http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php Copyright 2010, Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Colonsay Island Micro Brewery en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.8 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100309-162109 This does not sit well with our rather more Hebridean approach to matters and sometimes we think we may just be getting in the way as we roll up with boxes of beer to clutter up this happy scene.
Imagine our horror this morning to arrive and find a proper brewery van in the queue in front of us. This well known brewery had a big shiny liveried vehicle - obviously, we thought, packed to the gunwales with cases of beer to put our little brewery's delivery to shame.
Then our jumps the equally liveried driver - and hands over five cases of beer. FIVE. We don't get out of bed for five cases of beer. So we swagger past and ostentatiously ask when the fork lift will be free to unload our beer. Sucker.
]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100309-162109 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21:09 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=03&entry=entry100309-162109 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100308-203202
One guy from Cardiff bought a case the other day and went to the trouble to phone us up to compliment the brewers on their work saying it was great beer - some of the best he'd had. We thanks for that - but was there any need to sound surprised?]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100308-203202 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:32:02 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=03&entry=entry100308-203202 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100305-202702 The end is in sight though. We reckon we should be bottling ... well any day now. In the menatime the stock of lager at the brewery is - NIL.]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100305-202702 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:27:02 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=03&entry=entry100305-202702 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100301-154918 Even at the height of the summer visitor season an all pervading peace and tranquillity covers the island broken only by the sound of birds and the odd hooray Henry.
Until now that is. For Colonsay, yes Colonsay, is to get an out of town shopping mall. Wikipedia defines a mall as such:
A shopping mall or shopping centre is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area – a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace.

And so it is that perhaps as soon as this year you will find your favourite island brewery in such a complex.
Our neighbour Kevin presented us with a neighbour notification this morning alerting us to his application to change the use of our neighbouring facility from a store to a retail unit. So inevitably after many years of the General Store at the other side of the hall being the centre of island commerce the balance will shift to Dunoran and the Mall. It may well be that Mike the Shop forms a one man protest group to try and stop this shift of economic power but in the face of massive corporate muscle what chance would he stand.
We imagine with the brewery shop and the bookshop cheek by jowl it will only be a matter of time before we have coach parties arriving like the woollen mills in so many Scottish towns. Perhaps we need to set up a catering facility too.
]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100301-154918 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:49:18 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=03&entry=entry100301-154918 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100228-202007 This weekend has been the weekend of the stags --- but of the wedding variety - not the antlered sort. It is true to say they were a disappointment. Think of stag parties - think of Dublin, Edinburgh, Iceland --- huge cosnuption of beer - tills jingling. No such luck with our stag party. They were the gentlemanly sort - long walks - at one with nature, a civilised pint or two in the evening. This is a market we need to develop. Imagine gangs of stags roaming the streets fuelled up on copious pints of IPA. We heard Dublin was trying to get rid of them -- we need to get them here.
Thanks for the custum guys - hope the wedding went well.]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100228-202007 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:20:07 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100228-202007 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100218-163928 Such was the visit today of our consultant, Angus MacRuary of the Isle of Skye Brewing Company (brewers of our favourite non Colonsay Beer Hebridean Gold).
Angus has run the Uig based brewery since founding it in 1995 and so knows the difficulties posed by brewing on islands with expensive transport links to the rest of the world. Straight away within minutes of walking into the brewery he was offering up suggestions and comments on what we do here that was like the proverbial curtain being drawn back.
Suffice to say that he left us a huge amount to think about, and a shopping list as long as your arm of things we need to improve, develop and enhance our products. To show how much we liked him we even gave him the very last bottle of lager in the brewery to have with his lunch.
Working in isolation has its challenges and our brewers particularly have enjoyed getting the beers to where they are today - itys has been a revelation to speak at length and freely and openinly to one who has trodden the path a long time before us. Cue flurry of activity.




Brewer Chris and Angus in the brewery

]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100218-163928 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:39:28 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100218-163928 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100216-224947 Most decisions needing to be taken for the coming year are on hold ahead of the visit of The Consultant.
There is time for a review of last year and it shows our little brewery to be in remarkably good shape despite the recession and overall sales are up year on year.
However there is a shock - - off island sales are through the roof - up 17 per cent, the third year running. We are faced with the prospect of having to rename our off island sales force. Until now he's been the skiver - in the light of such dramtic sales figures this is obviously no longer appropriate so we've come up with a new name ------ Lucky.]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100216-224947 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:49:47 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100216-224947 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100208-113828 The guy is the founder and still runs one of the country's most successful breweries and he's agreed to spend the day on Colonsay at the brewery offering tips and guidance. More will be revealed later but we reckon he's going to arrive - take one look at the set up and say: "That's a stupid place to build a brewery".
]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100208-113828 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:38:28 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100208-113828 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100207-203430 This morning was meant to be lager brewing day. The brew team were up and ready and an ungodly hour – raring to go, even though it is the Sabbath. Then the early morning sunshine induced some sort of telepathic connection between the two head brewers and instead of travelling to the brewery and getting the much needed lager underway – they found themselves, inexplicably, at the golf course – and there they stayed with other island worthies only making it back to the civilisation of the hotel in time for a couple of pints and a go of some numbers game that is sweeping the island. Don’t let anyone tell you its hard work running the Isle of Colonsay Brewing Company Ltd. It’s not.




THE GOLF COURSE]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100207-203430 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:34:30 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100207-203430 http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100205-121900 However its rather fun seeing the networks spread out and people from various spheres being found. If you would please point folk towards out page and ask them to become friends...it only takes a second and keeps us off the booze.]]> http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/index.php?entry=entry100205-121900 Colonsay Island Micro Brewery Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:19:00 GMT http://www.colonsaybrewery.co.uk/blog/comments.php?y=10&m=02&entry=entry100205-121900