting again as of next week. We'll be back with some photographs in due course. In the meantime, we'll be moving on with some new flooring and some less invasive works at Rowan Tree Lodge before moving on to another major overhaul at Riverbank Holiday Cottages in Glencoe village. Remember, it's like painting the Forth Road Bridge...!

For booking enquiries, please see Clachaig Holidays, with real time availability and ease of online booking for all our 4 star self catering chalets and cottages in Glencoe and Ballachulish.

The Outdoors Pub of the Year 2016

Fantastic news! Clachaig has been awarded Outdoors Pub of the Year 2016. Whoop, whoop!

Here at Clachaig Central we drew straws for the trip down to the annual awards presentation in Kendal and Assistant Clachaig Manager, William, won. The Clachaig van was given a bit of a wash and a polish in preparation for a rare excursion out of the glen, and William put on his best shorts while the rest us continued to slave away, sorry, sat waiting patiently, for the news from Kendal.

 

Whoop, whoop!

The awards recognise the great and the good across a whole range of categories relevant to life in the Great Outdoors, with everything from cafes, gear and clothing, books, campaigns and personalities represented.

And in our category we won! We have to say that we're over the moon with the result. It's been a long, hard season. As a family we've been here since May 1984, so we've seen quite a few now. You'd think that it would get easier, or at least that's always the hope. But, no. 2016 was busier than ever before, making it bigger, longer, harder and more intense. There were a few sighs of relief when Octoberfest finally closed and for the first time since March a calm descended about the place.

A shiny van & William's best shorts

So, to win after all that is tremendous. And what makes it even better is that the award is the product of a public vote. It's you, our customers, who voted in masses, to make us no. 1. A big thank you to everyone who ticked the box for us. It's particularly satisfying for everyone here at Clachaig to know that our collective efforts are appreciated.

And there must also be a huge thank you to the full team at Clachaig. Though Clachaig is still family owned and run by Ed and Guy, it's the staff; the chefs, the house team, the managers, who are the public face, and the ones who keep on delivering even when under pressure. It is they who are Clachaig.

 

William's big smiles

Hopefully we're not being too conceited when we say that awards have been a part of life at Clachaig over the years. It's nice to be able to say that we've won a few, not least of which was the Outdoors Pub, Restaurant or Cafe of the Year 2013. (Nice to back after a short break!) But we don't go looking for them. Invariably the awards are a recognition of our achievements, of what we offer, by others. That's what makes them so damn rewarding when they come along.

A slightly younger Guy & Ed with Camra's Best Pub in Scotland Award 1994

As we prepare for 2017 and our 33rd year here at Clachaig, rest assured that we'll keep on doing what we do best, and we look forward to welcoming all our customers, old and new once again.

Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures 2016

Dates for the 2016 series of the Clachaig Winter Mountain Safety Lectures have now been confirmed. Running on Tuesday nights throughout. February, the lectures are presented by local mountain professionals and look at various aspects of planning your day out in relation to staying as safe as possible.

Thanks to the sponsorship by Mammut UK, the lectures are Free Entry. Starting at 8pm the lectures move to the Boots Bar for a new venue this year.

Read more about the history of the series on the GlencoeScotland web site here. You'll also find full details of each lecture on the What's On listings for February.

Make a note in your diary, tell your friends,... If you'd like some posters in jpg or pdf format get in touch with us at Clachaig and provide an email address.

Cosy Corner

The Ossian Lounge is settling in well. Still a few finishing touches to add but apart from a few blank spaces on the walls you'd be hard pushed to spot what they are. The hardest part of your day is definitely going to be getting off the sofas once you've had the Whole Hog Breakfast, the morning papers and a fresh coffee. 

The Ossian Lounge @ Clachaig.

The room is now available throughout the day and evening, as a place to dine away from the hustle and bustle of the bars, or just somewhere to escape with a good book and a coffee in a comfy seat.

The Ossian Lounge can also accommodate small andinformal meetings. Table and seating arrangements can be set out to suit, and the 46" flat screen can easily be hooked up to a laptop with a HDMI cable for a presentation. We're hosting a local meeting on Thursday and will be giving it a first outing. And whilst the term 'meeting' can sound very corporate, remember this is Clachaig, so perhaps think along the lines of planning the next day on the hill, watching some avalanche awareness footage, as much as you do ink blotters, mineral water and PowerPoint.

OMG

Windows into the new family day room will allow grown ups to keep an
eye on the kids while they enjoy the new soft play area.

A new minimalist look for the servery.

New sheeting ready for the wood chip wallpaper which will add a homely charm to the atmosphere.

It's all his fault.

A flying start

 Ready...,

 Steady...,

 Go!

The Ossian Lounge

Introducing the all new Ossian Lounge.

A sigh of relief today as we reach a milestone with our refurbishement. All the guys (to whom we will collectively refer to as 'the builders') have worked their socks off to get the old breakfast room finished this morning, allowing us plenty of time to get set up for use at tomorrow's breakfast. We even arranged a little power cut last night to ensure that they had an early night and we're fresh for the final push.

There's still a few finishing touches to add, and these will slowy come together over the next week or two. But, we're 98% finished and we're fairly chuffed with the result. Hope you like it too.

Meanwhile, the poor old Boots Bar (don't change it too much we hear you collectively shout) is looking a little forlorn. With the last couple of nights ahead, the fonts have disappeared, the log racks are empty, and a few other bits and pieces are also out of place in readiness for a flying start at 8am on Monday morning.

Watch this space.

Getting Closer

Since taking these pics at lunchtime the room has changed again, with a full team of joiners, electricians, decorators and floorers all hard at it and fighting for space. It's beginning to look pretty damn good!

And we're beginning to think in more detail about closing down the Boots Bar on Sunday. Yikes! If anyone fancies some Clachaig memorabilia, most notably some slightly 2nd hand benches and tables, or perhaps some framed photos featuring Himalayan scenes, then now's the time to put your hand up!

Don't Go Changing

We recently let slip in our monthly eNews that we are planning a bit of a makeover at Clachaig this coming autumn. Never ones to sit on our laurels, the time is now right to re-invigorate the public areas again. Most notably, the Bidean Lounge Bar, the dining room, and the Boots Bar.

And rather than simply drop this on you in November, we decided it would be a good idea to float the idea with you first. We asked for your feedback, and mostly using our Facebook page, we got a good few comments straight away. Fair to say that the overriding message was "Don't go changing", with some responses being a little more emphatic than others.

The Grog & Gruel, Fort William - the same, but different.

The issue then, is quite what would constitute a 'change'. Well, we're not spilling the beans yet. Not entirely anyway, and that's mostly because it's what you might call a 'fluid situation'. That's right, the plans haven't been finalised yet.

You know you've done it right when customers think something might be different but aren't sure quite what it is!

From the tone of some of the comments received you'd think that we were about to change the Boots Bar into a wine bar. We don't blame you, and it's actually pretty fantastic to hear that there are so many loyal fans who take such an active interest in the place. But, would we? Would we really? We've spent the last 27 years creating the atmosphere at Clachaig. You might not see Ed & Guy so much these days. That's mostly because Gordon and the team do such a fantastic job without us. But we're still here, hidden in a little black hole in a dark corner of Clachaig, only let out on special occasions. And we're still as committed to ever as making Clachaig your number one 'escape to the hills (but with a little comfort and beer)' destination.

It's more than 20 years since the Boots Bar saw any real change. It's due for a little TLC and we're confident that regardless of how much of a die hard Boots Bar fan you are, you'll still love the place come Christmas. Maybe even a little more? Much of the work will be cosmetic, giving the place a bit of a lift, making it a little more comfortable and a little more inviting.

We've already been trialling a few ideas. Have you noticed the new table and benches being tested to ensure that they are man enough for the job? (They fell apart last week!) Have you spotted the changes to the whisky displays on the back gantry. (We've increased the range by a further 40 malts). We're not just firing from the hip with this refurbishment. There's a lot of thought gone into it over a long period of time, and we've still got a long way to go.

We went through a similar process last year with The Grog & Gruel in Fort William. Established in 1994, the pub had a very strong identity and a very loyal following. However, after 16 years we reckoned that a makeover was long overdue. The problem was how to refresh the feel of the alehouse whilst keeping very much to the distinctive style; improve it without really changing it. At times it felt like a huge leap of faith, but we reckon we pulled it off quite well in the end, and it's far to say that we've had nothing but complements about the new look ever since. So, it is possible.

That's about all that we've got to say for the moment. As plans progress we'll keep you updated, so join us on Facebook, or sign up for our eNewsletter. But be warned. We've got a wicked sense of humour and we might just drop in a few red herrings and the odd curve ball out of the left field. Sorry, that's all for now. Got to dash as the crystal chandelier delivery has just arrived.

Easter sunshine - get your top off!

Fiddling on the roof

The difficulty in trying to mend a roof that leaks like a proverbial sieve is predicting a reasonably settled spell of weather to allow us time to fix it. So, after checking out the weather forecast for the next week or so we've taken a gamble and set to work. Fingers crossed for the glorious weather to continue, so far so good and hopefully an end to staff & customers alike tripping over buckets & basins every time we get a heavy downpour - not that rains that often in Glencoe!. 

Glencoe's lastest 'Munro' in the making

Easter holidays coupled with glorious weather in Glencoe means lots of thirsty visitors at Clachaig. We recently added a selection of traditional lagers from WEST Beer to compliment our extensive range of cask ales and they're going down really well - too well in fact and the empties are starting to pile up. I expect they'll eventually come and collect the empty barrels when they notice they've none left to fill for our next order!

Lashings of ginger beer.....Enid!

New for Easter is a cheeky wee ginger beer from those clever chaps at Williams Bros. We love it and at 3.8% ABV it is refreshingly, eh!.. ginger, so we think you'll love it too. That'll teach those cads at Crabbies!

See you at the bar folks.....unless you're all too busy with the Royal wedding of course.

Can you tell what it is yet?

The diggers are back at Clachaig again. But what are they up to this time?

Check back here again later in the week and all will be revealed!

Ossian Bedrooms Refurbishment

How are you liking our new feature bathrooms. Why hide your bath in a little en suite when you can have a bath right slap bang in the middle of your bedroom?!

Room 5 with a new look

We're now half way through our project to completely refurbish our 4 bedrooms in the Ossian Wing. Chaos rules. Despite working inside, the wild winter weather has been taking its toll, mostly because many of our trades are coming up from the Central Belt. Or not, as the case may be!

We've gone right back to the guts of the building on this one. We've found some very old original panelling, and some very wacky wallpaper which would probably be quite fashionable now if it wasn't so faded by generations of being hidden away. Much of that is now disappearing again as we start to put it back together.

Room 4 - from this...

As you can see, the bathrooms are being completely rebuilt. New baths, fully tiled throughout, heated towel rails... And the bedrooms also get a complete once over with new furniture, new radiators, 26" flat screen TVs, new carpets and some fairly bold wallpaper.

 

 ... to this. Room 4 at the moment!

 Meanwhile chaos also reigns at The Grog & Gruel where we're also midway through the makeover. Only another week and this will all be a distant memory, and it will all be calm and peaceful again. Or so we're told!

Room 5 bathroom - minus bath

The wee resident's lounge is also getting a bit of TLC too. Stone walls, bold wallpaper and some timber panelling will give it a completely new look. We're also creating a little book corner - more news about that later. The only slightly worrying thing is that we still haven't selected a wallpaper for the corridors!

Best Country Pubs in the UK

Another nice bit of recognition for us here at Clachaig...

Put together by The Independent, Clachaig features at number 25 in the top 50 Best Country Pubs. Thanks guys!

Rock & Roll: The true meaning of Easter?

The North face of Gearr Aonach and Stob Coire nan Lochan

We've had one of the best winters for years and climbers and skiers alike were licking their lips at the prospect of great conditions come the Easter break. It looked like there would be some disappointment after a week or so of mild & wet weather, however, prayers have been answered and the snow returned with a vengeance as blizzards hit the Glen earlier this week. OK!, so it blocked a few roads and delayed the trains but anyone heading this way will be well rewarded.

Alpenglow on Coire nan Lochan

Our staff, as usual, are pulling out all the stops at Clachaig and the Boots bar will be 'rocking' to Lyra Celtica and Bonnie & Jim over the weekend.
The two Roddies, Alex & James, our in-house aficionados on all things craggy, jagged & icy have both reported wonderful conditions on the Mountains - with the usual safety caveats of course.
Skiers will be heartened to hear of fresh snowfalls overnight at both Glencoe & Nevis range with the forecast for more on the way making excellent conditions this weekend....and no queues.

If you don't fit in to either aforementioned categories you can still enjoy the Easter break and get into the hills as Glencoe Mountain are having an Easter Eggstravaganza 3rd, 4th 5th April with face painting, duck racing & egg 'rolling'.... something for everyone.

And when you've had enough excitement just relax with a refreshment, or two, in front of our log fire....Happy Easter from all at Clachaig.

What! No beer?

A wintry scene greeted us this morning when we pulled back the curtains. Snow showers through the course of the afternoon yesterday should have been sufficient warning, but we're so used to not having snow settle, plus we've already had more than our quota this year. So, a good couple of inches of the fresh white stuff came as a bit of surprise.

Beer, beer everywhere but not a drop to drink!

And, as is the British way, it caused its usual share of havoc. Our weekly beer delivery made it as far as the car park, and then things went horribly wrong!


Fortunately, we managed to blag some grit to keep in reserve (in lieu of the fact that it takes 3 days after a snowfall to see a gritter on the Clachaig road - yes, they do the village and the A82, but not the bit in the middle!) After much digging and thawing, the driver seemed so relieved to be back in a straight line again that he cleared off without delivering anything.

Cup of tea any one? Beer's off the menu! Fear not. There's plenty in the cellar.

A snowy Argentiere (Chamonix Valley) main street last week

The way we seem to come unstuck at the first sign of a bit of wintry weather is in stark contrast to places such as the Chamonix Valley. The snowfall last week was measured in feet rather than inches, well metres actually, but it was another big one. And there's already several feet of lying snow already. Add to the that a temperature well into the minus teens (-14 degrees at Le Tour car park on Saturday morning) and yet we were still able to drive everywhere without any bother. That's winter tyres for you!

Anyway, it looks like there's been a bit of a thaw today, the road is clear and it looks great out there. Time to go!

Last Post

Hopefully, this will be the last post on this particular subject! Fully restored and reinstated at last!Good for another 25 years, I hope!