Season one...done!
As this first season in our new Brewery at the pier draws to a close and the last of the visitors leave the island we are looking back over this first crazy six months. It's been incredibly hard work, long hours and at times very stressful but we're delighted to say that with the help of a brilliant team we survived our first season, and incredibly somehow managed to enjoy it! So as the last of the summer sunsets fade and the Northern Lights return here is a glimpse of what we've learnt and what our plans are for the winter.
A step into the unknown
When we started this adventure about a year ago we had no idea... (I was going to finish this sentence but really that's it... we had no idea!) We knew that there was a market for more bottled beer but we had never run a bar, or a restaurant, or a deli! In many ways we are running a bigger brewery plus three totally new businesses. Looking back I can't help but wonder what we were thinking.
As many of you who know us will know I am the cautious one in our relationship. I'm sure it's natural to have some apprehension about whether you will be able to attract enough customers for your business when it expands, however Nick, who is blessed with the confidence of a king, had no doubts that we would be busy. In fact, he thought our problem wouldn't be having too few customers but too many.
So much to be proud of
In the last week, as things have started to calm down, we have had a chance to look back on the last six months and really appreciate what two rookies and a brilliant team of loyal, hardworking and talented people have achieved. By pulling together we have really managed to pull off something amazing!
Our staff are really the heart of the Brewery and it has a really big heart! All together we have twenty four members of staff on the payroll. We are really proud to say that every single one of our staff are from here in Harris, in fact nearly all of our staff were already our friends (and/or family). We know this is very rare and we know how lucky we have been that so many people have supported us by taking on shifts. I'm sure this contributes to the friendly atmosphere and warm welcome so many of our customers mention in their comments and reviews.
The season in stats
As one of the only places serving food and drink in South Harris we had expected to be busy, however even we were shocked when we looked at the stats! Since we opened on Good Friday Craig and John in the kitchen have cooked 6,366 servings of fish and chips with haddock supplied by Islander shellfish in Stornoway. The deli team have served 6,361 coffees roasted by Sarah at Skydancer in South Uist and Amanda's team over the road at the Apothecary and 1,785 pots of tea blended by Rhoda and Becca at Tiree Tea. We have also sold 7,254 cakes, traybakes and cookies baked by Julie and Sarah at Croft 36 in Northton and Lucy at Berry Bliss here in Leverburgh.
These figures also give a hint of just some of the many small local businesses who have been part of the Brewery's success this season. It would have been impossible for us to have fed and watered the many thousand of customers who have come through our doors this season without their help. In our kitchen we use bread from Stag Bakery and Heike at Mustheb bakes beer bread from our spent grain every morning for our deli counter. Our meat comes from Charley Barley, Skirren Croft and Borve Lodge Estates. Salmon comes from Salar in North Uist, Langoustines are delivered fresh from the pier by Donald and the crew of Valhalla and scallops come from Kallin Shellfish in North Uist. In total our little deli stocks 123 Hebridean items! One local business who we certainly couldn't have done this without is our very own Community Shop, An Clachan. When I left my job there last Christmas they might have thought they had seen the last of me; but every day (sometimes multiple times a day) I'm back at the Clachan for fresh fruit and veg, gallons of milk or an extension lead. They have saved our bacon so many times in the last six months and we can't thank them enough.
Winter Opening hours
Since we moved the Brewery down to the pier we have worked like we've never worked before. We have each worked ninety plus hours a week, we have each walked over 2 million steps and between us we have lost four stone in weight. It's been pretty crazy and as you would probably expect we are looking forward to a calmer winter! So we have decided that we will change our opening hours to coincide with Calmac's winter timetable. This makes the official last day of the season Saturday the 19th of October.....but don't panic our Winter Opening Hours will start on Monday the 21st of October. We are well aware of the importance of being consistent with opening hours, however Christmas is a busy time for events so if we need to adjust our plans we will update our social media and the events calendar on our website.
The Deli
From October the 21st our deli will be open Monday to Saturday 9-5pm. We will be serving hot and cold drinks and a simple lunch menu of Homemade Soup, hot Charley Barley pies and Lucy's giant sausage rolls and our deli counter will be stocked with our usual locally baked goodies to eat-in or takeaway. We have already started brewing beer to be bottled ready for Christmas and we are planning to release the first batches of our two Christmas beers and our Festive Dozen in the middle of November. We have already received our first Christmas stock of Christmas puds, chutneys and sweet treats and this will be hitting the deli shelves soon for the early bird shoppers. In the run up to Christmas we will also be stocking a large range of festive food, increasing our range from local producers and developing a range of our own label products perfect for Christmas gifts.
The Taproom
Our opening times for the bar and kitchen have been a much trickier decision. Traditionally most hospitality businesses in Harris close for the entire winter season. Where our business is different is that we are a working Brewery. We will be brewing, bottling and labelling beer all winter so the lights will be on right through the year. What is hard to predict is how much people will want to come out on cold dark Harris nights. We understand the appeal of the annual Hebridean Hibernation however we wanted to encourage people to get together over the winter. With this in mind we invite you to gather your brainiest friends and join us for our first season of the South Harris Quiz League. On the first and third Thursday in the month we will host a quiz night with the chance to win a mediocre prize and a coveted place on the League Leader Board. The Season's winning team will be announced on the fourth and final round of the season on Thursday the 18th of December. If the opportunity to seize quizzing glory isn't enough to tempt you from your fireside on Thursdays we will also be serving freshly made pizzas to eat-in or takeaway.
On Friday and Saturday evenings from the 25th of October the bar will be open until late and we will be serving a winter menu from 5-8pm to eat-in or takeaway. This will include some of our bestsellers from the last six months and old favourites like Craig's Borve sausages and mash and Apple Crumble. To keep it interesting we will also be serving a different special every week, one week it might be Indian another week Mexican. Updates will be posted on social media every week.
De Thà Dol
We have also added a few special events to our diary. Starting with a last minute Oktoberfest weekend on the 25th and 26th of October. In addition to our winter menu we will be serving German food and beers, Effie and I have ordered Bavarian drindl dresses but we have yet to convince Nick to don the lederhosen! Next up on the calendar is a Fright Night on Friday November the 1st. Halloween isn't just for kids, after the guisers have been we invite you to join us for some gruesome grub, a few tricks and treats and a free creapy cocktail or mocktail for anyone who comes in fancy dress. In November we will also be holding a beer tasting event on Friday the 15th to celebrate the launch of this year's Christmas beers, excitingly Nick is brewing the first batch of Cranberry ale today. On November the 30th we will be joining in with the village Christmas events, so why not join us after the Clachan's Creel Christmas Tree Light switch on for a warm up, mulled wine, carol singing and dinner from our winter menu. Fridays in December we will be hosting Christmas Party Nights with a three course locally sourced menu, live music from Riff Raff and a late license until 1am. We're already getting lots of bookings from groups coming for a work do, a family gathering or a friends' night out. We know it's only October but we would encourage you to rally your friends and book early to get a table and join the party.
So as we say goodbye to Summer 2024 we have one more thing to say to all of our lovely staff, the suppliers who have looked after us so well, the one and only Picky from Woody's Express Parcels and of course the thousands of customers who have passed through our doors. Many, many thanks for all of your support and here's to a new season at the Brewery.
Mòran Taing
NICK, ANNA & SPUD THE BREWERY DOG
