ARRAN BREWERY

First off—what makes your Arran Brewery beer special?

It tastes good! All of over ingredients are 100% natural and we don’t skimp on quality. This gives our beers a natural, clean taste that reflects the island itself.

Of course we’d be happy to taste them all and come to our own conclusions, but what is the favorite or most unique of all the beers you make?

By and large our most popular beer is the Blonde. It is an excellent beer for sitting with friends in the sun. Our most unique beers would definitely be our id ( Dark IPA 6%) or our Sleeping Warrior ( Barley Wine – 8.3%). The id, as a dark IPA has all the hop forward flavours of an IPA but confuses your mind by having the sweetness of a dark beer. Our Sleeping Warrior is a real specialty beer. As an 8.3% barley wine it has an intense, rich flavor which will continue to mature over time.

It sounds like natural ingredients—and the Arran water—is a crucial piece of your formula. What about the water gives the beer it’s magic?

The water on Arran has an excellent mineral quality that gives our beer a very fresh and natural quality. As it rain so much on the island...we have a great resource to draw from.

You seem to very much value your sense of place, tell us more about the Brewery’s relationship with Arran and the local community.

As the only brewery on the island, we have a unique place as a destination but also within the community. We are happy to support local businesses with our beer and are involved with local events and charities.

We know that a portion of your proceeds from the Red Squirrel Ale goes to protecting Red Squirrels on Arran and around the world, can you tell us a little about why you’ve chosen to commit to the Red Squirrel, and what’s being done to help protect those furry friends?

The Red Squirrel in the UK is hugely under threat. Many places have been completely wiped out and replaced by the North American Grey Squirrel. As Arran is an island, it has been able to protect its natural population of reds and the grey has yet to make an appearance. Long may it continue! So with all the proceeds from our Red Squirrel beer, we are able to send donations to charities around the UK and the world to help them preserve populations of red squirrels like we have on Arran.

Finally, what’s the ultimate beer to crack into after finishing Grinduro?

Being our most popular beer, and the fact that we’ve made a special label for the Grinduro event on Arran, it has to be our Blonde. Enjoy!