Hash Bash

This Saturday we had a group of 100 runners from the Hash House Harriers run to the brewery and enjoy some of our fine ales after their exertions. The pints above pulled by Graeme and George were just for starters!

The 'Down Downs' or Hash punishments for misdemeanors committed during the run. Running in step, singing ABBA songs or just wearing odd-coloured socks were typical crimes with the guilty party being ridiculed publicly by the Finesmaster - the big sergeant-major type above.

After the Hashers left, we carried on making sure that all the barrels were empty and were entertained by Andrew and Euan on the pipes which they only got this week. Well played boys!

Beer gone now. Ok, who's going to clean up the mess?

My trip home

I'm lucky enough to be able to cycle to work every day. My journey home takes me from the brewery eastwards along the River Almond under the old A9 road bridge (above) then south alongside the River Tay. It's a lovely ride even in the rain and snow - plenty of wild life such as deer, rabbits, stoats and foxes. Birds of all sorts too - kingfishers, herons, buzzards, swans and wrens. This old bridge is a favourite haunt of Mr. Heron and I hear his other-wordly croak almost every day here.

The view west towards Scone Palace where the Lia Fail or the Stone of Destiny was kept at the Abbey for hundreds of years for the Kings of Scotland to be crowned upon. It was the inspiration for our scrumptious dark ale Lia Fail.

Dunsinane Hill in the distance, made famous by Shakespeare's Macbeth. That's barley growing below it. For beer of course.

Perth's Old Bridge seen from the North Inch, a lovely riverside park and sports field, where the Battle of the Clans took place in 1396. Only a few hundred metres ride home for me now, then a quick cup of tea and change out of my work clothes and off to Greyfriars for a pint of Friar's Tipple. Slainte!

New for Old

Here's a photo of our existing Masher (mixer of the malt with hot water) on the left beside our new Masher from the new brewhouse. It gives an idea of how much larger the new brewery will be - instead of mashing in 300 kg of malt with 900 litres of hot water in 20 minutes, we'll be able to do 750 kg malt with 2250 litres in the same time. Wow!

New addition to the Brewery Fleet

Our good friend, Paddy Buckley-Jones, let me take a snap of Fiona, our Heriot-Watt summer student, in his fabulous RS sportster. The pic doesn't show it but there is a polypin of Ossian and a polypin of Thrappledouser by the front seat. What a great dray!

Great British Beer Festival (2)

Fergus, Dixie and I (R to L) outside the Jerusalem Tavern, Farringdon in London before heading off to the GBBF at Earl's Court. Top pub, tip top beer also. We'd started off at the Old Mitre in Hatton Garden for a pint at its Scottish Beer Fest but my camera batteries had run out so no pic there.

Independence and Lia Fail on the bar - I'll have a swift half please. By the way, do you know who brews these fine ales? Answers on a postcard please...

Chief of Sales Dixie and Managing Director Fergus trying not to look like kids in a candy store with all that beer about. And there was an awful lot of beer.

Czech interlude here - Adam Matuška and his girlfriend Karolina from the Matuška MicroBrewery in Czech Republic. Delicious wheat beer fresh from the kegs he'd driven over 2 days before. Na zdraví!

Ok...I think it's time to get the train home.

Great British Beer Festival

On the late brew today, as Richard did the early first brew this morning. I mashed in at 1pm, cast the copper at 6pm, topping up FV5 with the 2nd brew of Ossian. Cleaning the wort line and paraflow at the moment, so have a few minutes to add to the blog.

Very excited today as Fergus and I are off to London for the Great British Beer Festival tonight on the night train at 23.21 from Perth Station platform 4. Not quite Hogwart's express but if there's any magic in the air we'll catch a few zeds before tomorrow's exhausting schedule.

First call is the London Scottish drill hall in Victoria (only London source of bottle Ossian) for a cuppa and shower, then off to the Old Mitre Tavern, Hatton Garden (a regular draught customer of ours), the Jerusalem Tavern in Farringdon for a bite to eat and a pint of St Peter's Ale, then off to the Beerfest at Earls' Court. Homeward bound on the night train from Euston at 21.15. Mashing in at 6am Wednesday, if train's on time....