Blog Post

7. Home wasn't Built in a Day

Anna • Feb 28, 2021

Making an Old Croft House our Home

     I remember when I started this brewery blog thinking I didn't want to be one of those people who share relentlessly for the first few months and then disappear....I know we have been quiet lately but we haven't been putting our feet up (honestly!)

     Our first Christmas was really successful with our Christmas beers and full sets being sent to people all over the UK. Nick really enjoyed designing the new beers and produced some eye-wateringly strong brews that have had some great feedback. We decided to brew an extra batch of Spiced Stout and let it age for a year so watch this space for its return for Christmas 2021 and we loved the Cranberry IPA so much we have brewed some more as an occasional guest beer in the range. With Christmas and new year behind us we started brewing our original ten styles and they are now being bottled and conditioned so before long the shelves will be filling back up. You may be thinking at this point that 'surely that hasn't been why you've been too busy to blog!' Which brings us to some non-brewery news.

     Since we moved to Borrisdale about two and a half years ago we have been living beside the brewery in a static caravan while we renovate the house. We have, until now, carefully shared beautiful images of the house and our wonderful views avoiding anything less photogenic. So for the first time we've dared to turn the camera around and show you what Instagram hasn't. 

     The Story so far. We bought the tenancy for the croft in 2018. The croft is around four acres and stretches from the top of the hill behind the house to the sea at the bottom. We were incredibly lucky to be assigned the tenancy as it had been for sale and empty for about four years before we bought it . From our Instagrammable photos I'm sure you will agree that the view is outstanding. We face South across the Sound of Harris with uninterrupted views to the Uists, Pabbay and the smaller islands. Borrisdale and our neighbouring village Strond are known for the quality of the light (which is important when daylight hours are so short in winter). What may not be so obvious from the photos is that the ground here is very good, not too rocky, no heather and in the most part fairly well drained.

     The croft had been in the same family for generations and they built house themselves in the 1920's. Over the years there have been many additions to the original house but it still retains the character of a traditional Hebridean croft house. When we moved here in July 2018 we started with the renovations straight away. Our first job was to install an Air Source Heat Pump. After a short detour building the Brewshed and a boot room we moved back to plumbing jobs. The only bathroom was in the front porch (the frosted window enjoyed the best view in the house!) so we decided to move it to was the galley kitchen at the back of the house, which of course meant moving the kitchen! All this while starting a brewery and navigating a global pandemic! 

   We managed to use lots of reclaimed materials in the new bathroom including a sink made by J & R Howie in Kilmarnock some time between 1867 and 1886. And yes we did put up a wriggly tin wall in the shower and no the window isn't frosted!

     The kitchen was relocated to a living room which had the original v-lining on every wall covered in 1930's newspapers and layers and layers of wallpaper. We reused this wood by turning it over and cladding one wall horizontally this revealed the name of the original owner on the planks from when the timber was ordered. The road sign was from the Luskentyre road end. When it was replaced I asked the Comhairle if I could have it, they probably thought I was mad but they agreed and it now has pride of place in our kitchen.


     With the kitchen and bathroom finished during the first lockdown, in January and February of this year we decided to focus all of our efforts on getting the house to the point where we could move in. At this stage we still had no habitable bedrooms. In fact, one of the upstairs bedrooms had a rather unusual water feature. The dorma window had been leaking, which led to the ceilings collapsing and the walls and floor rotting. After a couple of months of hard work the teenagers are now settled in their new bedrooms and we are enjoying the space in our temporary bedroom which will, one day soon become our music room.

     We've loved bringing this lovely home back to life and along the way we have found so many interesting parts of it's past (maybe a subject for another blog post?!) Moving into the house was a huge milestone for our family and we're ecstatic to be "ex-static" but there is still lots to do. We're planning a beer room and office in the front porch (which now was an unfrosted window) a bedroom for the hardworking Brewer and I and a cosy living room in the middle of the house.


But first ...MORE BEER!

View from the Brewery at Leverburgh Pier

26. Is this the end?

08 Oct, 2024
Reflections on the end of our first summer season.
Sarah pouring a pint

25. Fàilte - Welcome to the Brewery

18 Apr, 2024
The community effort that opened a Brewery!
The Isle of Harris Brewery at the Pier in Leverburgh

24. BREAKING NEWS

14 Mar, 2024
We have just announced our opening date for the new Brewery, Taproom, Restaurant and Deli!

23. BEER BY THE PIER

09 Nov, 2023
We're moving to the pier in Leverburgh!!

22. Following your dreams

by Anna • 01 Sept, 2023
....and then there were two. Sarah's off to Uni
Isle of Harris Brewery shop

21. Huge News from the Tiny Brewery

by Anna • 06 May, 2023
We're opening a shop at our tiny Brewery on our croft in Borrisdale, South Harris.

20. Uncomfortable Change

by Anna • 19 Nov, 2022
Changes in life and Brewing

19. Something Exciting is Brewing

by Anna • 09 Oct, 2022
Winding down for the winter and gearing up for new adventures

17. Christmas Beer & Christmas Cheer

by Anna • 19 Dec, 2021
Christmas in a Brewery probably sounds like many peoples idea of heaven. In reality our Christmas preparations have been long hours, huge "To do" and "To brew" lists, a little bit of stress and nerves.... and we've loved every minute.

16. Middle of somewhere

by Anna • 11 Nov, 2021
Sometimes one sentence can capture a thought that would take a whole blog to convey! Recently I came across a lovely typography print on Etsy that really sums up my feelings about where we call home. “Some call it the middle of nowhere, we call it the centre of everything”. The Outer Hebrides are often described as remote or more theatrically “islands on the edge”. There is still a romantic misconception that we are are on the fringes of civilisation, miles from modern amenities and a step back in time. Visitors are often amazed that our kids catch two buses for the one hour journey to school, or that we drive for almost two hours to get to the nearest Tesco. But we are very proud of where we live and defensive of any suggestion that the island is a sleepy backwater - (Remember the outcry when BBC weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker called the Outer Hebrides “Nowheresville”) Far from feeling like we are in the “middle of nowhere” our little patch of South Harris is the centre of our world.
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