When George takes the beer to Islay quite often if we are busy elsewhere we'll leave the kegs at the pier with a wee something on top for the crew. It can be there an hour or two, or even overnight if plans change and the boat does not come in. No matter beer and cash will be untouched.
That's generally the way things operate here. It seems that this island honesty travels with the beer.
An Edinburgh couple were unloading their car in the capital's swanky Great King Street, a mixture of posh flats and student flats occupied by children called Annabel and Henry in the main, and out came their half drunk case of Colonsay 80/- Ale. That is to say there were six full bottles in the box.
It was overlooked and left on the pavement overnight --- from 9pm until 10 the following morning it sat there unattended and untouched. We like to think a little bit of island honesty travelled with it. In reality the Henry's and Annabel’s were so piddle on Pimm's they didn’t even see it.
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Yes change it is - we are out getting quotes for labels, thinking about new wording, etc etc. However we have yet to push the button. No final decision has been made and we are running out of existing label stock and bottles. Quick - someone say something!
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We need to make some big decisions (for us). Angus the Skye Brewery's involvement has changed a lot of the way we think about our business. Now we have to implement some of it and in doing so change, perhaps, the public face of the brewery along with much that has been going on behind the scenes.
The first is the bottle size. We reckon we are now the only brewery producing beer in pint bottles, Mr Google has been unable to tell us different. There is a reason the entire brewing industry has changed and that is cost and conformity. Costs we are aware of conformity by the very nature of the business is not something we strive after. However as fewer brewers, i.e. 1 - us, use pint bottles demand goes down, manufacturing is less so supply is limited and cost goes up. We think we are going to have to go to 500 mls like everyone else. Bob, who is good at this sort of thing, has searched high and low and come up with a rather smart bottle that we can all see potential for. So if we change the bottle we have to change the label, not least because we will be 500 mls not 568.
So do we rebrand the product with a makeover or do we just include the latest legislative requirements on our old label and bash on. All this and its only Monday.
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No forget that. We have just received our biggest ever order from our best mainland customer, Peckhams, the Hotel here has sold enough beer to fill the harbour over the past wee while and a new customer phoned out of the blue looking to be supplied with pretty good quantities on a regular basis. Hello...... Mr Cameron ..... the recssion's over. For now.
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We had one of our all too infrequent board meetings today. The highlight, as we sat in the bright sunshine at Bob's house, was watching his little friendly chaffinch hopping in and out of the conservatory.
In fact so fascinating was the bird no one was paying much attention to the chat - apart from a general feeling of apprehension over propsects for the coming months. Lets face it selling beer that is not cheap in a recession is always going to be difficult. We are activcly considering new plans, see below, but in the medium term there are real challenges.
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