8th February 2022
AGM on Saturday 5th March 2022, 1pm at the Corriegarth Hotel, Inverness

With the return of face-to-face meetings, we have booked the Corriegarth Hotel, Inverness for our Highlands & Western Isles branch AGM. All going well technically, this will by a hybrid online affair, at least on Zoom and if we can get it going, YouTube. Start will be at 1pm on Saturday 5th March, to allow early arrivals to get lunch beforehand and to allow enough time afterwards for a social out on the town, although John has promised us a good selection of ales at the venue. Please bring your valid CAMRA membership card to prove your identity and in order to vote on any motion.

Election of branch officials will take place during the AGM, if you would like to stand for any of the branch positions including chair, treasurer, secretary, membership secretary, social secretary, pubs co-ordinator, ordinary member, area leader in your own area (quite a few available) please write to Chair, Highlands & Western Isles CAMRA, Craigdhu, Braeside Place, Newtonmore PH20 1DW where Jim is looking forward to hearing from you. Include your proposer's and seconder's signatures together with evidence of your willingness to stand and please include the CAMRA membership numbers of all on the candidate's letter.

3rd January 2022
Scotland & N Ireland Branches Director Candidate - Stuart McMahon

The sole candidate in this year's SNID election is Stuart McMahon of the Ayr & Wigtownshire Branch.

The current SNIB heirarchy has asked H&WI and other branches to indicate whether they are happy for Stuart to act as SNID, and also whether his term should be one or three years.

An active member since 2002, Stuart was voted CAMRA’s Scottish Volunteer of the Year in 2018 and again in 2019 as part of the Dundee Members’ Weekend organising committee. He has edited Ayr’s multi award-winning magazine Full Pints since 2013 and is also on the Ayrshire Real Ale Festival committee.

Stuart has experience of CAMRA at Regional and National levels, helping to produce the SNIB 40th anniversary booklet, several SRAF programmes and most recently on the organising committee for the National Members’ Weekend & AGM in Dundee, producing the handbook.

His full biography is available here (CAMRA members only) - please pass any comments to Jim by the end of January, so that we can respond to SNIB before the 2nd February 2022 deadline.

14th December 2021
First Minister’s statement another blow for Scotland’s pubs

Responding to the First Minister’s statement asking businesses to take measures to avoid crowding in bars and between tables, CAMRA’s Scotland Director Joe Crawford said:

“This is another terrible blow for licensees, brewers and consumers as they await the full details of what the First Minister’s plan for ‘avoiding crowding’ in bars is going to mean in practice. Any return to table service only risks destroying all the progress that has been made to rebuild Scotland’s once-thriving beer and pubs sector.

“The industry now faces further cancellations, another downturn in custom and the inability to trade at a viable capacity if we see the return of table service. A £100m fund to help hospitality businesses is welcome but won’t be sufficient to compensate businesses at this crucial time when they were relying on decent Christmas trade to help them recover and rebuild.

“It is now vital that the UK and Scottish Governments urgently work together to provide the necessary financial compensation and job support for beer and pub businesses that were already facing an employment, supply chain and cost of goods crisis, as well as trade remaining well below pre-pandemic levels.”

1st November 2021
Drink Greener Campaign

With the COP26 Climate Conference starting in Glesgie today, HQ has flagged down the bandwagon and jumped on, with a new Drink Greener Campaign, complete with downloadable action pack.

As far as we at H&WI News Towers in South Uist can tell this mostly amounts to emphasising LocAle and minimising beer kilometres (or beer miles for those that have spiritually left the EU); however, after the fashion of Asterix always suspecting that the Romans were up to something, we have no doubt that the Green Men of St Albans will add to their verdant goodies over the coming months.

For out part, we could be content with kiddies appearing on our tubes and slapping our faces for burning their futures, or we could get up and at 'em. Perhaps this could form an article in this Winter's 'Gael Ale'. If the passion takes you, write to ku.gro.armac.dnalhgih@rotide with suggestions for how your local ale emporium or brewery could be greener, or if it's a general observation about greening the beer industry write in anyway.

29th October 2021
Dornoch Whisky Festival Goes Ahead - Sort-of...

As the counter ticked down to zero at four o'clock this afternoon, the Dornoch Whisky Festival website declared that things were going ahead - after a fashion.

There will be no Grand Tasting this year, instead a so-called Pick'n'Mix will take place, for which you will have to have ordered your six drams ahead of time and attend a Zoom tasting.

There are some face-to-face events happening but as one would expect, the spectre of CoViD-19 looms large. Consult the website to find out what is happening and not happening, and slàinte mhath!

Updated 28th October 2021
Old Forge CBS Buy-out Succeeds in Community Ownership Fund Application

It's all rose-tinted these days for the Old Forge CBS Management Committee (some members pictured right, image © Mark Harris), as yesterday's announcement, timed to co-incide with the Westminster Budget, confirmed that a princely £219,096 will be coming their way from UK.GOV's Community Ownership Fund.

Having previously trailed a £240,000 share offer, this was over-subscribed within two of the four weeks allocated for expressions of interest back in September. Hot on the heels of this outstanding success, GOV.SCOT's Scottish Land Fund in partnership with HIE and the National Lottery lobbed a further £508k over the fence.

Fast becoming an object lesson in "what to do when all of the funding sources we seek are successful", the newly awash-with-cash Old Forge CBS should now be able to fend off even the largest-belted stockbroker in its crusade to buy the pub; on the flip side, current owner M. Robinet should be able to bank a tidy return on his investment of over a decade ago.

Never underestimate the power of Green Wellies....

25th October 2021
Book Launch - 'Modern British Cider'

For lovers of the tipple, ciderologist Gabe Cook was at cider emporium 'Æble', 17 Roger St. Anstruther, on Thursday 28th October, launching his latest book 'Modern British Cider'.

Gabe’s guide, available from CAMRA publishing for £15.99, looks at how cider has formed an integral part of Blighty's landscape, with a heritage dating back at least 2,000 years. It has been published by CAMRA after a Kickstarter campaign raised over £5,800 to publish the book.

Today, cider faces a new change in the drinking landscape of Britain – the rise of craft and modern styles, discerning drinkers with different needs, habits and spending opportunities.

21st October 2021
Ullapool Beer Festival Thurs 21st - Sat 23rd October

The Morefield Motel is the venue for this weekend's Ullapool Beer Festival, and promises great ales, good food and comfy accommodation.

The festival website is out-of-date, referring as it does to the 2019 event, so call Bev or Tom at the Hotel on 01854 612161 or 01854 612000 for details of which ales are on, and any special offers on meals and rooms.

If you would like to visit as part of an H&WI branch outing, Jim is collating numbers to see whether a minibus is viable. Call him on 07307 202576 or email ku.gro.armac.dnalhgih@riahc to express your interest.

9th October 2021
Back a new Draught Beer Duty Rate in the Budget

In a campaign link received here at H&WI News Towers today from St Alban's, HQ is asking for our assistance to email our MPs regarding relaxation to draught beer duties, in addition to a package of other relief for our hard-pressed locals. We are requested to urge our elected representatives to ask a question in the upcoming debate on the Budget, due to be delivered by "Dishy" Rishi Sunak on the 27th instant.

Near-accustomed as we are to filtering out the background noise of all those asking for our signature/support/cash/endorsement to push for this, that and the next thing, it's sometimes salient to remember that the 'C' in CAMRA stands for Campaign. So come on peeps, sharpen your keyboards and put mouse to virtual paper in an aerial bombardment of your MPs by clicking here and following the obvious sequence, the most important step of which is entering your postcode. This will auto-populate the (customisable) email text in a following screen with your contact details and most importantly, your elected Westminster MP's identity.

What do you have to lose apart from a few minutes of your evening? As a guide, it took us at News Towers 10 minutes to complete, 8 of which were head-scratching and eventual deactivation of AdBlock that was preventing the final 'email sent' popup.

6th October 2021
Bandstand Beerfest 8-17th October

Paul and Lyndy Geddes welcome you to their 10-day beer festival at the Bandstand, Nairn, kicking off this Friday 8th.

In addition to the Geddes' ale offering, there’s a CAMRA Tasting Course on Saturday 9th October starting at 12 noon. You'll already have a Bandstand glass, so the only additional outlay is for the tasting beer (ie ~£15). The course will involve tasting/smelling a number of flavours (both good and bad) plus five beers, and will have a total duration of about two hours.

Those interested please contact Eric on ku.oc.oohay@56sllimcire as numbers are limited.

1st October 2021
October is Cider and Perry Month - Wassail!

Pinch, punch, first day of the month, no returns. Or should that be scrat, squeeze, as May and October are given over by CAMRA to cider and perry making, drinking and enjoying.

Unlike real ale production, which can happen at any time of the year, real cider and perry is generally a seasonal product that can only be made when the fruit is ripe. Production is tied to a natural cycle of the apple and perry pear trees found in orchards around the country. October is an extremely busy time for cider makers when production is in full flow and fruit is being harvested, milled, pressed and stored for fermentation.

Various events are available through the month, the first of which is Gabe Cook's and Bill Bradshaw's appreciation of the perry-making areas of Blighty (YouTube, about a 25 minute watch, handlebar moustache alert) and how to enjoy this unique beverage, that proves the Billy Connolly theory of getting tipsy from the legs up.

27th September 2021
Price of Pint to rise 25p in October

Widely reported in the last week or so is the pronouncement from 'Night Time Economy Adviser' Sacha Lord, that the average price of a pint is set to rise 25p from 1st October, as the concessionary 5% VAT rate for hotel and on-trade rises to the interim 12.5%.

This is of course the average price for an average beer (probably lager), and with real ale pushing £4 a pint in most highlands and islands establishments the true increase could be up to 35p.

Now the price of a bottle (no draught) of Isle of Skye chez H&WI News Towers did not flicker from £4.25 when VAT was reduced from 20% to 5% back in July 2020, so it would be somewhat mirth-reducing if the gradual reinstatement of the normal VAT rate up to 30th March next year caused our fave tipple also to push upwards in price.

Various sources, including the Night Time Industries Association, report our Sacha as having opined: “The 5% VAT rate was the single biggest recovery measure for the industry over the past 18 months, and has enabled venues to stay in business and staff to keep their jobs."

"Removing this relief will have a severe effect on operators across the country. VAT is the biggest expense in any business, and it is the quickest way to reduce cash flow. For businesses who have little-to-no cash reserves as a result of the pandemic, it could be last orders.”

24th September 2021
Cask Ale Week 2021

As trailed in the 'Stand Up for Cask' article below, Cask Ale Week 2021 has now rolled around.

Now, as a CAMRAlander, you may splutter in reply that every week is a Cask Ale Week but, as with last Christmas' grand conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, it is not very often that CAMRA, Cask Marque, the British Beer & Pub Association, UKHospitality and SIBA all align in Blighty's skies.

If your immediate response is to rush out of the house screaming "what do I do to celebrate Cask Week!" fear not, the website has plenty of interesting activities for you to get involved in, and this being the age of the TwitFacedInstaTubes, there is of course an app to download. Yippee.

A limited-edition T-shirt is also up for grabs: "Scan 12 new pubs on the World’s Biggest Ale Trail between 23rd September and 3rd October to WIN a limited edition T-shirt!" If you have never 'scanned a pub' here's your chance to start!

17th September 2021
Orkney Brewery Awarded CAMRA Gold 'Pints' Award

Sinclair Breweries' Orkney Brewery is one of only 18 around Britain recognised for their outstanding contribution during CAMRA's Golden Anniversary year of 2021, and for going "above and beyond in delivering excellence and innovation over the years". Co-awardees include such prestigious brands as Fuller's, Timothy Taylor, Adnams and Brains. The full list and the previous awardees in the 'Pubs' category can be browsed here.

Norman Sinclair, Orkney's MD, commented with delight "To be named as the only Scottish brewery, alongside some iconic and big brewers is quite some recognition. I believe this upholds our reputation for brewing beers of great quality and flavour. For me and our team, it is just brilliant news, and we hope also for our customers and consumers, as we start to enjoy some more of life’s freedoms after a difficult period."

CAMRA Highlands & Western Isles heartily congratulates Norman and the team in Orkney, and wishes them every future success.

10th September 2021
Community Share Offer launched to buy the Old Forge, Knoydart

The Old Forge Community Benefit Society Ltd is the new name for an organisation set up by the residents of Knoydart in order to purchase the most remote pub in Britain. Famed for its reachability only via a seventeen mile yomp from the nearest road or a 10 mile ferry ride from Màlaig, this fabled establishment has written itself firmly into British refreshment folklore.

Having set the goal of raising £204,500 via a combination of resident, non-resident and group shareholdings, the CBS is advertising share availability on their shiny new website and also, inevitably, Farcebook. According to the organisation's website, they have submitted an application to the Scottish Land Fund and if successful, the share funds will be combined with the land fund grant for purchase.

H&WI readers will be well aware of the, erm, colourful history of the Old Forge's current incumbent. As news of unrest in the remotest boozer in Blighty has rumbled on, you would have to say that a buy-out has been brewing for a long time, and certainly in the time period where a roadside bench just down from the pub has been in use as the unofficial village watering hole.

The intended shareholding structure is too complex to detail here, save to say that non-residents (who will comprise the vast majority of this website's readership) are limited to a 25% maximum total shareholding, and minimum investment amount of £10,000. Somewhat surprisingly given these strictures, the total raised is standing at just over £190,000, well over 90% of the way to target with three of the four weeks of the offer still to run. Well done, lasses and lads! (images © Mark Harris).

6th August 2021
WooHa, the Brewery's Back! [soon]

Somehow asleep at the hand pump, we missed the snippet-oid that WooHa Brewing has been bought by Kenny Webster's North Coast Brewing, and joins Isle of Skye and Black Wolf Brewery, among other brands and assets. Various outlets reported this back in June, for example Dram Scotland.

No sign yet of any branding updates on WooHa's website, but as and when NCB breaks cover with an announcement of a resumption of production at Kinloss, just outside H&WI's easternmost watch tower, we'll update this story.

6th August 2021
Restrictions Lifted in Scotland from Monday 9th August

Responding to the First Minister’s announcement to the Scottish Parliament that further COVID-19 restrictions will end from 9th August, CAMRA Scotland’s Director Joe Crawford (left) commented:

“Today’s announcement on the lifting of restrictions will be warmly welcomed by pub goers and publicans up and down the country. Requirements like table service have had a particularly devastating effect on our smaller, traditional locals. A further step towards normality will give all our pubs and social clubs the chance to trade at a normal capacity and turn a profit, as well as seeing the much-anticipated return of the authentic pub experience with people ordering from, and chatting at, the bar."

“CAMRA is urging everyone to support our pubs and the great local breweries that serve them in the weeks and months ahead, so our beloved locals can recover, thrive and continue to play a vital role at the heart of community life up and down the country. The Scottish Government must continue to provide financial support for pubs to help their recovery, as well as better planning protections to stop them being lost to local communities. We are also calling on the UK Government to change the rate of duty on draught beer served in pubs to help them compete with supermarkets.”

26th July 2021
Grape over Grain if 'ye want to tak hame...'

Idly browsing Morning Advertiser this a.m. to find the latest tidbits of doom and gloom, an item from earlier this year popped up, purporting to quote a Pandemic Dating Trends survey by dating app Plenty of Fish. Of course, given the pub is almost a default first-date venue for love-lorn singletons, the lack of said pub over the last 18 months has forced first (and even subsequent) dates online, PoF reports.

The truly incendiary part of the survey, however, was that 60% of women find a man more attractive if he orders wine rather than beer. The good burghers of CAMRAland out there will probably be thinking along the lines of "...well that leaves 40% that prefer beer drinkers to grape-lovers..." but this is not reported.

Unfortunately it only goes downhill from there, with a reported 54% of women finding whisky-drinking "the biggest alcoholic turn-off", leaving your humble scribe looking in alarm at his drinks cabinet and cursing this, and not the beer belly, for his lack of success over the past decade and a half.

Readers who have exhaled their Brazilian Coffee Porter in rage at this affront to genteel beer consumption are invited to start here in their quest for more information to feed back to HQ, who will no doubt open a new front of the Campaign aimed at restoring the good image of The Grain among the female dating population.

19th July 2021
'Stand Up for Cask' Social Media Campaign

Remember how 40 years ago, we in bonnie Scotland would get really annoyed that the Children's Programmes schedule on BBC was entirely fitted around the English school summer holidays, which are several weeks later than the Scottish summer hols?

Well the modern-day equivalent of that (or should that be reversal, given it's happening earlier in Engerlandshire) is a social media campaign for Cask Ale that's timed to coincide with lifting of restrictions in England rather than the other UK nations. Stand Up for Cask is an initiative from (and I quote) "... the Cask Matters Group, which includes pub companies, breweries and industry bodies...", of which your doughty scribe knew nothing till this morning.

The idea is to make social media posts using the #StandUpForCask and #PubFreshBeer social media thingies, to promote the 'post-Freedom Day' return to the pub and presumably to cask Real Ale, under the moniker of said Cask Matters Group. There's more over on Roger Protz's website.

The social media assets, including calendars for both breweries and pubs, are hosted on a website run by Cask Marque, in an indication of who might be the ultimate authority on this one. Running from today (Monday 19th July) till Sunday 1st August, this will presumably dovetail nicely into Cask Marque's own 'Cask Ale Week', which runs between 23rd September and 3rd October this year.

'What's Brewing' online is curiously shtumm about the whole thing, leading your editor to conclude that CAMRA isn't part of the 'Cask Matters Group', but if anything appears in official HQ organs, we'll update this piece.

4th June 2021
All-Party Paliamentary Beer Group issues "Caskenomics" Report

One of the lesser-reported aspects of the pandemic is the devastation of the UK hop-growing industry. In a report published a couple of days ago, the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group highlights the plight of the hop industry, which is now down to 52 growers in Britain.

While not on the face of it an immediate issue for Highlands & Western Isles, the implications are that, if native hop growers walk away from the crop and plant fruit instead, then our beers are more liable to be flavoured by citrusy New World varieties. While many would be fine with this, lovers of traditional beer styles like stouts, porters and milds will likely see their choice dwindled through lack of availability of the hop types required to brew these.

At only 17 pages the report makes light reading, but with a heavy and possibly far-reaching message.

10th May 2021
CAMRA launches new What’s Brewing online platform

What’s Brewing, the long-standing monthly newspaper from the Campaign for Real Ale, has undergone a digital overhaul and been re-launched as a dynamic new website.

Greatly improved functionality on the website means that, once logged in, members will be able to select news preferences, such as filtering by region or topic interests, and opt-in to regular news alerts - just in case you felt you didn't receive enough CAMRA emails!