scottish trip - bottle swaps?

[dad_of_jon]

Hi all of you who are in the North and so far North you're almost falling off the map.

We've fixed our itinerary for our trip and will be in these places for the night and often the day as well. If you're up for a meet and bottle swaps just ping me and we'll try to get it sorted.

My list available is in the sig below.

Leicester and Chester are out though because it will be a late evening arrival when we get there.

If there are any recommended beer related places worth visiting apart from brewdog which we will be frequenting anyways please let me know.

I have holy goat , fierce and possibly 71 brewing. Head of steam on my list as well.
Mrs DOJ is in charge of the non beer related excursions.

Maybe hope to see some of you soon?

 

[MickDundee]

I’m in Monifieth about 5 miles outside Dundee. Not sure how much time I have to actually meet up (Wednesdays is the kids Swim club and my wife is going to a work thing in the evening on the 23rd) but I’d be keen to do you a bottle swap

 

[dad_of_jon]

I’m in Monifieth about 5 miles outside Dundee. Not sure how much time I have to actually meet up (Wednesdays is the kids Swim club and my wife is going to a work thing in the evening on the 23rd) but I’d be keen to do you a bottle swap

no worries, let me know what you want from my sig. Some bottles are 330 some are 500, my latest one I have both sizes so I't would be a 500 as posting weight doesn't apply . we'll be doing the V&A and scott's ship and taking a train to Perth. The Perth visit will be on the better weather day.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Leicester and Chester are out though because it will be a late evening arrival when we get there.

View attachment 82860

If there are any recommended beer related places worth visiting apart from brewdog which we will be frequenting anyways please let me know.

Some might dispute Brewdog....

Leicester's not a great city for beer compared to some others, but whenever I'm in the homeland of one of the regional brewers I try and make a point of finding a pub where I'm likely to get a good pint of theirs, on the basis that many of them will "do a Brains" (etc) in the near future and I'd like to try a pint whilst we're still in the "good old days" of 2040.

But if you read the reviews of the GBG bloggers like retiredmartin.com and BRAPA (most of whose stuff is at BRAPA (British Real Ale Pub Adventure) but he's just moved to Home | BRAPA which has a lot on Loughborough which may be relevant.) then they're big fans of the Bass heartlands in the armpit of the A50 and M1 around Burton - Hinckley and Uttoxeter and places like that.

Martin recently completed the GBG and did much of the Highlands last, he also did city reviews during lockdown such as Inverness. Obviously such reviews reflect a moment in time and few industries have experienced as much turmoil as the pub business in and since lockdown, but they give you a bit more colour than the likes of whatpub.

Dundee to Chester is a fair flog, Chester's not a bad beer city - Pollys is almost local and there's some good breweries up in Liverpool but you could go to/from via Middlewich and pick up some of chopps' beer, maybe via one of "his" pubs if he's not around himself?

Further north - Tebay services (run by the same people as Gloucester which you may know better) is somewhat legendary for its "farmer's market" take on motorway services - not for everyone but lots seem to like it and it's surprisingly good for beer. Mostly from the Lakes and not all of it refrigerated, but they have random things like a complete set of Sam Smiths including Stingo if it's in season.

Conversely Stirling services is an expensive hell-hole - I fill up at the Sainsburys below Stirling Castle which is 5 minutes off the motorway, but handy for the castle if that's on the tourist list. They no longer have haggis pizza however...

Apart from all the distilleries, Black Isle brewery is a picturesque location just north of Inverness off the A9 southbound. Their "cooking" beers are a bit meh, some of their hoppy stuff is pretty good, their barrel-aged beers are outstanding (not surprising since they've the pick of whisky barrels locally). I've not been to their bar in town, it used to be that the brewery was the only place you could get the barrel-aged stuff. Caithness and Windswept are a bit more out of the way but you'll see a lot of them around and both well worth a pint or two.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Dundee to Chester is a fair flog, Chester's not a bad beer city - Pollys is almost local and there's some good breweries up in Liverpool but you could go to/from via Middlewich and pick up some of chopps' beer, maybe via one of "his" pubs if he's not around himself?

Further north - Tebay services (run by the same people as Gloucester which you may know better) is somewhat legendary for its "farmer's market" take on motorway services - not for everyone but lots seem to like it and it's surprisingly good for beer. Mostly from the Lakes and not all of it refrigerated, but they have random things like a complete set of Sam Smiths including Stingo if it's in season.

Cheers , yup Dundee to Chester is a punt, but last year I drove to interlaken with an overnight in troyes (well worth a visit of its own accord) and the distances were further but of course the roads were better once out of the uk. (apart from around basil which is a pain)

I'll try and factor tebay in as I know I've had good 'localish' beers from Gloucester services, arbor - wiper & true etc.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Cheers , yup Dundee to Chester is a punt, but last year I drove to interlaken with an overnight in troyes (well worth a visit of its own accord) and the distances were further but of course the roads were better once out of the uk. (apart from around basil which is a pain)

It's easy to think the grass is greener, but there's always pinch points - Lyon can be a nightmare, never mind Paris. I've driven to the Med in a day several times, so nothing in the UK feels that far - I've been driving up to the Highlands every year since I had L plates, so I know that trip fairly well, albeit at weekends. Once you're past Manchester the roads are fine - a bit sticky around Hamilton and you need to fight through that traffic to make sure you're in the correct lanes as you wiggle from there onto the M73, but otherwise it's fine. And at least with Dundee you have dual-carriageway all the way there, you're not on the A9 which can be a frustrating (but majestically beautiful) road to drive, particularly if you don't know it.

Other random thoughts - also on the Black Isle, the Anderson in Fortrose has a big reputation, but it's less about local beers and more about Mikkeller and that kind of ticking stuff - ideal for USians wanting a taste of Europe whilst on a short trip to play golf. CASC and the 6 Degrees North place in Aberdeen are meant to be good.

Depending on your schedule, if it was me I would head south from Chester down Offa's Dyke - the Shropshire hills are a really underrated corner of the country that are not well known but are really beautiful and Ludlow is a real foody town. It's probably quicker just to head down through the Brecon Beacons but if you were to cut across to the M5 you'd be in prime Batham's territory (the brewery and its tap, the Vine/Bull & Bladder, are just south of Merry Hill shopping centre) and on the other side of the M5 are the legendary bottle shops of Cotteridge Wines and Stirchley Wines and Spirits.

 

[mgmick]

There's a new distillery and brewery opened in Inverness. I've not been there or tried the products so no idea what it's like. Uile-bheist Distillery Brewery Inverness - artisan whisky, beer, tours

 

[Northern_Brewer]

There's a new distillery and brewery opened in Inverness. I've not been there or tried the products so no idea what it's like. Uile-bheist Distillery Brewery Inverness - artisan whisky, beer, tours

Huh, someone's thrown some serious cash at that. They won't have any whisky for a few years but the chief wort-producer is ex-Innis & Gunn and had been around a bit before that - some brewpubs, head brewer at Stewart and designed Heineken's Maltsmith range of fake-craft before they bought Beavertown.

 

[dad_of_jon]

CASC and the 6 Degrees North place in Aberdeen are meant to be good.

Ludlow is a real foody town.

Ah yes ludlow, our local train station has a direct train to ludlow, so when there are deals we get a day return, early doors. get there around 11. Mrs DOJ goes shopping and I camp in the ludlow brewery opposite the train station. - They do really good traditional beers but they also have a few taps of modern beer. brewed by their younger brewers.

 

[mgmick]

Huh, someone's thrown some serious cash at that. They won't have any whisky for a few years but the chief wort-producer is ex-Innis & Gunn and had been around a bit before that - some brewpubs, head brewer at Stewart and designed Heineken's Maltsmith range of fake-craft before they bought Beavertown.

They're still advertising for a Head Brewer. https://uk.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=53...&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jobseeker_emails

 

[DocAnna]

I'm in Stirling which is sort of on the way to both Dundee and Aberdeen if you come up the M6 and past Glasgow, but it's a bit much to ask that you stop off. I generally work from home during the day so if you do fancy calling in past Stirling to see the Castle then I'd be happy to connect up. I'm near the centre and at the very least can offer a free parking space!

 

[SMP Brewery]

the Shropshire hills are a really underrated corner of the country that are not well known but are really beautiful

+1

 

[SMP Brewery]

If you like gin then go to Rock Rose some of the nicest gins I’ve had.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I'm in Stirling which is sort of on the way to both Dundee and Aberdeen if you come up the M6 and past Glasgow, but it's a bit much to ask that you stop off. I generally work from home during the day so if you do fancy calling in past Stirling to see the Castle then I'd be happy to connect up. I'm near the centre and at the very least can offer a free parking space!

We plan do to Stirling next year as we do the north west of scotland (part 2 of the 500). We'll take you up on that DocAnna

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Tebay services...have random things like a complete set of Sam Smiths including Stingo if it's in season.

Passing through Tebay southbound the other day, they had been caught out by the Stingo rebranding. They had the old label (bb Dec 23) and the new label (bb Jun 25) together on the shelves - perfect if you want to compare different vintages!

It would seem that the old convention of launching it on Yorkshire Day (1 August) has gone by the by.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Scottish trip part 2 - Yay!!!

We'll be in visiting Stirling on the 21st on the train during off peak train travel
and will likley be visiting a distillery by train when in inverness. We've learnt that we prefer speyside whisky.
Probably a car trip to skye on Sunday from inverness but depends on weather.
We'll be taking a mini fridge with some homebrew.

If you are near and want to do a swap just ping me. My signature of stock is fairly uptodate.

 

[Clint]

Dunno I'd you better off booking to get in Vault City taproom.
Sure I read something on their Web site about it being very small and very busy. It was over the other side of the city when we went last Christmas so gave it a miss.

 

[dad_of_jon]

Dunno I'd you better off booking to get in Vault City taproom.
Sure I read something on their Web site about it being very small and very busy. It was over the other side of the city when we went last Christmas so gave it a miss.

Yup I'm booked in both places. More space in their portabello (AKA edinburgh by the sea) tap.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Yup I'm booked in both places. More space in their portabello (AKA edinburgh by the sea) tap.

Get to The Salt Horse in Edinburgh too if you can. And if you're heading down to Leith, then Teuchter's Landing is a must for me.

 

[Clint]

In Edinburgh I went in The Scotsmans Lounge...like walking into The Slaughtered Lamb.