3. Launching in Lockdown

When we decided to start a small brewery in Harris there is no way we could have predicted that we would be launching during a global pandemic. We are very fortunate that very few people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Outer Hebrides and we have been very lucky to be locked down in Harris.

Lockdown has given us time to enjoy Harris and spend time with our grumpy teenagers and Spud the Brewery Dog has certainly been enjoying our "one form of exercise" a day. Luckily our brewing equipment arrived long before restrictions were imposed and our suppliers and the local delivery companies have done a great job in keeping us well stocked with everything we have needed. One major advantage of having our Brewshed at home is that we have been able to spend lockdown developing recipes and brewing and testing beers (a hard job but someone had to do it!) We have also been able to design our own logo and labels and build a simple website. We think this level of care and attention will make the beer taste better!

We started with a range of ten (yes ten!) different beers. Because we brew in very small batches we are able to use interesting ingredients and experiment with recipes to bring you really interesting beers. All of our beers start with the fabulous soft Hebridean water but from there the possibilities are endless. Different malted barley styles, various different hop varieties and any number of additions... anything is possible. We intend to keep innovating and look forward to seeing which beers you enjoy and hearing from you if there is a beer style you would like us to brew.

One slight disadvantage of small batches is limited stock. We were hoping that there would be a demand for the sort of craft beers we wanted to brew but even (overly) optimistic Nick didn't predict quite how many beers would leave the brewshed in our first couple of weeks. We sold out of our first batches of some of our beers and started getting repeat orders within one day of opening. The highlights of our first two weeks week have been sending Brown Ale to Newcastle and IPAs to Ellon the home of BrewDog ,and on Friday just a day after launching, we delivered beer all over Harris and even made it over the Clisham to Lewis. It was great to meet fellow beer lovers on the island so we decided we would extend our free delivery to include Stornoway once a week so people can meet us and collect their orders.

So after two weeks in business there is plenty more beer in stock, lots more bubbling in fermenters or conditioning in bottles and also have a limited stock of brewery merchandise seen here modelled by our (not so grumpy) teenagers!

Thank you all so much for your support.