The local beer scene

I live in Grantown on Spey in the heart of Speyside. The area is well known for its whisky production and we have more than half of Scotland's distilleries on our door step.

But what's the beer like...

The closest brewer to here is The Cairngorm Brewery along the road in Aviemore. They produce a big range of real ale type beers many of which have won awards. I'd say Tradewinds or Stag are probably their best offerings but to me a lot of the others are all very samey and it's hard to tell them apart/remember which ones are which. I will have to do a taste test one day and try a few of them together as I normally just have the odd one when out for a meal locally.

I don't often head to the pubs here but most of them you can get at least get a couple of the Cairngorm bottles and the Ben Mhor hotel usually has a cask or two of their stuff. Aviemore is much the same - Cairngorm bottles are available in most places including their shop at the brewery in the Dalfaber industrial estate.

Going by twitter there is a brewery starting up the road in Elgin - The Moray Brewery - so will be interesting to see what their beers are like when they are up and running. No sign of a website yet though.

Up the A9 in Inverness with the exception of some good pubs like The Castle tavern the beer selection is dire. This is disappointing given Inverness is the capital of the Highlands - a region with a great amount of small independent breweries. The amount of times I have seen tourists going in somewhere and asking for "a Scottish beer" and then sitting looking bewildered at a table of Tennents is far too often and it's a poor reflection on the highlands. There is an attitude here and I've heard this from folk in the restaurant trade - is that Invernessians don't want "fancy beers" so there's no point stocking them. Maybe if people were offered the choice they would buy them. It would be interesting to know how much locally produced beer is drank here vs how much heads down the A9 to Glasgow, Edinburgh and further a field.

Most places in Inverness stock the standard fare of the usual big brand suspects and if your lucky the odd bottle of either Cairngorm, Black Isle beers or some real ale hand pumps. Some places are better than others and you can get probably the biggest selection of Black Isle taps in Hootananny. (the spell check thinks Hootananny should be hooters... wonder what the 'wee frees' would think about a branch of them opening in Inverness!)

The Black Isle beers are great and definitely the best that the Highlands produce - something that is gaining them increasing recognition across the UK and further a field like Sweden and Italy. Their Red Kite was one of the first beers I enjoyed as I discovered beer can and should taste good and its one of those beers that every time you taste it hits you just how great it is. The range of beers is a good mix and do everything from Scotch Ale to Lager. There's no confusion as to what each one is -they do exactly what they say on the bottle.

The thing I love about them after their great tasting beers is their core range is simple and non beery folk know what they are. I know a lot of people who despite not being "into beer" will happily and confidently order a Black Isle Blonde. There's not many Scottish independent brewers that 'normal' folk can do that with. I also think their new subtly tweeked branding is spot on - it looks like its from 2012 not 1996 - its Scottish without being cringey - it shows it's organic without being hippyish and it tells you about the beer and their awards on the bottle without looking full of themselves. Their site also sells 330ml bottles - haven't seen these anywhere yet but a great move as not everyone wants the big 500ml bottles.

As well as Black Isle and Cairngorm the Highlands and Islands has no shortage of other brewers -of varying sizes including the Isle of Skye brewery, Sinclair's Orkney brewery, Highland Brewing Co, Loch Ness Brewery and no doubt some I missed. I'd be lying if I said I knew an awful lot about them all but have at least one or two beers from each of them. With the exception of Loch Ness - despite staying at the Ben Leva Hotel on the Great Glen Way. A day of walking then Fiddlers massive steak and few whiskys meant my bed was a more tempting prospect.

I also haven't yet had the chance to try anything from the brand new Cromarty Brewery but will be sure to try it when I see it somewhere - going by their site they already have it in a good few places so they are off to a good start. Their clean fresh branding is certainly a big plus in my book and makes me believe their tagline of "beer worth believing in".

Over the course of the blog I'll review any good local spots and any great local beers I find but expect most of my beer musings to be either after a trip over the Lecht to nearest quality beer shop in banchory or weekend away in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh. If there's anywhere or anything you'd recommend I'd love to hear about it.