#CaskIsBack (I’m sorry, I hate Hashtags too)
It’s been a long, long time coming, but this afternoon I will be making the sacred 30 second walk around the corner to our neighbours at The Wineport here on Arran, and have my first pint of cask conditioned Arran Blonde this year. Probably a second in quick succession.
As you’re undoubtedly aware by now, Scotland’s COVID restrictions have eased this week to allow alcohol to be served in outdoor areas until 8pm, finally allowing our beleaguered hospitality sector to resume trading (albeit in a reduced fashion). Beer gardens will finally be open to us again, replacing the living rooms and back gardens that have become far too familiar to us at this point. That so many have adapted and been able to reopen at all is a testament to the dedication of our hospitality trade – I can’t think of another industry that would survive nearly a year of suspended trading, and allowed to reopen with extremely strict safety measures in place.
For us here at the brewery, this has meant that we’ve finally returned to producing beer for draught sales, rather than 100% of our output being focused on 500ml bottles. It’s been deeply moving to finally resume phoning our favourite pubs on the island and asking “How many casks do you need this week?”
While casks will always be a part of our draught offering, this past year has shown that it cannot be the core of it. Which is why, going forward, we will be introducing a selection of our range in keg format. Using the same filtration and carbonation process we employ with our award winning bottled range, we’ll be able to offer Arran Blonde, Arran ab (the 4% session version of Blonde), Sunset and Ego IPA in 30L and 50L stainless kegs for draught dispense in your favourite bars across the country, with a view to increasing this range as time goes on. (If you’re a landlord interested in our draught range, please contact us at Sales@arranbrewery.co.uk )
Furthermore, thanks to the generous grant support from Zero Waste and their Islands Green Recovery Programme, we have been able to install a growler filler with up to 6 keg lines available for filling takeaway bottles from our brewery shop here in Cladach, straight from our cold room – the freshest beer you can get!
If you’re visiting Arran this Spring or Summer, you’ll be able to find our beer in the following bars and shops – as well as here at our main brewery shop (where you can find the full range of Arran beers):
The Ormidale
The Brodick Bar
Pirnmill Village Store
MBS Building Supplies
Bay Stores
The Wineport
Felicity’s
The Douglas Hotel
The Little Rock
The Lagg Hotel
The Corrie Hotel
The Auchrannie Resort
Blackwaterfoot Licensed Grocer
This last year has been a challenge for all of us in the drinks industry, and it’s wonderful to finally see some light at the end of this long, long tunnel – I can’t wait for 5pm to roll around to have that first pint, and I hope you will all do your best to support your local pubs whenever you can. And thank you, thank you, thank you to all our customers who have supported us via our online shop over this period, it really does make all the difference.
Cheers,
- Craig
