Scottish Independent Brewers gather at Clachaig

If a gathering of lions is referred to as a pride, and a group of baboons is a flange, what then do you think is the collective noun when a collective of Scottish Independent Brewers all find themselves in the same bar?

It would have been handy to know on Thursday (14th April), as that is exactly what happened at Clachaig Inn as a dozen of Scotland’s brewers came together for an informal gathering in Glencoe.  Organised by Clachaig, the idea was to bring together businesses who face very similar issues, but who rarely get to meet and chat.

There was plenty of time to share ideas and talk about the more serious aspects of the business. Unsurprisingly, there was even more time for more frivalous issues, as you might expect from a networking evening with the central theme (and refreshment) being beer.

The main feature of the evening was a blind taste test, with each of the brewers invited to provide one of their brews. Marks were awarded for each beer, with points awarded for appearance, aroma and taste. With the scores totted up, the award for the best beer of the evening was given to The Hector, a smooth sweet stout from An Teallach Ale Co. A special prize (not that special!) was awarded to Carlo from Black Wolf Brewery who was the only one to correctly identify his own beer!

Clachaig director, Guy Daynes, also ensured that there was a special wild card played in the blind tasting, by including his own elderberry stout. It didn’t come last is about all we can say about it!

Everyone was also invited to bring along a few presentation pack samples of their products for a raffle. A fair pile was gathered and with it being a steady night in the bars in midweek April, the chances of winning a prize were high! £210 was raised for Glencoe Mountain Rescue.

The Clachaig kitchen excelled once again with a smorgasbord of tasters from the menu, whilst the Loch Leven session musicians added to the atmosphere with their repertoire of toe tapping tunes.

All told the Clachaig Brewers' Gathering was a resounding success. Naturally, everyone was quite glad to have solved all the problems of the industry solved in one short evening (amazing what tasting a dozen beers can do for you). However, the real success of the evening was simply in bringing everyone together so that for one evening in the year at least there was an opportunity to simply meet up and chat.

An excellent evening and by all accounts one that we’ll have to repeat again.

We look forward to an interesting summer of ales, stouts, lagers and ciders…




Businesses represented included:

Cairngorm Brewery

The Isle of Skye Brewing Co

The Orkney Brewery

Loch Lomond Brewery

Loch Ness Brewery

River Leven Ales

The Cromarty Brewing Co

Black Wolf Brewery

Thistly Cross Cider

Harvistoun Brewery

Williams Brothers Brewing Co

An Teallach Ale Co (Last minute apologies sent)

Also present were

Gordon and Macphail – Whisky Merchants

Letterfinlay Foods

Total Beverage Solutions – Coffee Merchants

Heroes...not just for one day!

Bank holidays always test our service provision to the limit as wave after wave of thirsty & hungry customers descend on us. No sooner has the queue in the boots bar been cleared when another has formed in the lounge snaking its way passed reception and out the front door. 

Residents, passing visitors, seasoned veterans mixed with a generous helping of newbie’s eager to sample our unique atmosphere stand in line, mainly in good humour – well, they are on holiday after all.

The weather helped this year, fantastic hill days with dawn to dusk sunshine, dry as well & not a midgie in sight.

The frontline staff take it in their stride, drinks are dispensed with great alacrity & food orders for all the starving including groups of anywhere between 10 & 30 are dispatched faster than lightning. In the searing heat of the kitchen only the strong survive, these guys are like the SAS - only they don’t take prisoners. Orders are orders and you get what you asked for, timely, hot and don’t dare drop it on the way out.

There is no let up during food service and little relief when the last meals leave the kitchen. In here the chefs have to scrub down and plan the early start required to prepare everything from scratch all over again. Meanwhile through in the boots bar the music is about to start & the big clean up is in progress. Very soon dozens of trays laden with glasses, crockery & debris are added to the already groaning piles behind the scenes……spare a thought for the brave soul who has drawn the short straw, buried somewhere between the sink & the dishwasher.

Back at the frontline the multitude hammer the bar round after round. Ales are changed faster than ever and whisky flies off the shelf, meanwhile the band have the audience stomping their feet & clapping their hands as the clock ticks away on another epic night. Shelves are restocked, floors are swept & toilets are cleaned….who fancies that job? Whilst the chosen trustees are busy with the abacus others serve ‘one for the road’ to a few hardy residents.

In the morning the housekeeping team grit their teeth, they know why the dining room is not quite in the same state that it was left and quickly tidy up before serving up hearty breakfasts with a smile to all our residents, some carry rucksacks with packed lunches whilst others carry hangovers. At reception the dawn patrol bid farewell to our guests who report ‘a great night’, ‘a whale of a time’ and ‘we’ll be back’

To all our guests & customers: We thank you for your company and hope that somewhere amongst the chaos of the bank holiday weekend we managed to look after you.

To our staff: There are times when you test my patience with your shenanigans and you may feel that you are underpaid, undervalued and overworked however; The contribution, resilience & good humour that you all demonstrate under pressure & under strength time & time again is hugely appreciated. 

Thank you!

Gordon

Ales for males & females!

clearly the wrong glass girls!

We do try and keep up with current trends and this interesting article from the The Publicans Morning Advertiser caught our eye this week  Whilst traditionally our clientèle at Clachaig tends to be of the hairy male climbing variety we have noticed (over the last 100 years or so) that Ladies too enjoy a walk in the hills followed by a wee refreshment. Regular visitors will have noticed our new Clachaig beer glass which is perfect for the lady who quaffs.

The marketing departments at the brewing giants have been trying to 'innovate' new drinks for our female companions for years so not sure what her indoors - who enjoys a pint or two - will make of  Kristy McCready of Molson Coors who told the Mail on Sunday: “The perception is that beer is a laddish drink so Animee will be more sophisticated and playful.”  Can't wait to see how that statement translates on a Saturday night in the Boots bar.

a proper beer glass

Good luck with that one Coors, although I know a few lads who would benefit from the new beer, billed as “bloat-resistant” it is less gassy and lighter than most beers......

 .......pardon me!

Spring is in the air - What's in a name?

Just as the Easter break comes to the end the weather finally decides to brighten up, the daffodils sprout through the snow and lambs are popping out all over the place. Ah! Spring is in the air and that can only mean one thing...eh! well, two things then, if you include our Spring beer festival, Mayfest.

Our male staff are especially looking forward to it (Mayfest that is!) if the newspapers are to be believed. The Independent & the Telegraph (therefore it must be true) recently carried two separate articles about the fairer sex discovering cask ale. Now we occasionally raise our heads from deep beneath the sand and are aware of the current industry trends but this is surely not news. We've been serving the 'ladies' with cask ale for years without any fanfare.

However, Annabel Smith, Britain's first and only female Cask Marque beer inspector says, ''if you want women to drink beer, whatever you do, don't call it "bitter". Try "brunette", "blonde" or "golden" instead, or mention "floral", "honey" and "caramel" flavours. "We've been brainwashed into thinking it's not right for anyone with heels and lipstick to drink beer,"
''So bring on the golden beers with names such as Organic Honey Dew, Waggledance or the award-winning Triple Chocoholic chocolate stout''

Anyone for a pint of Sheep Shagger, Lusty May or Dogs Bollocks then?

We are in it!

Naturally...

Big Lusty May

Here she is. Big Lusty May. All the way from Houston. The voting for ale of the festival continues and as we get through more of the ales lined up for Mayfest, its anybody's guess as to who'll come out on top. Big Lusty May perhaps? On top?! Oo, er...! We'll, there's a thought..!

Last night saw the Beer Tasting session with the Isle of Skye Brewery. Clachaig was so busy, even midweek, that we had to move the tasting through to the restaurant area. And things were looking a little embarrassing for a while as there was a slight dearth of Skye ales to taste (not our fault!) Still, interesting trying to see them be constructive about other breweries beers!

Tonight? Music in the Boots Bar with Scott MacDonald.

Top marks from Cask Marque

Clachaig's beers were recently 'inspected' by the Cask Marque assessor. In an unannounced visit, the Cask Marque assessor will call in and sample a number of available beers and check them for temperature, appearance, aroma and taste, and award points accordingly. Through such independent inspections, the Cask Marque scheme aims to encourage quality of cask ales in the licensed trade.
So how do you think we did? Well, the beers sampled were Peter's Well from Houston Brewery, An Teallach Ale from the Dundonnell based brewery of the same name, and An Teallach's Brewhouse Special.

In each of the 4 categories (temperature, appearance, aroma, taste) each of the beers scored the full marks giving us a 60/60 100% score. Well would you expect anything less from Clachaig!