With distilling and brewing being similar processes, staff at the Isle of Arran Brewery and Lochranza Distillery have always shared a mutual respect and appreciation of each other’s work.
This special friendship was exemplified recently at a meeting between Arran Brewery managing director Gerald Michaluk and Lochranza Distillery manager Stewart Bowman.
Both island businesses have been producing award-winning products for decades and over the years a tradition has developed between the two.
Every year Lochranza Distillery allows Arran Brewery the use of a few of their used whisky casks as an early Christmas present. Arran Brewery then uses these casks to create their special reserve beers. Which whisky has been aged in each cask is always kept a close secret.
This year, after receiving three of these casks, Arran Brewery invited Stewart to the brewery to try the result of their partnership and to present him with his own bottle of each of the specially created beers.
Arran Brewery Retail Manager Yorick Hinchliffe said: “We’ve always got on really well with everyone at Lochranza so it’s always lovely to be able to produce something with them every year. After we tried this year’s batches we knew Stewart had given us some really special casks and my first thought was to get him down here at the brewery and have him taste them for himself.
“Everyone at Arran Brewery and Arran Distillers looks forward to many more years of island friendship and partnership working."
This year’s Special Reserves are available at the Isle of Arran Brewery shop at Cladach and on the Arran Brewery website here.
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