The Highland Brewing Company is one of my favourite breweries north of the border, Rob and his son produce some cracking ales which is no surprise really when Rob has been brewing for over 28 years and brewed in some great breweries across the UK.
Based on the beautiful island of Orkney they are also known as the Swannay Brewery and not to be confused with the Orkney Brewery who also make some great beers.
Highland’s beers range from the 3.6% ABV Orkney Best to the 9% ABV Old Norway and Orkney Porter. My favourites in the range are definitely Orkney Blast, their 6% spicy, hoppy world class pale ale and their Old Norway Barley wine which I last drank at 11:30 in the Bacchus at Newcastle Twissup.
While they have won plenty of awards I still don’t think they get as many plaudits as they should be for all their hard work and delicious beers, I really do adore their range of beers, the labels are great too, most of them have a story behind the name and graphics which adds a little bit of extra character and personality to every bottle.
Distribution of the beers is improving with bottles and casks finding their way throughout the UK, the bottles are becoming more readily available in beer shops and online, you can find a list of some stockists here. They truly are worth tracking down, they’ve all got their own individual characteristics and are all really well made.
If you want to know more you can read Rob’s Meet the Brewer here, read my thoughts on some of their beers here, visit their website here, follow Lew on twitter here or here.
Rob Hill is the best brewer in Scotland, in my opinion. There may be better breweries – with regard to their output and range – but nobody gets what it means to be a brewer more than Rob. They deserve all the plaudits they get…
Absolutely agree Andy.
We were lucky enough to visit the brewery (the more or less derelict barn that it is!) last August, and had a super time drinking some excellent beer and putting the world to rights with Rob.
Underrated, but all their beers are ‘world class?’ Must be pretty good then
Fantastic article… keep up the great work.
We’ll keep our eyes peeled the Highland Brewing Company in the future.