Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a pint of Tennents now and again (this event being no exception). Sure, it's a pretty run of the mill lager with no real outstanding qualities. I did however, have to douse a pint of it over some clown who was battering into everyone for no apparent reason, £3.90 well spent. He looked like he needed a wash anyway.
Now, back to beer. WELL, as I don't camp at T in the Park (landed gentry I'll have you know), and stay with friends in Alloa, it was the ideal opportunity to visit some breweries in the area and stock up!
A quick google search later and my list of potentials was massive, I only had a couple of hours on the Friday before setting off to Balado for the first crisp, cool, plastic glass of T though.
First stop, Harviestoun, a mere 1 mile away, result! The brewery itself is a bright, white, modern premises located in an industrial estate in Alva. I do enjoy Harviestoun beers and gingerly headed inside where I was greeted with display cases full of their beers and awards.
The reception staff were very informative, gave me a bit of background info and the all important prices. I was hoping they'd have some limited brews for sale, but had to settle on a case of 'Bitter & Twisted' and a few bottles of 'Ola Dubh' to put away into storage (no bad thing). I'd have arranged a tour had I been more organised.... next time gadget.
Anyway, onwards, to Williams Brothers! You'll never guess where this one was based, any guesses? 10 points to the man with the dog, an industrial estate in Alloa, hurrah! This proved ideal as we were picking up some friends here on the way to T in the Park (Alloa, not the brewery).
On arriving, there was an old school 'rustic' look to the place and as I battled my way to the reception it was loud and chaotic with machinery, people and bottles of beer everywhere! This was more of a straight in, no kissing visit. Still, it was great to see the contrast in the two breweries and I picked up a case of 'ginger beer' and 'birds & bees summer ale', which I hadn't tried before.
The next 3 days were spent drinking Tennents and Magners (I had to switch from Tennents as it was all too much, UGH). I did find 'Kracken Rum' though, which was lovely. If I'd kept drinking that I'd have had to remortgage the house though... savage prices.
Just a pity it pissed down with rain on the Sunday and turned the place into a quagmire. And I didn't take my wellies as it hadn't rained on the previous days. Schoolboy error or what?
What better way to cheer myself up! Lets visit another brewery on the way home. Why not indeed. I chose Tin Pot Brewery (Bridge of Allan, TSA) for my last jaunt. This is located in the lovely wee town of Bridge of Allan, just on the outskirts of Stirling and what a treat!
A wonderful place. Open from 12pm - 5pm daily with free tastings, of EVERYTHING! I had about 12 beers by the time I left to drive home (only kidding, I made the girlfriend drive). I tried the following:
TinPot: GoldPot 70/-, ThaiPot, Rhubarb & Ginger, WitPot
TSA: 65/-, Glencoe Stout, William Wallace, Bramble, Double Espresso Stout
Ciders: Cider and Ginger Cider
The chap doing the tastings was also top notch and kept the party going with some 'interesting' tunes. I eagerly filled a box with a host of exciting beers to take home! The double espresso stout was unbelievable (and I hate coffee, 3 bottles of that little diamond please).
Pop along and visit this place if you get the opportunity, they have some very unique and interesting things going on.
Without going into too much detail this was a weird and wonderful ramshackle place with intricate wood carvings everywhere albeit with a good selection of beers and the Cairn O'Mohr wines themselves. I enjoyed a thimble of most (some may be a little sweet for many people) and took a couple of bottles home to sample further at my leisure.
All in all a good weekend away, even though this post probably tells you nothing about ANY of the breweries! I had fun though.
Evidence of my purchases....
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