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FyneFest Trip – Day 2

Published on 30 May 2023

Over to Arran

This morning I got up unusually early, at 5.30! Just as well my internal clock was still on Belgian time, but nevertheless way too early! The reason for this was that CalMac Ferries decided to cancel the 11.00 ferry I booked, so I had to go on the 8.00 ferry instead. This meant I had to catch the 6.15 train to Ardrossan Harbour… To add insult to injury, there was no coffee or breakfast available, neither in the ferry terminal, nor on the ferry itself!

Needless to say, in Brodick, on the Isle of Arran, my first stop was the Little Rock café, for a full Scottish breakfast, and a coffee.

After that I was almost human again, and ready to walk a bit of the Arran Coastal Way to head over to Brodick Castle. Unfortunately it was in scaffolding, so the outside was completely invisible, but luckily the interiors and the beautiful gardens made up for it.

I stopped by at Arran Brewery, but since this brewery doesn’t have a taproom, I had one of their beers at neighbour The Wineport.

On my way to the Arran Heritage Museum I did some picknick shopping at Arran’s Cheese Shop.

The last stop on the island was the Ormidale Hotel, which seemed like a good place to have a whisky from Isle of Arran Distillers, which was a bit too far to visit in person today. I’ll have to save that for when they’re organising tours again, but for now, the Arran 18 Year was a nice consolation.

A ferry and a train brought me back to Glasgow, for some Greek/Turkish/Levantine food at a new, highly recommended place, ‘Babs.

As my only real beer stop in Glasgow tonight, I went to the Innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom. I’m not really a fan of their own beers, but the guest list was stonkin’!

Since that dram of Arran brought me in the mood for whisky, I ended the night at The Pot Still, with their malt of the month, Smokehead.

FyneFest Trip – Day 0

Published on 28 May 2023

Under the Sea & Under the Covers

It’s spring, and for me, that’s kind of the perfect time to go to Scotland! The main destination is FyneFest again, because I just couldn’t get enough of it last year. So once again, I found myself deep under the sea in a Eurostar, on my way to London.

After dropping off my bag, my first stop was Camden Coffee Roastery, since I hadn’t had time to have a coffee before leaving Brussels. Some cake would be very welcome as well, knowing beers would follow soon…

And indeed, 3 Locks Brewing Company was just a couple of hundred meters away. Unfortunately, they were only serving in disposable plastic cups, which for me was reason enough to move on after just one beer.

The next stop was The Black Heart. I had been there before, I’m sure, but either because of the the lack of cell reception, or the level of intoxication at the time, I hadn’t checked in a single beer there…

Just around the corner then, BrewDog Camden, the OG London BrewDog bar! Just a short stop this time, but I’ll make up for that on the way back.

The plan was then to have some Malaysian food at Roti King, but the queue in front of the restaurant was way too long! So I ended up at Yatri, an Indian restaurant conveniently right next to the place where I left my bag.

Then it was time for my traditional last pre-sleeper beer stop: the Euston Tap. Here again, only plastic cups, but this time they gave a reason for it: football…

Not wanting to use too much plastic, I then went to the first class lounge for a cup of tea and a muffin.

Finally it was time to board the Caledonian Sleeper! As soon as the train started moving, I made my way to the Club Car for a dram and a cheese platter, the best way to start a trip to Scotland!

A bit of blogging, and then it was time to get under the covers…

FyneFest Trip – Day 8

Published on 8 June 2022

Edinburgh

After a very good night in the DogHouse—just a tiny bit more comfortable and warm than the yurt—it was time for some waffles and chicken, to get ready for a full day in Edinburgh, starting with a coffee at The Milkman.

The National Museum of Scotland is always a pleasure to visit, even after having seen all the permanent exhibitions. An interesting free temporary exhibition this time was about The Typewriter Revolution, which I then visited, before enjoying the views from the rooftop terrace.

Then it was about beer o’clock again, starting at where it all started for me, BrewDog Cowgate, followed by a place new to me, the Salt Horse. In between I simply had to grab a tattie dog at The Piemaker, because, why not? To change things up a bit, I also had a wee dram at the Bow Bar, where I had a nice chat with some other patrons, who recognised me from FyneFest.

Another place I won’t skip whenever I’m in Edinburgh, is Wings. This time, I tried the Deep Spice Nine rub, and The Genghis Khan, Pyong Damn, and Schticky Wingsh sauces. Again very tasty, but apparently hotness level three is still quite mild for me, so the next time I’ll have to make sure I pick some of level four and higher!

After dinner I had a couple of bar stools booked in The Wee Vault, Vault City’s taproom. Since the place has more taps than seats, a booking was very much recommended! Enjoyed some great pastry sours there, and couldn’t resist the temptation to buy a glass. So add that to the FyneFest festival pint glass, and the whisky glasses received after the distillery tour…

While in the area, I also visited Monty’s—quite a classic bar, but with some great beers, even on cask—and BrewDog Lothian Road. To finish the evening—and basically my visit of Edinburgh—I had a couple of beers in the DogHouse Edinburgh, since it was basically already closed when I arrived late the night before.

FyneFest Trip – Day 2

Published on 2 June 2022

Glasgow

My second day in Glasgow started with a hearty breakfast—including haggis—at Euro Hostel, followed by a long overdue visit to the Gallery of Modern Art. But yes, de duke of Wellington in front of it is still wearing his traffic cone, in case you were wondering.

After a coffee and biscoff brownie at Gordon Street Coffee, and a long walk, it was time to discover a new place: the Clydeside distillery. New, but just old enough to already have their own whisky, which—as you probably know—has to be matured in oak in Scotland for at least three years, to earn that name.

A quick stop at the Riverside Museum, and a short ride on the Glasgow Subway, and is was time for a bit more CRM: the Mackintosh House in the Hunterian Art Gallery. There I learned that coincidentally, it was a MacLaren—professor of art history Andrew McLaren Young—who saved the interiors when Mackintosh’s house was demolished.

By then it was well past beer o’clock, so a couple of cups (sic) at Inn Deep soon followed. After a nice walk along the Kelvin, I inevitably ended up at my home away from home, BrewDog Kelvingrove, which since the closure of BrewDog Rome, must be the BrewDog bar with the best view again!

Burns’ Run & Burns Night

Published on 25 January 2022

The attentive reader will know that, about two years ago, I’ve started running to offsett my beer calories. I’ve kept it up so far, but still tend to find it rather boring, especially the longer runs. At least it was, until I was introduced to the Brussels Manneke Piss Hash House Harriers last December. I could write a lot about the phenomenon of ‘hashing’, but suffice to say: if you’re into running, beer, and fun, find out if there’s a Hash House Harriers kennel in your city!

Anyway, last Sunday’s run with the BMPH³ was Burns themed. In addition to the usual beer stop, the trail even included a whisky stop along, and there was a haggis ceremony afterwards. That was sufficient reason for me to quickly change into more appropriate attire after the run, and toast to the Scottish bard in style.

Today, on the actual date of Burn’s Night, I will of course don the kilt again, and have some more haggis for dinner. No neeps and tatties this time, I’ll be making a haggis lasagne instead.

However you celebrate it, have a great Burns Night everyone! On-On!

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