FyneFest Trip – Day 10

Published on 8th June 2023

Tartan & The New Town

Breakfasts in Aberdeen just don’t seem to work out as planned for me: after being too late yesterday, I was too early today! As it turns out, BrewDog Union Square only opens at eleven nowadays, which was too late for me today…

So instead, I had some breakfast at Black Sheep Coffee, where apparently they combine high-tech touchscreen ordering with low-tech name shouting.

No beer for breakfast either, so I was in Aberdeen station early, and luckily so was my Scotrail train to Dundee.

Arrived there, I left my very full bag at a Stasher location. The reason for my stop in Dundee, was the temporary Tartan Exhibition in V&A Dundee. While I was there, I of course also went to see the Oak Room, one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s most important interiors, formerly one of Miss Cranston’s famous tea rooms in Ingram Street, Glasgow.

After that cultural intermezzo, I went to BrewDog Dundee for a pizza—with mustard?—and some beers, before resuming my journey to Edinburgh.

This was actually the first time I crossed the Forth Bridge by daylight, as far as I know!

After arrival in Edinburgh I checked in at hotel Travelodge Edinburgh Central, and after unpacking a bit, immediately changed into my running kilt, since it was almost time for my last hash this trip!

The start of this The New Town H3 run was at the pub Bennets of Morningside. From there it went up, up, and again up, it seemed! Well, we actually went up, since we reached the top of Buckstone Snab at some point, and the views from there were amazing!

After getting back to the hotel for a shower and a change, I popped out for a couple of beers at the nearby Fierce bar, and The Black Cat.

FyneFest Trip – Day 9

Published on 7th June 2023

Something’s Brewing in Ellon

After a couple of mornings being woken by the sun around four in the morning, I slept in a little, in my nicely darkened hotel room. Unfortunately that meant I was just a bit too late to have breakfast in in my Travelodge, and had to go to a Gregg’s instead, if I didn’t want to miss my Stagecoach bus to Ellon.

My first stop there was The Coffee Apothecary, so unlike previous trips to to Ellon, I actually got to see a bit of the town itself. This coffee shop is actually somehow connected to BrewDog—James invested in it?—so Equity Punks get a 5% discount here. But more importantly: they have a couple of BrewDog and guest beers on draught. Coffee and craft beer: there’s definitely a market for it!

From there it was a twenty minute walk to DogTap. Through some bribing with a bottle of Cantillon, I managed to get a private tour on a day they usually don’t do brewery tours at all… I got to see the offices, parts of the brewery that were only recently finished, the canning line up close while operating, and heard loads of new tidbits of information and nice anecdotes. Thank you Craig, and most awesome guide Dan!

Back in Aberdeen, it was dinner time. Pick of the night: Jewel In The Crown! I first thought it was closed—nothing to see through the windows and a big closed door—but this Indian restaurant was in the basement, as restaurants and bars in Scotland often seem to be. The chicken Pasanda was quite a tasty discovery!

Foundations in place, a night in the town could begin. First up was the very first BrewDog bar, the flagship; BrewDog Aberdeen! It was followed by the other usual spots: CASC, Fierce Bar, and to again end the evening with, BrewDog Castlegate.

FyneFest Trip – Day 8

Published on 6th June 2023

Adventures in Aberdeen

After a last breakfast at FyneFest—a bacon and egg breakfast roll from Hector & Harriet—it was time to walk back that mile to the bus stop—albeit an invisible one—for my Citylink 926 back to Glasgow.

After quickly getting a coffee to go from Laboratorio Espresso, I headed to Glasgow Queen Street station for my Scotrail train to Aberdeen.

I arrived in The Granite City a bit too early to check in at my Travelodge, so I first visited The Craftsman Company, for another coffee, and a beer. There are not enough places like this that do both specialty coffee—this one even roasts in-house—and craft beer!

In the evening I planned to go the the hash of Aberdeen H3, but it was about 35km out of the city, and not that easy to get to by public transport. I was supposed to catch a ride with another hasher, but he himself had a problem getting to Aberdeen in time. So off I went by myself, two and a half hours in advance… First I had to catch a train to Inverurie, and change onto a first bus there. I had about half an hour for this, so I seized the opportunity to visit BrewDog Inverurie—right across the square from the bus stop—and pick up the pin they didn’t have when I did my Flying Scotsman trip.

After that first bus, I had to get on the same line in the opposite direction, since apparently it serves different stops. From that last stop, it was still a three kilometre walk to the start of the trail…

The hash was totally worth it though: a beautiful trail, a ‘sweetie check’, the most amazing beer stop location, and lots of nice hashers!

The way back to Aberdeen was a lot easier and quicker: one of the hashers drove me.

Back of the hotel I first had a shower, to wash off four days of camping and a hash through quite some dense growth at times.

After that I somehow managed to drag myself outside for a last beer at BrewDog Castlegate. They soon called last call however, so it would stay at just one.

FyneFest Trip – Day 7

Published on 5th June 2023

FyneFest: Leisurely Last Day

The last day of FyneFest, Sunday, is the most relaxing one of all!

For breakfast I went to Winston Churchill Venison again, for a breakfast roll with a square sausage—undoubtedly made with venison—black pudding, bacon, and a fried egg. Not sure how sustainable venison is—hard to find neutral sources about it—but it sure was tasty!

Sunday is also a bit of a ‘leftovers day’ when it comes to the beers. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since I discovered some really good beers I had missed so far!

For lunch I had to have some of the masala roasted chicken loaded fries from Babu Bombay Street Chicken, since they would probably pack up before dinner time. After some more beers in good company—you never drink alone at FyneFest—I had Ròst’s chicken burger for dinner.

By that time the bar in the already emptied out big tent had closed, and it was time to move on to the Mixtape tent. No more tasting notes, just enjoying a few familiar beers while enjoying some live music.

With the festival rounding up, and me retiring to my yurt for the last time, I have to give a shout-out to the team of staff and volunteers: they’ve been nothing but excellent!

FyneFest Trip – Day 6

Published on 4th June 2023

FyneFest: Running Up That Hill!

This Saturday started with a bacon and cheese omelet from Real MacKay Stovie Co., to fuel up for today’s run. No hash today, but it was a run with beer at the end nevertheless!

The Good Time Running club organised a charity run to raise money for Arrochar Mountain Rescue. A couple of dozen people ran almost 5km from the Fyne Ales brewery, up the sunny glen to the Walkers Bar, where we were welcomed with a can of beer. Some even ran back down again, but I took it easy and just walked.

By the time I was back at the campsite, there weren’t any queues at the showers anymore, so the perfect time to freshen up a bit after all that exertion.

Not really hungry enough yet for a full lunch, I just had an ice cream from Highland Fold, before trying the first couple of beers at the main bar.

Just a few, because it was soon time for the first of the Meet-The-Brewers panel discussions moderated by Matthew Curtis I would attend: “For Beer; For the Planet”

There was a ceilidh as well this afternoon, but before Rock & Reel was done with their first dance, I had to head back to the dark and hot tent for the second discussion: “Is independence in brewing more important than ever?”