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Bob & Sarah Smith explore
the Scottish hills and brews
When a friend asked me why we were going on holiday to
Glencoe I was a little nonplussed. The answer I gave was
true but incomplete. We stopped off at the Clachaig Inn for
a drink on a previous visit to Scotland and made a big
mental note to return one day. That day had arrived.
Now that the holiday is over I have several more reasons to
add to the list. Glencoe is absolutely fantastic with it’s
stunning dramatic scenery and was voted as the best drive in
Britain. The Clachaig Inn has been voted best Outdoors Pub
in Britain and is a previous CAMRA Pub of the Year winner.
The other reasons are: Black
Sheep Bitter (3.8%), Aviemore Highlander IPA (3.6%), Houston
Teuchter (4.8%), Tomintoul Wildcat (5.1%), Caledonian
80/- (4.1%), Heather
Ale Kelpie (4.4%), Tetley Bitter (3.7%), Ind Coupe
Burton Ale (4.8%), Orkney
Raven Ale (3.2%), Houston Killellan (3.7%), Banks &
Taylor In the Mood (4.3%), Heather Ale Fraoch (4.1%), The An
Teallach Ale Co. An Teallach (4.2%) and Atlas
Latitude (3.6%). These were the beers that were on during
our stay usually over five to eight hand pumps, and all
served in excellent condition.
While staying at the Clachaig you are encouraged to visit
its sister pub, The Grog & Gruel in Fort William. We
didn’t need much encouraging. An excellent meal and
several lunchtime beers made for a very satisfactory visit
to this establishment. On offer here were: The An Teallach
Ale Co. An Teallach, Houston Texas, Killellan and Crystal
and Aviemore Highlander IPA. |
A little further afield (but we
were going there anyway) is the Sligachan Inn on Skye. This
is the Isle of Skye’s equivalent of the Clachaig Inn. We
weren’t very impressed with the bar – bit of a holiday
camp feel about it. The beers were well served though and
six of the eight hand pumps were in use: Crystal, St.
Peter’s Well, Texas and Killellan from Houston, Blaven
from Isle
of Skye Brewery and Orkney Dark Island.
What the place lacks in character is made up for in
it’s location. Right outside the door there are Lochs and
Mountains including
the famous Black Cuillin.
Real ale is alive and well in Scotland. Whilst enjoying our
session at the Grog & Gruel I picked up a copy of the
local CAMRA newsletter, produced by the Inverness and
Highland branch. It’s called “What’s Yours Then?”
and one of the articles provided me with some interesting
facts and figures. Apparently the 1992 edition of the Good
Beer Guide listed only eight Scottish independent breweries.
In the 2002 guide there are twenty one with two of the
original eight having gone now. This doesn’t include some
brewpubs or the very newest Breweries such as Fyne
Ales, Atlas, Kelburn
and Stornaway.
The weather was perhaps the only disappointment of the week
but we did manage to climb Ben Nevis and the Pap of Glencoe.
There are many other Mountains for us to conquer and many
more pubs and breweries to visit so I have a feeling that
there will be plenty of holidays in Scotland in the future.
Oct '02 |
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