CAMRA in Scotland 40th Anniversary Magazine by Scotland & Northern Ireland Branches CAMRA

Cheers! Celebrating 40 years of CAMRA in Scotland

1974 - 2014

Foreword

ho would have thought that, in the late summer of 1974, after the glorious failure of Scotland’s World Cup adventure in West Germany, when an organisation set up by four friends from the north west of England finally got a toehold in Scotland, thanks to the efforts of some doughty Partick Thistle fans, it would still be going 40 years later. Whilst perceived as a mainly English organisation, Scotland has always punched well above its weight in CAMRA terms, providing two Supreme Champion Beers of Britain in Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, and numerous members of CAMRA’s board of directors. CAMRA in Scotland now has over 4,500 members and organises 8 well-run and well-attended beer festivals, many of them showcasing the best of our 80 odd breweries, many of them, such as Williams Brothers with Fraoch Heather Ale, at the forefront of innovation. I hope that you enjoy reading the reminisces of my Scottish CAMRA colleagues and that it stirs some long forgotten memories of those great beers that you drank in your younger days and, hopefully, continue to drink now. We have some great pubs to drink them in too, from Victorian gin palaces such as the Café Royal and Bennet’s Bar in Edinburgh and The Horseshoe Bar in Glasgow, to couthy boozers like the Laurieston Bar in Glasgow, the Oxford Bar in Edinburgh, the Grill in Aberdeen and the Speedwell Tavern in Dundee. If you haven’t found the pub and real ale for you in Scotland then, the simple truth is you haven’t been looking hard enough.

Slainte. Colin Valentine (National Chairman) June 2014 Designed by Montfode Design, Ardrossan www.md93.co.uk, and printed by Brown Brothers Printers, Irvine www.brown-bros.com © 2014 Campaign for Real Ale, 230 Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts AL1 4LW. www.camra.org.uk.

Introduction

ollowing on from the CAMRA big birthday a year or two ago, 2014 celebrates the 40th anniversary of Scottish Branches. Not so many members would remember the first meeting in the Golf Inn, Bishopton all those years ago but there are still a few around. To celebrate the event we have gathered some reminiscences and put them together in this souvenir booklet. I hope you enjoy it. My first recollection of real ale was over 20 years ago when I popped in to the Wallace Tavern, Elderslie with my brother-in-law whilst collecting a carry-out from the Chinese Restaurant next door. I had a pint of St Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Well from Houston (now Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Well) and thought this is wonderful stuff. I could not believe such great beer was brewed only a few miles up the road. Since then, I have never looked back. Membership has more than tripled since I joined CAMRA and I am glad real ale goes from strength to strength. Most of this is down to you, the members, particularly your support for community pubs and beer festivals and I would take this opportunity to thank you all for your contribution to this success story. Let us all raise a full pint of real ale in September to the next 40 years. Cheers!

Ray Turpie (Regional Director) June 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has helped to compile this 40th Anniversary booklet. In particular, thank you to all the contributors who have penned articles and sourced old photos, and to Stuart McMahon who has had the task of making sense of it all and designing the booklet. And apologies in advance if there are any errors - 40 years is a long time to remember details! Ray. 3

40 years at the helm

ver the 40 years of CAMRA in Scotland there have been remarkably few people in charge of the Scotland and Northern Ireland Branches. The panel below shows the priviliged few that have held office.

Tony Dean

Roger Preece

Dan Kane

Ted Sharp

Gordon Hannah

George Howie

Colin Valentine

Ken Davie

Lindsay Grant

Ray Turpie

NI Branch - the Scottish Connection Philip Hernberg, Chairman, Northern Ireland Branch www.camrani.org.uk

n behalf of the Northern Ireland Branch, I would like to congratulate the Scottish branches on reaching their 40th anniversary. Many close friendships have been made throughout the years that the two areas have been working together. I remember my first introduction to a Scottish & Northern Ireland Branches (SNIB) weekend. I was to stay with the Valentines and Colin had kindly picked me up from the airport before taking me to join Aileen & other CAMRA members on a planned pub crawl. Mobile phones were still something of a rarity so the ingenious way for anyone joining the crawl late to log its progress was to chalk a pint tankard, plus the initials of the next pub to be visited, on the ground outside the vacated pub. This is all fine and dandy unless two of the intended-to-be-visited pubs share the same initials! To no surprise, this is exactly what happened and we ended up in the “other” pub without sign of anyone else. Nevertheless, Colin took me on a wonderful crawl and it did give us a great chance to talk CAMRA business without interruption. The Belfast Beer Festival was revived in 2003 and on the evening following take down day, three former Scottish Regional Directors joined the NI branch at a function in Hilden Brewery to celebrate its, and the branch’s, 21st anniversary. Over the years NI members have attended SNIB meetings all over Scotland, attended beer festivals in Troon and Paisley, and even worked at the Scottish Real Ale Festival (SRAF). In return, a few SNIB meetings have been held in NI to coincide with the Belfast Beer Festival… somehow these meetings never last very long! Since our branch was formed, we have been fighting against a combination of real ale ignorance, public apathy and a former brewing duopoly (now a mega monopoly) regarding the promotion of real ale throughout the province. After a latest attack during which three pubs were ordered to remove their hand pumps by this mega company, the current administration decided enough was enough and decided that they would try to approach members of their regional “Parliament”. 5

To gain lobbying experience, two NI Branch members, myself and regular SNIB attendee Nigel Davidson, recently joined Scottish CAMRA members at the reception for MSPs held recently in the Scottish Parliament’s Holyrood building. This is what a regional organisation group like SNIB is all about – co-operation between branches and different areas, something which has been the norm since the “Offshore Islands” directorship area was revamped some years ago and Northern Ireland was aligned with Scotland as one region. The proximity of the two countries gives benefits to both in the conduct of CAMRA business. Once again, many happy returns and we hope that the ties between us remain for a long time.

Highland & Western Isles Branch Eric Mills, Chairman www.highlandcamra.org.uk

n the beginning the whole of the north of Scotland was run from Aberdeen, until 21st November 1992 when a meeting was held in The Phoenix, Inverness chaired by Scottish Regional Director, George Howie. It was thought that there was enough interest to form a separate Branch. On 8th January 1993, at another meeting at The Phoenix, the Inverness and Highlands Branch was formed, initially as a Sub Branch of Aberdeen. The Committee voted in was Chair: Bill Tring, Secretary: Gareth Nicholas, Treasurer: Ann Johnson and Membership Secretary: Simon Thomson. The area of the Branch was Highlands and Islands, less Orkney (only brewery in area) and Shetland which Aberdeen wanted to keep; and Fort William, Onich and Glencoe which Glasgow were loath to let go. During the first year we hosted a Scottish Branches meeting in Gellions and ran a small Real Ale Festival at Boat of Garten in one of the carriages of the Strathspey Steam Railway. We also organised the first of a regular, Marymas Fayre beer tent, in the Northern Meeting Park, Inverness up until the final event in 2011.

The Pheonix, Inverness

At a CAMRA meeting in Derby in October 1993 we were given full Branch status. At the time of our formation there were very few real ale outlets and no breweries. As time went on the Fort William and Onich area was released to us but Glasgow kept Glencoe. The first brewery to open in the branch area was Isle of Skye in 1995. In November 2005, due to more pubs and breweries reaching most of our Branch area, our Branch name was changed to Highlands and Western Isles.

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pins and not 9 gallon casks. Gordon soon put A few years ago most real ale drinkers would have thought a beer festival at a pub in Nairn me right by dragging me to the cellar to prove thatweb theysite were normal sizelocals casks!and That meant We have excellent Newsletter and which give would be an about as likelyquarterly as the A96 being there was an amazing seventeen different ales made into dual carriageway but, happily, visitors anainsight into our Branch, a list inof real ale outlets, breweries and diary late March it happened at the Bandstand Bar, available throughout the day. Very wise then information. antiseptic), di-met that specialPanel third Matters of a pint festival glasses were Tasting our newly crowned Pub of the Year. available alongside pintsheld & halves. We went through t A full CAMRA tastingthe course, at Benleva Hotel in Drumnadrochit thejoined end ofby March, Shortly after I arrived I at was more discussed what wa was attended real ale enthusiasts, members from by thenine Branch and a minibus loadcauses them. Whil Below: A full tasting was barbuds with water an twoCAMRA publicans and acourse onincluding an outing from the Isle of part-time Skye Brewery. through a basic gu tender. The courseHotel, was led by Branch Chair held at the Benleva Drumnadrochit There werewho alsoisregulars from Forres and they are categorise Eric Mills,2009 a fully qualified taster. in March Findhorn who use the frequent bus service to best bitters, strong enjoy the ales at the Bandstand. Chairman Eric golden ales, old ale was able to present Gordon & Morag with their stouts, barley wine certificate for Highlands & Western Isles Pub sample another be of the Year when the Nairnshire Telegraph 4% mild. We were was down for a few photos, and before the Sixtasting forms with Nations Rugby got under way. The lively mix Next a couple of 's of people ensured that there was plenty of anyone could iden good natured banter during the Calcutta Cup placed in this categ Above: POTY Presentation the Bandstand Bar aBeer game between Scotland and England, and theblueberries in Isle Local members Des andatSeamus reported no prizes for recog Festival, Nairn, free bar snacks on offer at half time were very4.3% Trade Winds lively start to 2009 the festival on Friday which welcome. This was followed by the Ireland - An explanation foll would have been down to excellent pre-start Wales game which saw Ireland clinch the advertising. A good feature in the Press & CAMRA competitio This course justexciting about drinking Grand Slam inis anot very match.beer but one is through tast Journal, as well as adverts in What’s Brewing 7 tasters thro trying to understand where all the aromas and trained and WYT, coupled with banners around Nairn, ensured the word had got around. Indeed, at work, where it is known that I enjoy an ale, several people came up to me with, “Do you know there is a beer festival in Nairn this

flavours, good or bad, come from. A selection of local real ales, a Brewlab flavour analysis kit, some flavours from the beers and varieties of hops and malts, were sampled for smell and taste during the afternoon. Brewlab is

highest scoring be Scottish Beers-of-t the other is throug selections. Membe

CAMRA in Scotland Birth & Early Days Alan Watson, Glasgow & West of Scotland Branch www.glasgowcamra.org.uk

utumn 1973. Received a cutting from the Guardian – an article by Richard Boston recording the demise of the Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW), and heralding new kids on the block – the Campaign for the Revitalisation (sic) of Ale. A postal order (for 10/-!) was sent to St Albans, with my membership card – (member 1171) promptly returned, along with a dozen or so further application forms. On my next visit to my place of worship, Firhill, these forms were circulated to a coterie of fellow sufferers, money collected, and both duly sent to CAMRA. Hence the intrinsic Thistle connection to the birth and early development of CAMRA in Scotland. As an aside, my personal commitment to cask Above: A newspaper cutting from the Sunday Mail around May/June beer was cemented 1974, a few months before the birth of the Glasgow branch. It’s worth when I won an 18 gallon noting that Scotland (in the tournament) lasted longer than the beer. The 18 gallons of Maclays 80/- lasted precisely 3 days! barrel of Maclays 80/(another Thistle connection) in time for 1974 World Cup. It lasted almost 3 days. For the first year our small group was entirely passive, CAMRA members in name only, meeting intermittently in the very small number of Glasgow ale outlets. Things changed over the summer of 1974, thanks to S&N who at a stroke removed cask beer from the Kirk House (Shettleston) and the Kelvin Dock (Maryhill) – Camerons in Renfield St having fallen victim to a road-widening scheme slightly earlier. To our knowledge Glasgow was now a cask-beer free zone!

Action followed. John Whitecross (sadly long dead) wrote an open letter to the (Glasgow) Herald and Evening Times. Was there (beer) life out there? A sole reply resulted from the licence trade. Eric Bryce wrote from his Golf Inn, Bishopton offering his real ale (Belhaven) hostelry for CAMRA activities. At that time CAMRA set a “quorum” on attendance figures before a new branch could be validated. A “Testing Support Meeting” required 12 people, with a subsequent “Inaugural Meeting” needing 25 attendees. Our apprehension was groundless – the first meeting (September 1974) attracted 25 people, with the October Inaugural drawing no fewer than 75 real ale partisans. Scotland’s first CAMRA branch was born – Glasgow CAMRA – albeit in darkest Renfrewshire!

Scotland’s first CAMRA branch was born – Glasgow CAMRA – albeit in darkest Renfrewshire!

Who were these pioneers? Debate has long raged, and time and distance distort memory. With apologies to the many whom I have forgotten (or whose names I never knew). I’d like to tender a subjective list of those whom I feel have rendered most service to CAMRA from the early days. Step forward (in no particular order) the late, great, T. Dan (“Fingers”) Kane, Iain Dobson, who went on to be CAMRA Company Secretary, Tony Dean (founder of the Edinburgh branch), the Thistle contingent John Whitecross, Bill Andrew, Dave MacGregor, Russell Burt (legendary Bon Accord cellarman), Mick Lee (Ayrshire No. 1 for 25 years), Mike Tomlinson, Bill Morris, the Maloneys, Kenny Gillies and wife Ellen. No, I haven’t forgotten the larger than life Alistair Boyd and Stan Thompson, nor indeed the idiosyncratic but much cherished Hugh Stevenson! To all, and countless others thanks for the memories and above all the laughter! POSTSCRIPT For the record, John Whitecross was first Glasgow branch chairman. Following a career move to Inverness early 1975 he was succeeded by Alan Watson who was chair for the following 2 years of early pioneering. The first new Glasgow real ale outlet was Angus MacDonald’s Firhill Tavern (appropriate) in November 1974. The significant emergence of Peter Gallagher’s Bon Accord by Xmas 1974 can never be underestimated, and it is fitting that the story of this, and Glasgow CAMRA’s ‘Westward Expansion : the Woodlands Road Years’ should be taken up by long-term friend and fellow Jagsman – Russell Burt. 9

The Branch With No Beer Russell Burt, Glasgow Branch Chairman 1979, 1980 and Cellarman, Bon Accord, Glasgow

t’s 1974 and the Glasgow (and West of Scotland) Branch is formed – but where do its members go for a drink? For a few months in 1974, there wasn’t a single pub selling cask beer in (or close to) the city centre and most meetings had to be held in the Golf Inn, Bishopton, 15 miles away. In late 1974, Peter Gallagher, the owner of the Bon Accord in North Street (near Charing Cross) installed cask Maclays and Belhaven Beers – the rest is history!! Let’s go back 40 years to the beginning. The Bon Accord was one of the first (if not the first) to put cask beer back into a Glasgow pub. The original Bon Accord interior. Peter Gallagher installed McGlashan fonts dispensing the, now defunct, Maclays 70/- and Belhaven 80/-. Over the next couple of years, a number of pubs near Charing Cross, in Woodlands Road, installed cask beer and in no time this became the mecca for real ale drinkers – a ¾ mile walk comprising five pubs selling consistently superb Scottish ales. There was even a microbrewery for a short time in the 80’s on Woodlands Road. It’s difficult to remember the exact time of cask installation, but let’s just start memory lane furthest from the Bon Accord – The Doublet. Alastair Don had been a respected publican for a number of years when he saw the potential for serving cask beer in his pub. It sold the (then) outstanding (and lethal!) McEwan’s 80/-, often served to you by the impeccable ‘Sergeant Major ‘ Roy! Today The Doublet is still selling cask beer from Greene King / Belhaven. Moving back towards Charing Cross, just up from the Doublet, was the Three in One, selling McEwan’s 80/-. This pub has changed name many times over the years – Tom Sawyers & Uisge Beatha come to mind and both served cask beer. It is now The Dram selling three cask ales.

The CAMRA members shown in the photo include Mick Lee, John Maloney and Phyllis, myself and (then wife) Anne, Mike Tomlinson, Alan Watson and Graeme Lait with his dog, Grumble – 26 April 1980.

Next in line was the Halt Bar owned by Andy Ross who, for years, sold a couple of ales (Maclays & McEwan’s), in the lovely wood-panelled island bar. Real ale in the Halt has not fared so well since the pub was sold many years ago. There was no beer for a while and the Halt underwent various managerial changes and it was even closed for a while. In recent times, real ale was reintroduced but still lacks the consistency it once had. Just along from the Halt is the Arlington Bar, run for many years by Charlie Sweeney senior and his son ‘Young Charlie’. This bar sold superb McEwan’s 80/from Dalex fonts, for many years, cheerfully brought to your table by Sean, after you had pressed the bell at your seat to place your order. The clientele was extremely eclectic, ranging from Daily Express workers (including Ian Archer) and Labour councillors escaping from the City Chambers after a hard day’s graft, to Partick Thistle supporters celebrating another Firhill victory! The beer was so good that the photograph above shows myself as Branch chairman in 1980, presenting Young Charlie Sweeney with the Pub of the year award – how many other CAMRA members can you spot in the photo? Unfortunately despite reintroducing cask beer recently, it now has no cask beer. 11

We now cross Charing Cross and it should be mentioned that, although selling no beer in the 70’s, years later the Ritz Bar had cask beer, served in a bar with a wonderful interior. Sadly, it is now the Black Sparrow and the interior is long gone and so is the beer! And then we reach the infamous Bon Accord – a legend amongst real ale drinkers right up to the present day – but it was not always so. As previously mentioned, it was Peter Gallagher who first introduced cask beer in 1974. He then sold it in 1977 to Dharam Chopra and Aaron Randev. At this time, with many ale drinkers sampling the delights of so many English brews down south in pubs or at beer festivals, there was a demand for something new to augment the Scottish ales from Maclays, Belhaven and McEwan’s. Enter the charismatic Howard Ross!! He came into the Bon Accord one day in 1977 to fix a light bulb and ended up managing the pub for Dharam and Aaron. Howard had tasted many English brews during his travels, so decided he would take a van down south, fill it up with various English ales to be sold in the Bon alongside the Scottish ales – the Bon Accord as we know it today was born!

A legend amongst real ale drinkers right up to the present day

This lasted for ten years during which many English ales were sampled (some breweries, including Marston’s, even delivered direct), the number of handpumps increased and some beers were even sold by gravity. The pub won many awards for its beer, but one of the greatest claims to fame was the staging of CAMRA discos in the backroom – they became legendary! In 1987, the Bon Accord was sold and initially everything stayed the same as Tommy Hughes took over the reins. He loved his beer and, being a very sociable character, the Bon still thrived. However around 1990 the Bon started a slow decline as Scottish and Newcastle breweries began to take charge. They installed a number of managers, many of whom knew next to nothing about real ale and what the Bon was all about

– there was even a threat in the late 90’s that most of the handpumps would go, leaving only two to dispense the now very ordinary McEwan’s 80/- and Theakston’s Best. One good thing that S&N did at this time was to get rid of the small bar and open the whole place up to give the large open-plan pub of today. As the pub entered the new millennium and with its popularity diminishing by the day, a Barrhead man who had run many pubs in Glasgow and Edinburgh, appeared on the scene. He acquired the lease of the Bon Accord in 2001 and Paul McDonagh set about restoring the Bon Accord’s reputation as the pub to drink cask beer and socialise in. It did not take him long to correct the alarming slide and over the last thirteen years, the Bon has won awards for the quality of its beers and is now an award-winning whisky pub as well. All times/dates/names mentioned are correct to the best of my knowledge. But I have drunk so much cask beer over the last 40 years that my old grey matter may have been slightly damaged!! You might wonder how I know so much about the Bon’s history – I worked with nearly all of the aforementioned and more than 30 years on, I’m still there!!!! Cheers, Russell.

Above left: Some of the many awards that the Bon Accord has won. Above right: Glasgow Herald, 16th September 1974. 13

Glasgow & West Scotland Branch Paul Munday www.glasgowcamra.org.uk

fter reading Richard Boston’s book “Beer and Skittles” and drinking real ale down south I joined CAMRA and attended the second branch meeting at the Firhill Tavern. I don’t remember the exact date in late 1974, but remember it was typically dark and cold and the area was a bit run down. I probably read about the first meeting at the Golf Inn, Bishopton, possibly from What’s Brewing or from an article in the Evening Times. I can’t remember who was at the Firhill Tavern meeting. Definitely Alan Watson, branch chairman for several years and Hugh Stevenson. Possibly Mick Lee who was chair in Ayrshire for many years and Ian Dobson, who moved to St Albans and then became CAMRA’s Chief Executive earning an MBE for service to the consumer or something similar. There was also someone with surname Kershaw who came from Manchester and talked of Boddingtons, an independent and venerated brewery in those days. There weren’t many pubs in Glasgow serving real ale; the Bon Accord run by Peter Gallacher, was an oasis and most meetings were held there. Other pubs were the Arlington and the Halt bar. Real ale in Lanarkshire was a major challenge and around 1976 we set up a Lanarkshire sub branch. Almost all the real ale in Lanarkshire was Belhaven 60/-. Notable pubs were the Sefton

in Cambuslang, and the Ranche bar in Hamilton with the famous sloping floor. I think the Rowantree in Uddingston served a decent pint of Maclays 70/- The main problem encountered in Lanarkshire was transport – places were far apart, bussing took too long and trains always serviced Glasgow. Getting to good pubs from home in EK was difficult (and still is). In those days I used the car, but that curtailed anything more than two pints. Of course I wouldn’t drink and drive today. Around about 1978 there was a threat to traditional Scottish air pressure dispense systems from CAMRA nationally so we travelled down to a special meeting in Manchester to protest. Memories are that we won the day at the meeting and of the curry and cheaply priced Wilsons beer in Manchester before returning. About the same time we hired a bus to visit the “State run” Theakston’s brewery at Carlisle. I think it cost less than £5 each for the bus and general view was to get this back via the free beer provided by our hosts (beer was about 40p per pint). Derek Moore (now owner of the Kelburn Brewery in Barrhead) was a new member at the time and I believe has a good memory of this trip. I do distinctly remember feeling unwell at a stop on the A6. Probably due to lack of lunch, nothing to do with beer consumption! Note: I have a copy of the second Scottish Real Beer Guide of 1976, also my original copy of Beer and Skittles if anyone would like a good read! 15

Kingdom of Fife Branch Kenny Broadbent, Chairman www.kingdomoffife.camra.org.uk

n days of old when knights were bold etc, the Kingdom of Fife did not really register much of a blip on the CAMRA radar. This was probably due to the fact that there were so few outlets or members in the area. The south of the county, roughly from the bridges to the Kirkcaldy/ Glenrothes area, was administered by the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland branch with the north and parts of the west being run by Tayside branch. Eventually a few of us started going to the odd Edinburgh branch meeting where it was decided that we would start to survey pubs and deliver Pints of View, the Edinburgh magazine, to outlets in South Fife. Obviously, covering such a huge area, Edinburgh were quite happy about this. The main names involved in these years were Matt Bald, who would go on to become first sub-branch chairman, Steve Darby the first secretary and Jim & Ewan Brande who would both hold various positions and are still active members. After a couple of years it was decided to set up a South Fife Sub-Branch as we had awoken interest among more publicans and drinkers in the area. This proved to be a success, and after further meetings with Tayside branch an autonomous Kingdom of Fife Branch was born as the whole county came together. In 2001 at a meeting in the Whey Pat Tavern in St. Andrews full branch status was ratified by George Howie, then SNIB director. The first branch chair was Ken Davie, now on the National Executive, with Martin Butler as secretary. Since then the branch has gone from strength to strength and our inaugural beer festival was held in the Rothes Halls in The Whey Pat Tavern, St. Andrews Glenrothes in 1999. The 2014 festival was our 16th! We also provide equipment, expertise and staff for various other festivals in the branch area and lend handpumps etc., to landlords willing to try ales for the first time.

We now also have six pubs in Fife selling real cider, all achieved in the last three years. There are now six breweries in the Kingdom compared to none when we began, and a Champion Beer of Fife competition is now held at our Festival. We have some 50 pubs and 300 members and have three Kingdom of Fife Beer Festival 2014 times provided Champion pub of Scotland, The Albert Tavern in Freuchie (twice) and The Harbour Bar in Kirkcaldy with each of them going through to the final stages of the National competition.

The Harbour Bar, Kirkcaldy

The Albert Tavern, Freuchie

Aberdeen, Grampian and Northern Isles Branch George Howie, Deputy Scotland & Northern Ireland Director www.aberdeencamra.org.uk

berdeen, Grampian & Northern Isles branch of CAMRA started off in 1976 with only a handful of members and about the same number of pubs doing real ale. The branch then was simply called the Aberdeen branch. We covered all areas north of Montrose and also were responsible for all the highland area including Inverness and all the way up to Wick and Thurso until the Inverness branch (now Highlands & Western Isles) was formally formed in January 1993. There were so few ale outlets back then with the longest standing outlet being the Red Lion, known locally as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Beastieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, in Forres and also featured in a Broons strip a few years ago in the Sunday Post. The Red Lion, Forres

There was no CAMRA-run beer festival in the area until we ran our first one in the Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen, in September 1987. Prior to that, we had assisted at privately run ones at the Lodge Hotel, Old Rayne in the late 70s and at the Udny Arms, Newburgh in 1980. We also ran bars in conjunction with the Council at various Real Ale and Jazz, Folk and Country events at the Beach Ballroom. In fact, at one of these events we sold a whole barrel (288 pints) of Timothy Taylor Landlord, probably the first time this beer had been sold in the North East. Also, we sold a kil (144 pints) of the first and, sadly, the last brew of Leith 85/-. Additionally, a couple of festivals were run in conjunction with the Douglas Hotel in Market Street. The 2004 Beer Festival in the McClymont Hall.

Eventually we secured the use of the Cowdray Hall in 1987 and 1988 to run our first two of many beer festivals. In 1989, we moved to the McClymont hall in Holburn Street and ran 18 festivals in November there, establishing the festival as a regular event. We moved to the Dick Donald Stand at Pittodrie stadium in November 2008. This proved to be a very chilly event (for beer and drinkers!) and we moved the festival in 2009 to its now regular late May/early June slot. This meant that the climate was better suited to drinking in a large barn of an area and also meant that our dates were not determined by the football fixture dates. In April 1989, we hosted the National CAMRA AGM at the Arts Lecture Theatre on the University campus. This did wonders for real ale in Aberdeen due to the hundreds of drinkers from all over Britain attending the weekend. The AGM and Conference has now been held in Scotland a further three times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; twice in Edinburgh and once in Glasgow. In the same year, the Boars Head at Kinmuck won the inaugural national Pub Of the Year (called POTY) under the ownership of Stuart Singer who is now mine host at the constant Good Beer Guide entry Redgarth in Oldmeldrum. Sadly, the Boars Head does not sell real ale anymore and I was advised Stuart Singer (left), publican of The Redgarth, receives the award for the branch Pub of the Year 2001 from the then recently that it is now an Indian branch chairman, Scott Campbell. Restaurant! Every year, we have a branch trip to present the Beer of the Festival certificate to the winning brewery. The last two years have seen us have a trip to Cromarty, as it is the first brewery to have won two consecutive years. Previous trips have seen us visit Dark Star, Durham Massey and Fyne Ales. Who knows where we will travel to after the 2014 festival, it is in the hands (and taste buds) of the festival drinkers! We also have a member who has a 1979 Leyland Atlantean double decker bus which once travelled the streets of Aberdeen in the Green and Cream livery of Grampian Transport. We hope to be able to utilise that for a future social trip into the depths of the countryside. We last used it to go to the launch of the Old Foreigner brewery at the Glenkindie Arms, sadly no longer in operation as a brewery or a pub. Perhaps it is a bad omen! 19

Tayside Branch Forbes Browne, Vice-Chairman www.taysidecamra.co.uk

e’ve come a long way since Wednesday 11th June 1975 when the Tayside & Fife Branch was founded in the Windmill Bar, Hilltown, Dundee at a meeting of some 20-30 people.

At that time, real ale outlets were declining fast: Belhaven had closed their depot in Montrose, Scottish & Newcastle Breweries had ceased production of caskconditioned McEwan’s 60/- Ale and were busy promoting their bright version of McEwan’s 80/-. The thing that strikes me most when looking back is how little choice there was in the late 1970’s. Firstly, pubs selling real ale were few and far between – there were15 in Dundee and Broughty Ferry and 3 in Perth and many of these were lost in the first year of the Branch’s existence – and as for breweries, you had Belhaven, Maclays, S&N (and as we belatedly discovered, Usher’s/Lorimer & Clark’s) supplying it in Tayside and Fife. There was great excitement when a hotel in Kinross-shire, I think it was the Lomond Hotel, Kinnesswood, started importing Jennings beers from Cumbria and several trips were organised from Dundee, where the bulk of the membership was then based.

The Windmill Bar, Dundee

By far the commonest beer available was McEwan’s 70/-, sometimes branded as Younger’s XXPS, and increasingly McEwan’s 80/-, also known as Younger’s IPA. Belhaven 80/- disappeared from the Bowbridge Bar, Main Street, Dundee and a bar in Alyth, but popped up in the Anchor Broughty Ferry, and was for long available in the aforementioned Lomond Hotel and the Old Abbey, Dunfermline – which also sold the rarer 60/- or light. The “shilling” nomenclature was not then used by Maclays, whose Export (80/-) could be found in the St Thomas Bar, Arbroath , Balmoral Inn, Forfar, while the Volunteer Arms, Inverkeithing, Bridge Bar, Kincardine on Forth, Palace Bar , Perth sold Special Pale Ale (70/-); the only

known outlet for Pale Ale (60/-) was the Kirkland Bar, Methil – which had gone keg by the time I managed to visit! The excellent Lorimer & Clark’s 70/- was unknown to members until we were kindly informed by Usher’s, the parent brewery, that it was available in the Royal Hotel, Monifieth, the Waverley Hotel, Perth, and Panmure Violet FC Social Club, Carnoustie. The severe downturn in real ale pubs in Dundee in particular in the first year of the Branch’s existence was depressing, but fired up the campaigning spirit. The publican at the Ladywell, Jonathan Stewart, was persuaded by members who took their lunch in the pub, to try cask beer. It sold well, Jonathan decided he liked it, and went on to promote it in a number of pubs. Others were harder to convince, but there was a gradual increase in availability. The only way to get variety, before some genuinely “free” houses were eventually persuaded to try an occasional guest beer, was to organise your own festival. Given our lack of numbers and inexperience, we opted for the “beer exhibition” or mini-festival, and several of these were held, mainly in Dundee and Broughty Ferry.

The only way to get variety . . . was to organise your own festival.

The first “exhibition” in Dundee was held in St Roque’s, the Episcopalian Cathedral hall, access to which was up two sets of stone steps. Manhandling kilderkins up these made one appreciate the skills of the draymen and understand, much later, the popularity of plastic casks! The occasion was nearly a disaster, as someone left the hall heating on, but sufficient ale survived to supply the crowds who turned up, including a bus-load of St Andrews University students. While many of us appreciated the tasty Theakston’s and Bateman’s bitters, the students went for the legendary Old Peculier in a big way, and I believe quite a few had to be poured onto their bus! As well as beer exhibitions, the Branch ran a variety of social events – discos, home brew tastings and meetings with such groups as university clubs and local Round Table who wanted to know more about Real Ale. And of course there were brewery 21

visits. The first was to Maclays of Alloa which I helped to organise but was unable to join due to family illness. No comments about piss-ups in a brewery, please! I had better luck by being invited to represent the Branch at the launch of Belhaven’s Regal Ale – one of the many beers produced around Britain to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Amazingly, I managed to persuade my boss to let me take a day off to attend (it was midweek) and a thoroughly convivial time was enjoyed in the company of such esteemed figures as the brewer Sandy Hunter and CAMRA pioneers Tony Dean of Edinburgh Branch and Dan Kane of Glasgow. Even republicans were happy to accept the complimentary six-bottle packs of strong ale presented to guests at the end of the day. Special mention should be made of one notable pub, not just because it was a favourite with CAMRA members and for long my local: the Fisherman’s Tavern, Broughty Ferry. When I first became a regular, it was owned by Dick Brodie, who resolutely maintained cask McEwan’s 60/- and 70/, also,in the 1960’s, Lorimer & Clark’s 70/- under the Usher label, when most pubs were turning to keg.

Fisherman’s Tavern, Broughty Ferry

Such publicans kept the real ale flag flying before the birth of CAMRA. The pub is interesting in that it used handpulls and the English stillage system, unlike most Scottish real ale outlets, which used air pressure dispense through tall founts (in those days we called them fonts, as they were pronounced) from upright casks with a metal “spear”. Until handpumps (or handpulls, as people now, probably more accurately, call them) started to be used by Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, they were a rare feature. Some doubted that there was a tradition in Scotland of using them, as they were so rare, but old pub photographs suggest they were not uncommon. The Fisherman’s, by the way, has maintained its place in the Good Beer Guide under a succession of owners since Scotland was first included in 1975, with the exception of one year, and was once joint winner of the national CAMRA Pub Of The Year competition.

A Pioneer’s Tale Bob Wallace, Scotland and Northern Ireland Membership Co-ordinator

hilst on holiday in Cornwall in 1980 I was fortunate enough to happen across the Truro Beer Festival and quickly agreed to my wife’s suggestion that she would enjoy shopping more if I went inside for an hour or two. My lasting memory was that one of the twenty-six beers available was Usher’s Best Bitter and I was delighted to learn that it was from the Wiltshire brewery of that name not its Edinburgh namesake. My life changed that day, as I not only discovered that an Usher’s brewery did make fine beer but also that the ales on sale in that hall were ‘real ales’ a term which had previously not come to my attention. Before leaving Truro I had become a member of CAMRA and decided to learn more about this wonderful product. I have been a member ever since and on my return to Scotland was delighted to discover that, not only did real ale exist, but the wonderful pints of light which I had regularly enjoyed in Kilmarnock’s Hillhead Tavern, in the 70s, were in fact Tennents 60/-. At the time I worked in Glasgow and I regularly drank Belhaven 80/- in the Mitre Bar in Trongate and was able to visit The Bon Accord which had a choice of over Below: Some of the volunteers from the 1st Paisley Beer Festival

ten ales, including such wonders as Marston’s Pedigree, Theakston Old Peculier and Fullers London Pride. It remains one of my favourite pubs to this day but has no more beers now than it did then, only the choice has grown by a squillion times. In 1981 I received a letter from Glasgow and West of Scotland Branch inviting me to attend a meeting, which would launch the then Renfrewshire sub-branch as a branch in its’ own right. Those were pioneering days as there were only three listings in the Good Beer Guide for the whole county. After five years of drinking and campaigning Renfrewshire had seven entries in the Good Beer Guide and the first Paisley Beer Festival was held in May of 1986. A number of stalwarts from that first event are still prominent in CAMRA today, even if hard to pick out from the photographic evidence. Take a bow Derek Moore, Stuart Wallace, Jim Strang, Bob McWilliam, et al. The programme for the festival lists 22 Scottish ales from 9 breweries, from which only Belhaven, Broughton and Harviestoun still brew real ale today. There were a further 18 beers from south of the border, including favourites such as Marston’s Pedigree, Theakston’s Old Peculier and Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter. Renfrewshire branch’s newsletter of the time, the wonderfully named Heavy Reading, reported an attendance of 2,500 and panic orders for more beer to keep the ale flowing on the Saturday. Strathalbyn brewery at Clydebank and Theakston’s, still at Carlisle in those days, were our saviours. The same issue also pointed readers to another beer festival, the Glasgow one, at Queen Margaret Union of Glasgow University in September. What ever happened to that event? In 1987 Paisley’s success was repeated and had the added bonus of St Mirren going onto the balcony of the Town Hall to show off the Scottish Cup won on the Saturday. That didn’t do ale sales any harm either and more than a quarter of a century later the festival remains the biggest of its kind in Scotland.

Right: The 2014 Paisley Beer Festival featured over 250 real ales

CAMRA and Me – A 40-Year Affair Mick Lee, Ayrshire & Wigtownshire CAMRA www.awcamra.org.uk

y membership of CAMRA, and my activity within it, coincides almost exactly with the 40 year history of CAMRA in Scotland, so I thought it would be interesting to look back over some of the main landmarks over that period, from a personal point of view. I first discovered beer in my teens in the 1960s when I lived in a part of east Greater London that had just been swallowed up from Essex. My Dad had great taste in beer, and advised me to drink the old fashioned kind (the term real ale had yet to be invented) rather than the new-fangled keg beer, not only because it was better but also because it was cheaper! Acccordingly my friends and I sought out country pubs selling beers from local breweries such as Gray’s and Ridley’s. However, in 1969 I moved to Glasgow for a planning course at the School of Art, and for the next five years I didn’t knowingly have any cask beer, except on home visits, although as I had no knowledge of tall founts it is possible I did have some without realising it. In June 1974 my friends down south and I all joined CAMRA, and within a couple of months I was surprised to see a notice in What’s Brewing advertising a testsupport meeting for a Glasgow branch. It was to be held on 9 September at the Golf Inn, Bishopton; I went along, and that was the start of my affair with CAMRA. The next 40 years are broken up below into significant periods from the point of view of my involvement. Glasgow Branch, Firhill Tavern, 9 Dec 1974 This is right at the beginning of CAMRA in Scotland. Mick Lee is 4th from left in the back row with pint in right hand. Immediately to his left (pint in left hand, fancy jumper) is fellow founder member Mike Tomlinson, who now lives in Prestwick and re-joined CAMRA last year. I can remember a lot of the faces but the only names that stick are John Maloney (far left, leather jacket), Dave McGregor (to Mick’s right in glasses) and Hugh Stevenston (back corner, sideburns, drinking). Hugh is still around Glasgow CAMRA circles and regularly attends the Troon festival. For some reason neither Chairman, the late John Whitecross, nor Secretary Alan Watson are in the picture. 25

1974-75 Glasgow There was an excellent turnout at the meeting, where it was explained that the last pub in Glasgow known to be selling real ale had just taken it out, hence the meeting being held in darkest Renfrewshire! It was agreed to form a branch, and the inaugural meeting was held at the same venue on 7 October. I was just a foot The Golf Inn, Bishopton, where it all began! soldier in those days but I attended meetings regularly, including at new Glasgow outlets the Firhill Tavern on 9 December (see previous photo on p25), then at the newlydiscovered Bon Accord on 3 February 1975. In July 1975 I got married and moved to Ayrshire, but I continued to attend Glasgow meetings and events, such as the first of four consecutive November weekend trips to Ecclefechan. 1976 Ayrshire Early in 1976 another notice appeared in Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewing advertising a test-support meeting for an Ayrshire branch. Up to then I was not aware of any local outlets so I went along to the meeting at the Goldberry Arms, Kilmarnock on 10 February. It was organised by a group of friends who drank there regularly. They had carved up the main committee posts between them, but I was appointed as a liaison officer with the Glasgow branch. A successful inaugural meeting was held at the Commercial Inn, Ochiltree (one of many outlets for Maclays 60/- at that time) on 10 March. I continued to attend Glasgow branch events also, including my first Scottish Branches meeting at the Woodside Inn, Falkirk on 24 April. It turned out this was wise, because after my first visits to the Old Racecourse Hotel in Ayr in early June, an Ayrshire branch AGM was held at the Goldberry Arms on 15 June when a personal dispute between the main committee members and the pub was washed in public, and most of the ordinary members were never seen again! The attitude of one committee member to publicans when carrying out GBG surveys also alienated the latter. The branch struggled on for another year or so, then faded away. 1977-82 Glasgow and non-branch Ayrshire During 1977 I attended a few Ayrshire branch meetings, but concentrated more on the Glasgow branch, including attending my first national AGM in Blackpool in March, and a national EGM in Manchester in October to oppose (successfully) a motion to outlaw the use of air pressure to dispense real ale on the grounds that the air was dirty! By March 1978 it was obvious that the Ayrshire branch was dead, so

as one of the better known and more active Ayrshire members I was asked by the Scottish Organiser to be Area Organiser for Ayrshire, with the aim of starting a new branch. A test-support meeting was held, again at the Goldberry Arms on 24 May, but although it was quite well attended there was insufficient support for a branch. However, I made some good new contacts, including some who helped out with GBG surveys over the next few years, and there were occasional informal social gatherings. In early 1979 I became BLO for Belhaven brewery (for a year), and visited the brewery with Dan Kane in May. Between then and 1983 nothing spectacular happened. I attended another national AGM at Keele University in April 1979, a pub of the year presentation weekend at the Ormidale Hotel, Brodick and my first CAMRA run beer festival in Leith, both in September 1979. In 1981-82 the Ayrshire Brewery, based at Stevenston, came and went. A few helpers and I kept Ayrshire matters ticking over by carrying out GBG surveys. 1983-84 Ayrshire Mk 2 In the early 1980s a soon to be significant real ale outlet, Dallam Tower at Loans, near Troon started selling real ale – just Greenmantle at first, but that was to change. In January 1983 I was approached by local member George English with some ideas on trying to get a branch going again in the area. I met him, then in March a test the water meeting was held at Dallam Tower, when it was agreed to meet over the coming year and put George’s ideas into practice.

The first committee of the second Ayrshire branch taken at Dallam Tower, date unknown, but around the 1984 or 1985 AGM. From the left Chairman Mick Lee, landlord’s son and real ale pioneer Stewart Lindsay, Secretary George English and Treasurer Neil Stuart.

Members present at the same meeting as above photo. (l-r): Betty Hall, Jim Hall, Mick Lee, Stewart Lindsay (mostly hidden), Neil Stuart, Alistair Mackie, George English, Tom Hughes (then manager of Oddbins, Ayr, later part owner of the Bon Accord, Glasgow), Charlie Fisher. Missing from the photo is Tom Parish – presumably he took it. 27

These involved writing to every Ayrshire member to get them involved, and trying out a promotion campaign in local newspapers, comprising advertising features in the local press in four parts of Ayrshire with text supplied by us supported by adverts from local real ale outlets. The promotions took place in September and October, with socials held in each of the four areas to coincide with the publication dates. The result of these efforts was that a further meeting on 8 November at Dallam Tower agreed to go ahead and form a branch. By this time Dallam Tower had introduced a new concept to the area – guest beers. It may seem strange now, but in those days pubs tended to sell the same beer or beers all the time, so this was a novel but welcome development.

Same occasion as the last two photos at the Dallam Tower, but also including Neil’s wife Jean between him and Jim Hall, and Tom Parish almost visible at the right.

Within a short time it had also been taken up by the Anchorage Hotel, Troon, and the rest is history. The new Ayrshire branch was formed on 7 February 1984 when I became a founder member of my third branch in 10 years. I was elected chairman, George English was branch secretary and Neil Stuart was treasurer. Landmarks for the rest of the year were a brewery visit to Strathalbyn in Clydebank in March, Scottish Branches meetings at Stow in April and Oban in September (with newly arrived member Kenny Gillies), then in November we hosted our first Scottish Branches meeting at Dallam Tower. Also in March I was asked by the branch to propose a motion to the national AGM in Edinburgh condemning Scottish & Newcastle for refusing to supply McEwan’s 70/- ( a very well-regarded beer then) to any other west of Scotland pubs other than the Ormidale in Brodick. Despite being asked by the Scottish Branches powers that be to withdraw the motion (they didn’t want to upset S&N!) and my seconder not turning up, I found another seconder, spoke to the biggest audience I had ever stood in front of and the motion was carried comfortably. 1985-89 Quiet years Following that exciting year, things settled down for a few years. In November 1985 we presented certificates to the Harbour Bar, Troon and the Cochrane Inn, Gatehead recognising their entries in 10 consecutive Good Beer Guides. Further Scottish Branches meetings were held at Dallam Tower in 1986 and early 1988.

Coincident with the second of these we learned to our dismay that Dallam Tower had been sold to Bill Costley and that he would not be keeping real ale. It closed shortly after our AGM there in March 1988. Fortunately the Anchorage in Troon took on the mantle of guest beer supplier, and a Scottish Branches meeting was held there in June 1989. In 1987 the Chestnuts Hotel in Ayr started selling real ale, the first of many new outlets that have kept real ale until the present day. During this period Kenny Gillies replaced George English as branch secretary, until he got married and moved to Glasgow. Attendance at meetings was pretty low in these days and we just about functioned, including the important task of doing GBG surveys.

Top: The Chestnuts Hotel, Ayr Above: Geordieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Byre, Ayr

1990-92 New outlets and festivals In 1990 we first became aware of Geordieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Byre in Ayr as a real ale outlet, and it has been one of our best performing and most important outlets ever since. Another new outlet, important for quite a few years, in January 1991 was the Hunting Lodge, Kilmarnock. Another first for the area in July that year was a pub beer festival at the Anchorage, repeated in November, with the latter followed later the same month by one at the Hunting Lodge. The branch helped out at each of these festivals, the first in the area. In June 1991 the branch held the first of many day trips to Arran, which eventually led some years later to Arran and Cumbrae being taken into the branch area from Glasgow. Also around this time recent and current activists such as Reg & Pam Smith, Graeme Perry and Jon Mansell got involved in the branch. 1993-97 New activists and expanded branch On 27 February 1993 a meeting was held in Carlisle between the Ayrshire, Glasgow and Carlisle branches to discuss the way forward for Dumfries & Galloway which, despite a short lived branch in the 1970s, was still part of the Glasgow & West of Scotland branch. Ayrshire and Carlisle had shared GBG surveys of the area for a while, so it seemed best to split the area between these two branches. Dumfriesshire would go to Carlisle (renamed Solway) and Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire to Ayrshire. Our branch AGM in February 1993 agreed this, and following CAMRA HQ agreement we changed name to the Ayrshire & Galloway 29

Branch. More recently Kirkudbrightshire joined Dumfriesshire in a Dumfries subbranch (and short-lived full branch) so we changed again to our present name of Ayrshire & Wigtownshire. In 1995 we got involved in a successful campaign to save the Market Inn in Ayr from demolition, another short-lived local brewery started in Lugton, and in September some of us helped at the first Belfast beer festival. In August 1996 a significant new member moved to the area from Lincolnshire and attended his first meeting. His name was Lindsay Grant and, of course, he went on to play a significant part in Scotland & Northern Ireland CAMRA, but his importance was more local to start with. The branch was in need of some first aid at this point, and only seven people attended the 1997 AGM. Drinks in McKay’s, Troon, after taking down the 2004 Ayrshire Real Ale Festival. Clockwise from front left Mick Lee, John Hearshaw (Fish), Emma Cooke Wilson, Jon Mansell, Dougie Graham, Lindsay Grant, Charlie Quinn, Graeme Perry, Reg Smith.

1998-2000 Newsletter and festival Lindsay’s first move was to suggest a branch newsletter, of which he was the first editor, and it went on to become the increasingly successful Full Pints we know and love today. Then in 1999 he suggested we hold a beer festival as it had proved a good way of increasing both membership and active members in other areas. The first planning meeting took place in May 1999, and in August the branch agreed to go ahead and in September 2000 the first CAMRArun beer festival in Ayrshire took place in Troon Concert Hall. It has continued every year since, changing to October from 2005 due to a double booking, and has become ever bigger and more successful. It also met its original target of increasing membership and active membership in the branch, with current festival organiser Dougie Graham being just one of many who became active members around this time. 2001-5 Brewery visits and socials During this period the increasing membership Pub of the Year presentation to Eddie Carden allowed us to have more social activities, such at Geordie’s Byre in June 2004. as day trips to Newcastle in 2002 and 2003, and visits to Sulwath and Craigmill (now Strathaven) breweries, with a branch meeting being held at the former in June 2001. In 2003 Geordie’s Byre was the first branch pub to become Scottish Pub of the Year, and in January 2004 there was a

memorable trip to Nethergate brewery on the Essex-Suffolk border to present a beer of the festival certificate. A series of events was held in 2005 to celebrate the branch’s 21st birthday, including a barbecue in July, a branch quiz (repeated each year since) in Geordie’s Byre and a 21 pub crawl held over a few months. In June we also had the first of several branch visits to Loch Fyne brewery. 2006-9 All change 2006 saw current Scotland & Northern Ireland director Ray Turpie attend his first branch meeting in August. In 2007 the Failford Inn became the first branch pub to make the final four of the national Pub of the Year competition, a feat repeated in 2008 by 2007 branch and Scottish winner the Blue Peter Hotel in Kirkcolm, Wigtownshire. In October 2008 I informed the branch committee that I Pub of the Year presentation to Ruth would be standing down as branch chairman and Ian Murray at the Blue Peter in April 2007. in 2009 after 25 years in the position. Reg Smith was Chairman for a year before Lindsay Grant, current chairman, took over the role. However, I took on the role of pubs officer as my retirement from work had given me time to work on the establishment of a branch pubs database, which was a big help in the setting up of WhatPub.com. 2009 also saw the 25th birthday of the branch when a birthday meal was held at the Ardneil Hotel, Troon (now sadly demolished). 2009 also saw the first meeting of an area social group in North Ayrshire, organised by fairly recent new active member Ian Middleditch, and this led to the successful setting up of groups in other branch areas.

*** 201 4 MOST

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Ayrshire CAMRA and Wigtownsh Branch ire

2010-present The branch continues to go from strength to strength, with over 500 members and a very successful and increasingly popular beer festival, regular area social group meetings, branch social Wigto wnshire Winner meetings, brewery visits, coach and rail trips, pub crawls. Our ‘Full Pints’ magazine won ‘Most Improved’ magazine at the 2014 National AGM in Scarborough. On a sad note our 2014 Branch AGM was held at the Old Racecourse Hotel, Ayr, which closed a week later to be turned into flats. This was one of the first real ale outlets I drank in in Ayrshire in 1976, so it is sad to see somewhere that has played its part in the last 40 years of CAMRA in Scotland disappear. I have been proud to share the last 40 years with CAMRA in Scotland, and I hope to go on sharing with it for many more years.

2014

NE IN THE UK ***

Branch Pub of The Steam the Year: Packet Inn Isle of Wh ithorn

From Dundee to Director Ken Davie, Finance Director, CAMRA

first joined CAMRA when I was a student at Duncan of Jordanstone School of Architecture in Dundee in either 1976 or 1978. I can’t remember if it was before I spent a year and a bit working (and drinking Fuller’s and Young’s) in London or when I went back to Uni to finish my course. It was around this time that I went on my first brewery trip to Lorimer and Clark’s in Edinburgh. I wasn’t particularly active for several years although I did go to the occasional meeting when Forbes Brown was the Tayside Branch Chairman. I met Colin Valentine for the first time at a CAMRA event in Edinburgh sometime in the 1990s but can’t remember what it was about. I started going to South East Fife Sub-branch meetings around 1998 and went to an EGM in Whey Pat Tavern in St Andrews, which Colin chaired, intending only to vote in favour of the formation of a separate Kingdom of Fife Branch and ended up as the first chairman of the Branch. As well as being the Branch Chairman, I was Beer Festival Organiser/Treasurer for several years and helped to run two charity beer festivals every year. I was elected SNID on 1st June, 2001 in the Crees Inn at Abernethy, which just happened to be my birthday, taking over from George Howie who stood in for a year after Colin was elected to the NE. After several years without an Edinburgh Beer Festival, Colin and I worked together to kick start the Scottish Real Ale Festival with me as Festival Organiser, Colin handling the logistics along with a damn good support team. I think my last one as Organiser was 2007. However, I currently keep my hand as bar manager at the Worcester Festival every year. I stood for election to the NE in 2006 and lost out by less that 20 votes but stood again the following year and was successful. I inherited CAMRA Books Committee from Sarah Durham, when she stood down from the NE in 2009, then took over from Phil Kempton as Finance Director in October 2011 before he stood down in 2012.

Forth Valley Branch Bill Purnell, Chairman

he branch was formed in September 1976 and founder members were Jim Watson from Polmont and Geoff Ainslie from Stirling amongst others. At that time the only breweries in branch area were Maclays and Ind Coope Alloa brewery, both in Alloa and unfortunately now closed. Today the branch has eight breweries within its boundaries. Stirling Real Ale festival started in 1980 and ran for ten years. Alloa Real Ale festival started in May 1988 but ran out of steam by May 2008. However, an Alloa Winter Ale festival started Oct 1992 and is still going strong. Occasional beer festivals were run in conjunction with the Four Mary’s, Linlithgow from 1990 for a few years. The Larbert beer festival started in 2009 and still survives. In conjunction with CAMRA’s Mild in May campaign, a Mild Trail by Rail was started in 2011 by Jonathan Harris. This has been very successful over the years and also fits in well with the support your community pub campaign. The first branch newsletter “BeerLines” was issued in autumn 1984 and is still going strong as “Firkin Forth Valley.” In conjunction with that, a Real Ale guide to Forth valley published in the late eighties. Outlet lists are now incorporated in the branch magazine. To finish on an interesting historical snippet, a beer mat was produced jointly with Harvieston Brewery in 1988 to promote Alloa and Stirling beer festival, Harvieston’s first beer mat and our only one! 33

The National Director’s profile Colin Valentine, National Director, CAMRA

n 1995 I had the honour of becoming CAMRA’s 7th Scottish Director, following in the footsteps of people who had mentored me in the ways of the Campaign. It was a post I held with pride for the following six years. During that time we introduced the Champion Beer of Scotland competition and hosted a CAMRA national conference. The number of real ale breweries was barely out of single figures and membership somewhat static at less than 2,000. There are now over 80 breweries operating in Scotland and membership well north of 4,500. Nationally, I’m delighted that there are now over 162,000 members. Having retired, at the age of 39, as CAMRA’s Scottish Director, I joined the board of directors, commonly known as the National Executive and have served on the Executive for fourteen years, the last four of which have been as National Chairman. I am very proud of the fact that I am the first Scotsman to hold that post. I first came across real ale, although I wasn’t aware that was what I was drinking, in the summer of 1980 when I was 18, in the Oxfordshire town of Witney. Nine months later I was introduced to the delights of the Bon Accord in Glasgow and haven’t, as they say, looked back since. In fact, on Easter Sunday 2011, exactly 30 years to the day since my first pint there, I had a few 30th anniversary pints with 30 of my closest real ale drinking friends.

Edinburgh Branch members enjoying some beer at Lorimer & Clark’s Caledonian Brewery after a bowling evening, c1982.

CAMRA Reminiscences Roger Preece, Chairman, Edinburgh & SE Scotland CAMRA www.edinburghcamra.org.uk

ll CAMRA members’ recalls of events in the distant past of the 1970s need to be read with a significant health warning. This is not only because Father Time is always busy confusing matters but also perfect recall can be difficult to achieve after an evening in convivial company accompanied by the odd glass of real ale. There are however a few incidents that do seem to have a continuing life of their own in memory, possibly because they were not easy to forget at the time. For the Edinburgh & South East Scotland branch the start of matters in autumn 1975 felt a little confusing at the time, partly because of where the venue was and what the weather was like. A meeting “to test support for the formation of a CAMRA branch” - CAMRA officialise starting off as it meant to carry on - had been duly advertised in the press to take place on a Thursday night at the Black Swan, Leith. Of course Leith in those days was not like it is today, with expensive eateries and waterfront apartments, it was still very much a working docks. Also, on the evening in question, the whole area was wrapped in fog. Your reporter, eager to join this new and prestigious group, was hopelessly lost, and had not visited the pub before. Indeed the furthest he had ventured into Leith was to occasionally stand on the terrace at Easter Road. Despairing as how to find the venue, he was non the less a little alarmed when a bulky figure loomed out of the fog. We are not making this up - it was in fact a Leith policeman, a member of a fine and well known constabulary. When asked if he knew where the Black Swan was, the reply was that the enquirer was in fact standing in front of it, and only needed to turn around and take a few steps forward. “Mind,” the constable continued as a parting shot, “there’s some kind of strange meeting taking place there tonight!” The early meetings at the Black Swan, still happily there today as the Roseleaf and still selling real ale, were indeed somewhat strange, but partly because it was a completely new experience for all of us. What did you say? What did you do? 35

However, there was no shortage of talking, not least because at least two of the first committee were Edinburgh lawyers. The main thing that got the branch going effectively was that it was very fortunate to have Tony Dean as its first chairman. Tony chaired the meetings with considerable aplomb, and with a fine touch of humour. He even managed to read out a congratulations telegram from the Glasgow branch which ended - “better late than never” with considerable wit. Certainly there were challenges not always expected in CAMRA ranks at those early meetings in Leith, particularly on the night when the branch meeting was interrupted by a couple of ladies of the night looking for trade, a situation that the chairman dealt with deftly. There was however another night when the male branch members seemed unusually reluctant to leave the public bar to start the meeting. On investigation it turned out that they were all gazing open mouthed at the television perched on the end of the bar. This was the night that Debbie Harry appeared on Top of The Pops singing “Denis, Denis”, wearing what appeared to be a scanty bathing costume.

The men were all gazing open mouthed at the television perched on the end of the bar

Not all the memorable events took place in Leith or involved a group of branch members. On one occasion the chairman introduced the secretary to a hostelry in Young Street that he had never visited before, and in fact did not even know existed. The pub was of course the Oxford Bar, but long before John Rebus ever set foot in the place. Indeed author Ian Rankin would not yet have been of legal drinking age. The secretary, who came from one of the more agricultural regions of England, was cautioned to not speak less his voice betray his country of origin, resulting possibly in no beer being served to them at all. This presented no problem whatsoever for the secretary. His county of origin was notorious along the Welsh border for the careful way that the indigenous population had with their money. The landlord was well known for his antipathy to drinkers from the other side of the Tweed, and indeed from any foreign parts at all. Did not the pub close every year during the Edinburgh Festival? “And for goodness sake, don’t ask what that is” the chairman said, pointing to a large poster chart hanging on the wall in the adjacent lounge bar. This was the secretary’s first, but by no means last, view of The Declaration of Arbroath.

Where is everybody? Roger Preece

ewly formed CAMRA branches soon began to consider various ways of getting their message across. Although CAMRA itself had only been active for a few years, running a beer festival became one of the early challenges to overcome. Our branch had an early shot at this with a small scale festival on Edinburgh University premises in Hill Place, Edinburgh - these days the location for the Modern Languages Centre. Due to the requirements of Scottish licensing law at the time the event was a semi-private affair, but a a number of valuable lessons were learned, including how to carry a wood kilderkin of Old Peculier up a flight of narrow stairs without dropping it. Naturally enough the modest success of this event led to demands for a much larger event open to the public. Branch committee member, and later chairman, Hugh McKay, one of the Edinburgh lawyers mentioned previously, successfully negotiated with the licensing authorities for three of the four per annum new occasional licences to be run on consecutive days, thereby allowing a three day festival. The branch was even more pleased to secure a highly suitable venue, Leith Town Hall - and in a month of the year advantageous for storing real ale casks, September. So preparations were made. Beer was ordered. Logos were designed. Programmes were printed. There was even a trade session on the Thursday, which was well received. A good number of the casks were actually stored in the cellar. Both Belhaven and Scottish & Newcastle supplied air pressure engines and tall founts. The Belhaven bar fitter at the time did a superb job of piping in the lines. The Friday was eagerly anticipated. But when the festival opened its doors that day there were none of the usual eager queues already a feature of such CAMRA events elsewhere in the UK and, in fact, over the two days in question the attendances were, not to put too fine a point on it, disappointing. Was this because there was no demand for real ale in Edinburgh and Leith? Not really - it was something else entirely. The reason why it had been so easy to secure the venue at that time was because it was the weekend of the traditional autumn holiday, and in those days, in Leith, this still meant a lot. 37

Lessons were, as they say, learnt, especially how important it was to pay attention to local events. Good relationships were established with a number of folk at the sharp end of the brewing industry in Scotland, who appreciated the fact that CAMRA was not just all mouth, but had members who were prepared to put in hard graft to further their cause. There was also a nice demonstration of the adaptability of Scots engineering. There was a lot of beer in the casks in the cellar. No problem - the air lines were reversed and the beer, still in good condition, was pumped up into fresh empty casks by the bar. And what of the next festival at the then malt store at Lorimer & Clark’s brewery in Slateford Road - now, of course, the Caledonian Brewery? It was a great success.

Goodness, that’s never happened to me! Roger Preece

ention has already been made that there was a trade session at the beer festival at Leith Town Hall. One of the highly appreciated guests was the 20th Laird of Traquair House, Peter Maxwell Stuart. It was Peter who had resurrected the Traquair House brewery in the 1960s, and who, these days, is rightly recognised as one of the pioneers of micro-brewing. One of the festival organisers was describing to the Laird how, with a CAMRA colleague, he had visited Peebles Hydro, because of a report that it was serving Greenmantle ale from the recently launched Broughton Brewery. When the pair, wearing their mandatory jeans for beer hunting, had finally found the bar, there was a single hand pump, with the already familiar ‘G’ bar clip. However the barman informed the eager customer that the beer was currently off. On further questioning he admitted that it would cost £1.20 a pint, horrendously expensive at that time. In any case, he added that he would not have been able to serve the two gentleman on the grounds that they were improperly dressed for that bar.

I’m often in there in my gardening clothes, and they never refuse me a drink!

The Laird had paid close attention to this anecdote. At the punch line he raised his eyebrows in absolute disbelief. “Good heavens”, he expostulated, “I’m often in there in my gardening clothes, and they never refuse me a drink!”

Looking back through the papers Derek Moore, Renfrewshire CAMRA and owner Kelburn Brewery www.renfrewshirecamra.org.uk

erek Moore from Kelburn Brewery, and one of the original founders of the Glasgow branch, remembers the early days through newspaper clippings.

Dan Kane Remembered

egendary CAMRA campaigner Dan Kane died back in February 1992 – his legacy lives on in the Dan Kane Award for Brewing and also in the memories of friends and fellow campaigners. Some former CAMRA colleagues share their favourite stories.

FORBES BROWNE I first met Dan Kane in a coffee lounge at Kings College, Aberdeen in 1965 when I sold him a CND “Make Love Not War” badge. This led to a life-long friendship, and through me he met George Williamson, a radical activist and pub collector par excellence. Dan and I enjoyed a few good pub crawls with George in Aberdeen and Glasgow and inspired by his dedication to visiting every pub in Scotland (which he achieved), we set out to emulate him, starting with all the Aberdeen hostelries. Radical politics did not affect his ability as a salesman, however, and his success in this field led to promotion and travelling all over Scotland selling foam rubber. Of course, this meant he was able to further his ambition of collecting new pubs and his delight in the institution of the public house led to an absorbing interest in pub interiors, the history of brewing and breweriana – and his collection of brewery mirrors. Once, while inspecting a particularly fine specimen, he became aware of being encircled by a hostile group of locals and staff. They suspected him of being a tax inspector assessing the pub, though relaxed after his earnest explanation. While appreciating most beer styles, it was 60/- and milds that Dan really enjoyed. I have a distinct memory of his taking me to a licensed grocer’s in either Paisley, or the east end of Glasgow, which was more akin to an Irish establishment. There was a small room at the back where we were served Tennent’s 60/- from a small wooden pin and I recall Dan saying it was one of just four outlets serving this endangered species. I just wish I could remember where it was. Another pub visit I remember was to the Gauldry Arms in north west Fife in the early 1970’s. No real ale, but there was an interesting keg font I’d never seen before: Lorimer & Clark’s Heavy. “It’s a small brewery in Edinburgh, part of the Usher’s group,” Dan explained. It must have been the test marketing a new brand, for I never saw it again, but little did I think that Dan would be managing the brewery a decade or so later.

TED SHARP In 1978 I attended my first meeting of the Scottish branches of CAMRA. The outgoing Scottish Organiser, Roger Preece, announced that he was standing down in order to concentrate on other CAMRA activities and introduced his successor, a fresh faced foam salesman from the Vale of Leven. This was the start of my friendship with Dan Kane, which was to last until his absurdly early death in 1992. A conversation with Dan was like being on a slightly out-of-control rollercoaster. You never quite knew what the destination was going to be but wherever it was you knew it would be interesting. Dan saw things in a way which was shared by few others and which could at first seem slightly mad. But usually, after you had thought about it for a bit, his way seemed not only sensible but actually better than your way. People usually came round to Danâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of thinking, though it often took some time. He once told me that when studying law at Aberdeen University, he would typically adopt a position shared neither by any other students, nor by any of the tutors. The lecturers would mark him down because they were convinced that his position was wrong but were unable to explain to his satisfaction why. Dan was first and foremost a man of principle. His unswerving opposition to the cask breather and his many spirited contributions to AGM debates on the subject in the 1980s are events which I will always remember. When he believed that something was right he would pursue it with a zeal and determination which knew no bounds. Dan Kane on his soapbox was a truly awesome spectacle.

Dan on his soapbox was a truly awesome spectacle

I succeeded Dan as Scottish Organiser in 1981 when he took the post of General Manager at Lorimer and Clarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brewery in Edinburgh. Being in the trade meant he had to resign from his CAMRA posts which was a great loss to the Campaign but we knew that we had a formidable ally in the Edinburgh brewing trade and that he would continue to implement CAMRA principles even though he could no longer be active in CAMRA. He served as general manager at Caledonian until 1987 when Vaux sold the site but he stayed in the licensed trade as manager at the Southsider until the onset of the cancer which was to take his life. The Edinburgh branch, CAMRA in Scotland and CAMRA as a whole were never the same afterwards. There was a sense of anticipation about CAMRA meetings which was never quite there when Dan was not present. To say that, over twenty years on, he is still missed does not do justice to the loss felt by all who had the honour to know him. 43

TONY DEAN The value of Dan Kane’s innovative and determined campaigning during CAMRA’s early years in Scotland should not be underestimated. At a time when all of the large breweries were sceptical about the future of real ale in the Scottish licensed trade, Scottish and Newcastle were particularly hostile and were actively withdrawing their well regarded real ales from the trade and coercing customers to take in their reviled, consistently mediocre, keg brands instead. It was Dan who single-handedly persuaded the S&N board to allow the supply of real ales to customers and managers who requested it and furthermore to offer rewards to publicans who achieved satisfactory sales of well kept beer. This experiment was, of course, a great success, to the surprise of the S&N directors whose attitude towards real ale changed markedly thereafter. Another benefit was that CAMRA’s standing in the local licensed trade was substantially enhanced. When Dan moved to Edinburgh following his appointment as manager of Lorimer & Clark’s Caledonian Brewery, and therefore unable to hold any official CAMRA position, his commitment to real ale was undiminished. Dan was the chairman of the CAMRA 1984 AGM organising committee which was held in Edinburgh that year. As well as being a superb campaigner Dan was a great man to go for a pint with when his comprehensive knowledge of public houses and beer together with his wry sense of humour provided much inspiring entertainment. Apart from his unwavering support for CAMRA, Dan enjoyed hearing tales of Ian Dobson’s legendary eccentricities and was keenly interested in all aspects of brewery history. He served for many years as a valued Board member of the Scottish Brewing Archive, latterly as Vice Chairman. As well as collecting all manner of brewery memorabilia, Dan was an avid collector of beer labels and amassed an extensive and indeed world-class collection of historic Scottish labels. On Saturday mornings Dan and I regularly travelled aboard the first southbound train from Edinburgh to attend CAMRA events, Labologists meetings or other

Extract from ‘What’s Brewing’, May 1981

beer related get togethers, often sharing the carriage with a group of young football enthusiasts on their way to support their favourites in Manchester, Liverpool or elsewhere. One day, they asked Dan where we were going and were informed that we were travelling to attend various beer and brewery related gatherings. The youngsters must have been considerably fascinated, for the next time we saw them they presented us with a bundle of beer mats which they had instructed their fathers to collect, to be passed on to the quaint old lads on the train. Over the years I was privileged to enjoy countless beer and pub evaluation tours with Dan to destinations all over the UK and Ireland (Dundee, Manchester and Aberdeen were particular favourites). It is a great pity, though, that we never got Dan to visit Amsterdam. He would have loved that. COLIN VALENTINE Unlike Forbes, Ted and Tony, I only had the honour of knowing Dan in the last years of his life. However, he made a lasting impression in those brief years of friendship. It was Dan’s influence that persuaded me to go to my first National AGM in 1990 and, a few years later, stand as Scottish Director – both Dan and Ted having already done the job. Had that not happened, it is unlikely that I would have stood for the National Executive. I joined CAMRA in early 1988, when Ted was Edinburgh Branch Chairman and started attending meetings right away. When it came to the election of chairman at that year’s AGM, Ted said that he was not re-standing and that, in the absence of another candidate, Dan was willing to stand. There was no other candidate and Dan became branch chairman. The first time I met him was when we went to the pub he was working in to give him the good news. With the National AGM being held in Aberdeen the following year, Scottish Branches members did all of the organising and, the night before leaving for Aberdeen, Dan tried to persuade me to go. I protested that I didn’t know anyone. “Well you know me”, he said, “and I will introduce you to everyone.” “No thanks,” I said, “I am happy doing local branch stuff and not really interested in national stuff” – famous last words. At the 1990 AGM, there was a debate on cask breathers. Without waiting to be called to speak in the normal manner by putting his hand up and hoping to be spotted, Dan strode to the podium, giving the chairman (John Cryne) little choice but to recognise Dan as the next speaker. I was most impressed – the national chairman knew my branch chairman, so he must be important. What I didn’t know was that Dan had been on the National Executive and had also been one of the 45

prime movers in the call to do away with GBBF, of which John was organiser, as it had lost money one year. He gave, as Ted has alluded to, what I now realise was a typical Dan barnstorming speech against the motion that we accept cask breathers. The movers of the motion stood no chance. I subsequently used some of his speech the first time I spoke at the National AGM, oddly enough, on cask breathers. When he took over the reins of the Southsider pub, one of his first visitors was the Carlsberg rep. “Usual number of cases of Special Brew?” he asked Dan. “None,” replied Dan. “The Southsider is our best on trade customer,” spluttered the rep. “Not any more,” said Dan, “not only do I not want to sell it in my pub, I do not want the kind of people who drink it in my pub.” Dan started as he meant to go on. He was, in my opinion, an excellent publican. As long as you were in the pub before closing, a lock in was not uncommon. On one memorable occasion, following on from the summer wedding of a mutual friend, we left the pub after the sun had come back up. He also invented the unique dish of death by cholesterol, which was mentioned in the pub description of that year’s Good Beer Guide. Sue Nowak, the editor of the Good Pub Food Guide, was intrigued and phoned to ask what it was and possibly mentioning it in the next edition. “It’s a fried egg roll,” said Dan. “Nothing special about that,” said Sue. “There is when you break the egg into the roll and deep fry it for five seconds,” said Dan. I never did ask Sue what her reaction was but, suffice to say, death by cholesterol never made it into Good Pub Food Guide. I am sure that there have been many unique characters in CAMRA’s history, many of whom contributed an enormous amount to the organisation and have now been forgotten by history. Not Dan. When nominations for our top 40 campaigners were called for, I had no hesitation in nominating Dan and took far more pleasure in Dan being one of the top 40 than I did in being on the list myself. In fact, I was honoured simply by being on the same list as him. I still miss him. THE DAN KANE AWARD FOR BREWING This award commemorates Dan’s interest in technical aspects of brewing and beer and is awarded annually for a technical innovation in the brewing or pubs industry with a positive impact on beer quality. The award can be made either to an individual or an organisation for research, an original technical innovation or commercial development.

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Rob Hill, from Orkney’s Highland Brewery being presented with the Dan Kane Award in 2010.

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Scottish Breweries, June 2014 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

Abbot House Brewery, Dunfermline Alechemy Brewery, Livingston Andrews Ales, Cummertrees An Teallach Brewery, Dundonnell Arran Brewery, Brodick Ayr Brewing Company Limited Balmaha Brewery Barneys Beer, Edinburgh Beeches Brewery, Lochgelly Belhaven Brewery, Dunbar Black Isle Brewery, Munlochy Black Wolf Brewery (formerly TSA), 37 Throsk, Stirling BrewDog, Fraserburgh & Ellon Brewmeister, Keith Broughton Ales, Biggar Burnside Brewery, Laurencekirk Cairngorm Brewery, Aviemore Caledonian Brewery, Edinburgh Carbon Smith Brewery, Edinburgh Clockwork Brewery, Glasgow 42 Colonsay Brewery Cromarty Brewing Cuillin Brewery, Sligachan Deeside Brewery, Lumphanan

25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41.

De Brus Brewery, Dunfermline DemonBrew, Prestonpans Devon Ales, Sauchie Drygate Brewing Company Eden Brewery St Andrews, Guardbridge Elixir, Livingston (with Alechemy) Fowler's Ale (Prestoungrange) Limited, Prestonpans Fallen Brewery, Kippen Fyfe Brewing Company, Kirkcaldy Fyne Ales, Cairndow Glenfinnan Brewery Co Ltd, Glenfinnan Harviestoun Brewery, Alva Hebridean Brewing Company, Stornoway Highland Brewing Company, Swannay Houston Brewing Company, Houston Inveralmond Brewery, 4 Perth Islay Ales, Bridgend 58

42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

64 Isle of Skye Brewery, Uig Jaw Brewery, Hillington, Glasgow Kelburn Brewing Company, Barrhead Kinneil Brew Hoose, Bo’ness Knops Beer Company / Archerfield Fine Ales, Dirleton Lerwick Brewing Company Liquid Brewery, Leith Loch Leven Brewery, Kelty Loch Lomond Brewery Ltd, Alexandria Loch Ness Brewery, Drumnadrochit Luckie Ales, Auchtermuchty Madcap Brewery, Ecclefechan Moulin Inn & Brewery, Pitlochry MòR Brewery, Kellas Natural Selection Brewing, Edinburgh Oban Bay Brewery, Oban The Old Inn, Gairloch, Pilot Beer, Leith Plockton Brewery 82 22 66 11 14, 67

17 24 35

16 61

54 70

55 40

34 49 12,73 27, 36 9 81 77 45 1, 25

32 21

2, 30

39 44 43 20, 28 79, 80

70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.

Strathbraan Brewery, Amulree Sulwath Brewers, Castle Douglas Tempest Brewery, Kelso Tinpot Brewery, Bridge of Allan Thorn Dhu, Lochgair, Lochgilphead Top Out Brewery, Loanhead, Edinburgh 76. Traquair House Brewery, Peebles 77. Tryst Brewery, Falkirk

52 33 46 26,31

8, 18, 19, 48, 56, 59, 68, 75

6 61. River Leven Ales, Kinlochleven 62. St Andrews Brewing Company 63. Scottish Borders Brewery, Jedburgh 64. Sinclair Brewery, Quoyloo (Orkney / Atlas) 65. Six Degrees North, Stonehaven 66. Speyside Craft Brewery, Forres 67. Spey Valley Brewery, Keith 68. Stewart Brewing, Edinburgh 69. Strathaven Ales

72 63

53 78. 79. 80. 81. 82.

Valhalla Brewery, Shetland Wellpark Brewery, Glasgow WEST, Glasgow Williams Brothers, Alloa Windswept Brewing Co., Lossiemouth

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