Highlands & Islands Breweries

Isle of Skye Brewery - Based in Uig by the Western Isles ferry terminal. Brewing since December 1995. Ales include Red & Black Cuillin and Blaven. Seasonal, House, and special event ales are brewed.

Valhalla Brewery - The most northerly brewery in the UK started brewing on the island of Unst in December 1997. Ales include White Wife.

Black Isle Brewery - Started brewing in December 1998 in converted farm buildings. Ales include Red Kite and Yellowhammer. Organic ales are a speciality.

Isle of Arran Brewery - Located close to Brodick Castle. Opened late March 2000. Ales include Blond and Dark. Arran Brewing Company has called in the administrators after running into cashflow problems. Graham Martin and Laurie Manson of PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed as joint administrators to the company early in May 2008.

Fyne Ales Brewery - Based at the head of Loch Fyne, brewing started on St Andrew's Day 2001. Ales include Piper’s Gold and Maverick. All bottled beers are bottle-conditioned.

Cairngorm Brewery Company - Set up in late 2001 to market the beers of the Tomintoul and Aviemore breweries, which they own. Ales include Wildcat, Stag, Highland IPA and Trade Winds. Seasonal ales are brewed.

Hebridean Brewing Company - Based in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides. Started brewing in January 2002 and now produce five regular and some seasonal ales. Beers include Seaforth Ale @ 4.2%, Clansman Ale @ 3.9% (the first ale ever brewed in Stornoway), Celtic Black @ 3.9%, Islander Strong Ale @ 4.8% and Berserker Export Pale Ale @ 7.5%.

Atlas Brewery - Brewing in one of the old Aluminium Smelter buildings at Kinlochleven since February 2002. Ales include Latitude and Wayfarer.

An Teallach Brewery - Brewing moved to the family croft at Camusnagaul, near Dundonnell, during March 2003. Ales include An Teallach and Beinn Dearg.

Islay Ales Co Ltd - Established in an old Tractor Shed in Bridgend, in March 2004. Ales include Finlaggan and Blackrock.

Cuillin Brewery Ltd - Born in September 2004, in the old public bar of the Sligachan Hotel. Celebration ales brewed, regular brewing planned from Easter 2005. Ales brewed for sale in Sligachan Hotel.

Highland Brewing Company - First beers were produced in late 2004 at Moorhouses (in Lancashire). The brewery is located in the old Swannay cheese factory at Birsay, on Mainland Orkney. Currently brewing with a small plant, but will be installing larger equipment from the Guernsey Brewery. Ales include Dark Munro, Scapa Special and Orkney Best.

Oyster Brewery - Situated in the tiny village of Ellenabeich, near Oban, on the Isle of Seil. Set up in November 2004 and the first brews followed in the Spring of 2005. Ales include Easd' Ale, Red Pearl, and Oyster Gold.

Isle of Mull Brewery - Started brewing at the beginning of May 2005 with a 5 barrel plant behind MacGochans Bar in Tobermory. Beers include McCaig's Folly and Galleon Gold. There are plans to move to a custom-built brewery, also in Tobermory.

Sinclair Breweries Ltd - Formed by the hotelier and restaurateur Norman Sinclair and his wife, Christine, took over Atlas Brewery in Kinlochleven and the Orkney Brewery in June 2006.

Glenfinnan Brewery - Using a 4 barrel brewery, commissioned in September 2006. Their first beer is a malty, reasonably bitter, brown ale which is being refined by experimenting with various quantities/types of aromatic hops in an effort to achieve a distinctive identity.

Isle of Colonsay Brewing Company - Started brewing in March 2007, using a five barrel plant. Three core beers are brewed - Colonsay Lager (4.4 %), Colonsay 80/- Ale (4.2%), and Colonsay IPA (3.9%). Beers are available in bottles only.

Plockton Brewery - Started producing cask-conditioned ale on 1st April 2007. Three ales are brewed, Crag;s Ale (4.3%), Starboard IPA (5.1%), and Dall Winter Sunshine (4.8%). Beers are available locally.

Other Scottish

Brewery Websites

Belhaven Brewery

Bridge of Allan Brewery

Traquair House Brwery

Trossach Craft Brewery

Other Scottish

Brew-pub Websites

Windie Goat Brewery (Ayrshire)

No Website

Breadalbane Brewery

Clockwork Beer Company

City of Stirling Brewery

Devon Ales Ltd

Fyfe Brewery

McCowan’s Brewhouse

Tryst Brewery

Williams Brewery

For the fullest and most up to date brewery information go to http://www.quaffale.org.uk/ or

http://www.beermad.org.uk/

The Future?

John O’Groats Brewery

Lochinver Brewery

Other Brewery Websites

(Beers seen in Highlands & Islands)

Timothy Taylor Landlord

The Past

Alice Brewery – Based in Inverness. Brewed from 1983 – 1987. 60/-, 80/- , and Alice Ales.

Tomintoul Brewery – Started brewing in November 1993 in an 18th century water mill near to Tomintoul. Taken over by Aviemore Brewery in 2000. Beers included Ginger Tom, Wildcat, Laird's Ale, and Stag. Brewed a number of house beers for the Clachnaharry Inn.

Aviemore Brewery – Opened in July 1997. Took over Tomintoul Brewery in the spring of 2000. Beers included Wee Murdoch, and Sheepshagger's Gold, in addition to the Tomintoul Brewery portfolio. Run as the Cairngorm Brewery since 2001.

Iris Rose Brewery – Based in the Royal Hotel in Kingussie. Started brewing in August 1997 for their three hotels. Stopped brewing during 2001. Brewery reopened with new owners as the Newtonmore & Kingussie Brewery. Beers included Cynack Glory and Roseburn Bitter.

Newtonmore & Kingussie Brewery – Started brewing in October 2001, using the location and plant previously used by Iris Rose. Brewing was suspended soon after the hotel was sold in the Autumn of 2003. It was hoped that the brewery would reopen in Newtonmore, but the plant was mothballed in 2004 and moved south. Beers included NKB1 and Piper's Brew.

Highlands & Islands Brewing Company - Formed when the Atlas and Orkney Breweries joined forces in the Spring of 2004, but went into administration in early May 2006 following "cash flow problems".

Far North Brewery - Melvich Hotel brewpub. Ales included Real Mackay & Fast Reactor. Closed in Autumn 2007 when Brewer and Hotelier Peter Martin sold the hotel.

Not all of the Highlands & Islands breweries listed are in our branch area –

Valhalla Brewery, Orkney Brewery, and Hebridean Brewing Company are in the Aberdeen, Grampian & Northern Isles area;

Arran Brewery falls in the Ayrshire & Galloway area;

Fyne Ales, Islay Ales, Oyster Brewery, and Isle of Mull Brewery are covered by Glasgow & West Scotland.