Grog Blog

Friends Of Nevis

2008-05-14T14:02:00.004+01:00

Nothing quite like a great pint after a hard day trekking up and down Ben Nevis!

Well, happy as we are to Britain's highest mountain on our doorstep it does tend to get a bit of a hammering every year. So here's your chance to join the Friends of Nevis and help to support and manage Ben Nevis and the surrounding Nevis area.

The Nevis Partnership have recently established the Friends of Nevis web site - so why not take a peek just now.

This precious and unique environment includes mountains, wild land, glen and river Nevis and a range of visitor facilities such as a visitor centre and numerous low and higher level walks.

Ben Nevis and its surroundings mean a great deal to a large number of people from all over the world. Protecting the area, whilst making it accessible and pleasurable to visit, is a real challenge and Friends of Nevis can help through subscribing, donating or contributing time and resources on a range of practical projects such as path maintenance, wildlife monitoring, fundraising etc.

Photo courtesy of Friends of Nevis

And when next at The Grog & Gruel, you can throw your loose change into our bar top collection boxes, or perhaps buy a branded 'Friends of Nevis' trolley token.

Mountain Bike World Cup

2008-05-07T10:11:00.004+01:00

Not long now till the Mountain Bike World Cup comes back to Fort William. Expect to see lots of lycra clad types wondering round a forest near you over the weekend of the 6th - 8th June. As ever, the full programme and lots of info is on the web site at www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk

Having caught the 4X (That's four cross to you non bikers) last year I can thoroughly recommend it. Great atmosphere and as its in the (Friday) evening you don't need to spend all day. Having said that, the Cross Country on Saturday and the Downhill on Sunday are also crackin' events. Its all highly recommended, even for non bikers.

Naturally, The Grog & Gruel will be welcoming all biker types. We've ordered some more Fat Tyre Ale which was a huge hit at the World Championships last year. And we may yet have some more of the exclusive Peaty Malt, our very special homage to the man himself.

And finally, a picture of someone mountain biking...

Blowing stuff up!

2008-05-02T12:05:00.002+01:00

So, let loose in Fort William with a couple of sticks of Acme Dynamite what would you choose? No, on second thoughts don't answer that one. Instead, watch this short piece courtesy of YouTube which shows the former power house at the old Paper Mill meeting its maker.

The site at Corpach is being cleared, allowing the expansion of the neighbouring BSW Sawmill. After the demolition on Monday, and having been up high on Nevis Range on Wednesday, I have to say that there's something very odd about the view towards the Corpach narrows now. Something's definitely missing!

Cafes and cakes

2008-05-02T10:00:00.004+01:00

Nothing quite like a bracing bit of exercise amidst some spectacular scenery to work up an appetite for a cracking cup of coffee and a gooey cake. But where to find such delights? Here's a quick plug for a new web site to help you on your way.

Check out Cafe Days to help find a cafe. Its not perfect. Cozy Knits at Strontian isn't even listed! But anything that helps track down caffeine and calories has to be worth a mention in my book. And if you can't be bothered with that, just work up a thirst and pop along to The Grog & Gruel for a coffee or a pint and a plate of Nachos!

(And yes, the picture is in France. But surprisingly enough I haven't got any photos of me eating cake at Crafts & Things and it does get the Ben & Jerry's and fresh air message across I think.)

Summer Beer Festival

2008-04-18T09:54:00.005+01:00

Here's a date for your diaries. What better way to mark the passing of midsummer than with a good ol' Summer Beer Festival. So, expect to find a bigger-than-usual selection of Scotland's finest from Thursday 19th June through until the closing night on Saturday 28th June.

The range of cask conditioned ales at The Grog & Gruel varies continuously, depending on how busy we expect to be and which brewers are delivering to our area at the time. However, you can usually expect to see from 4 to 8 beers on the bar at any one time, and you can pretty much guarantee that they'll all be brewed not only in Scotland, but mostly in the Highlands & Islands (That'll be McTetley's then!?)

During Summerfest (yes, we're still working on the name) we'll be doing a whole lot better than that, with perhaps the biggest and best range of Scottish ales in prime condition on show this side of, er... Glencoe.

On with the planning... More details to follow.

Scottish Six Day Trials

2008-04-17T13:52:00.003+01:00

I was out running in the wilds at the back of Kinlochleven the other night, making the most of some of the fantastic dry and bright evenings we've had of late, and came across a few of these things...

Not long now till the West End car park will be taken over by a few hundred of these and the associated circus that comes with the Scottish Six Day Trials. The annual event runs from Monday 5th May through till Saturday 10th May, with the classic Pre '65s in Kinlochleven over the first weekend.

Hope the weather holds, as the Lochaber countryside is looking great in the sunshine and snow. And if you're following the trial and need a bit of sustenance each evening, The Grog & Gruel will of course be happy to help keep you going!

Tell us what you think

2008-04-11T15:43:00.003+01:00

We think you like what we do. Occasionally, you'll tell us. Occasionally, we'll even ask you. And besides, we've been around long enough to know what you want and how to give it to you. But perhaps that's just not even of we're being really serious about things.

So we've decided to ask you more formally. From time to time, expect to be asked if you'd like to complete one of our new feedback forms. Don't expect the Spanish Inquisition (no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition). Instead expect a simple form on which you can very quickly rate us on a variety of headings, and we've even left room for your comments if you'd like to add these too.
We've already had a whole load of these returned and we're very encouraged by the results. Lots of goods and excellents and very little of the others. And the comments have varied from the recipe for our sausages through to the nice ear rings as worn by your favourite waitress.

We might even bring you a more formal review of the results in due course. But if you'd like to be heard, ask for a form when you're next in, or better still, click on the image and print your own!

Upgrade the A82 - Sign the ePetition

2008-03-10T21:05:00.006Z

Whether local resident or a one-time visitor to the area then chances are you've been on the A82 recently. And chances are you've either been shaken like a cocktail or scared silly, or both. The route runs between Glasgow and Inverness, and for those of us who live and work in the West Highlands its our artery to the rest of the world. And as such, and with its trunk road status, you'd think it would be a pretty good road? Well, maybe an OK road, then?

The truth is no its not. Its a terrible road in a terrible condition. The last major spend on the road was about 80 years ago - here's a photo! Unfortunately the road is a little busier than it was in those days and the trucks are a bit bigger too. I could go on - but just drive it if you're skeptical.

And its not going to get any better. Congestion, vehicle damage, accidents - many fatal, a barrier to economic development... Because there's no political will to change it. Unlike the A9. Now we're not generally political campaigners, but if there's one petition that you should sign in your life its this one. Sign the ePetition to the Scottish Parliament before 4th April and make your voice heard.

Just 4 days since it was launched and there's already 1029 names on the list!

Also check out the A82 campaign web site.

Organic Whisky??

2008-02-29T17:06:00.004Z

In the current times of "genetically modified this" and "intensely farmed that" it is nice to see that there are many products which are selling themselves on authenticity and high standard production. You might be thinking that surely whisky production is going to be one area which has been left the way it was always done. This however is not the case.

One distillery which seems to appreciate customers interest in organic production is Benromach. Benromach organic whisky has been available for the last couple of years. Hand produced by just two men at speyside's smallest working distillery, it is Scotland's only organic whisky and is fully certified by the soil association. This means the whole process – raw ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling – is certified organic to the rigorous standards set by the Soil Association.

Using pure spring water from the nearby Romach Hills and the finest Scottish organic barley and organic yeast, Benromach Organic is made by experienced distillers, personally ensuring only the highest quality spirit is filled into hand selected virgin American oak casks.The virgin American oak casks are made of wood from environmentally managed forests. Only when the spirit has matured to the highest quality standard is it bottled as Benromach Organic Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

This whisky will be featured in March 2008 at the Grog n Gruel for the amazing price of £1.99 per 25ml. A great opportunity to taste this unique dram

Humpff at the Grog !!

2008-02-03T21:38:00.000Z

It was about ten years ago at the tented music festival at the BA club when I first met John Coletta. At that time he was playing as part of the "Humpff Family" performing a great selection of his own unique songs with a great musical line up. Since then we kept in touch and about five years ago we were able to bring a touch of "humpff" back to the Fort.

In between writing new material, teaching and his many other commitments John Coletta will be performing at the Grog on a monthly basis starting on March the 6th. With his own brand of thigh slapping bluegrass mandolin, skilfully crafted songs and his own version of some of todays chart toppers, this is an act not to be missed.

If you have not had a chance to hear any of the material by John then click this link to browse his myspace site for streaming audio and CD details or much better pop into the Grog on March 6th for our great selection of cask ale and The best selection of malt whisky for miles around accompanied by one of Scotlands best kept musical secrets.

Open Mike Night

2008-02-01T12:44:00.001Z

Karaoke? At The Grog & Gruel? Surely not!

As with all things Grog & Gruel, we do it all a bit differently. Tuesday 19th February sees the return of Iain 'Stretch' MacFadyen and his open mike (should that be 'mic'?) night. Its a bit more tasteful than a karaoke night. If you're a closet folkie and fancy entertaining the masses, simply join Stretch 'on stage' and get on with it. If music isn't your thing then perhaps a bit of comedy, or poetry, in a So I Married an Axe Murderer stylee might be in order.

And in the event that you're all a bit bashful and shy, Stretch will be filling in with some western swing and traditional country classics for your listening pleasure.

Chicken Out

2008-01-30T13:42:00.000Z

So, which are you? Two for a fiver or free range? Yes, the recent TV debate over the chicken that we eat led by Hugh Fearnley-Doublebarrelledverylongname has got us all talking chicken here at the Grog. Do we really care about the quality of the chicken we eat? For, as we now know, not all chicken is the same.

Whilst we're rather proud of the quality of the vast majority of our ingredients - our boar, our salmon, our venison, our black pudding, our beef... we're not as bold about the quality of our chicken. That said, we don't use battery chicken and we do ensure that it meets our quality standards as a product. What we don't do is buy Scottish - there's not that much of it about, and we don't buy free range.

So, the debate of the moment is should we? Inevitably, free range chicken will cost more. So the cost of your quesadilla or your Cajun chicken dish will cost more. Will it pass the taste test? We're doing a bit of research to try and put some real facts and figures together on this. In the meantime, we need to hear your opinion on this.

Did we tell you that we do use free range eggs, though?

Ouch!

2008-01-25T14:23:00.001Z

Its raining, its dark outside and you've just got the credit card bill for the Christmas shopping... Well, here's some more depressing news to add to your troubles, and ours.

According to the British Beer & Pub Association, the average price of a pint will reach £4 this year due to rising beer production and distribution costs. We've just had our first increase notification from the Atlas and Orkney Breweries and with prices set to increase by 7.5% it looks like the BBPA might well have a point. And the situation isn't going to be helped by the news that energy companies are announcing energy cost increases of up to 15%. And don't even get us started on the ridiculous new licensing arrangements...

More Mojo from Franz Ferdinand

2008-01-21T21:07:00.000Z

So, why do we now have a blog I wonder? 'Cos everyone else has got one perhaps? Hmm, good start but since when has The Grog & Gruel given a monkey's what everyone else is doing. Err.. because 'The Grog' is more than just a pub and there's always stacks of stuff going on, tales to tell, rants to go off on and exciting and interesting people passing through our doors? Yeah, that's it. I knew there was a better answer to that most mundane of questions.

Give me a 'for example' I hear you ask? Well for starters, there was that visit from Franz Ferdinand the other month that ended up with a write up in Mojo magazine which mentioned The Grog & Gruel as much as it did the gig they were in town to play.

So there you go. If you want to mix it up with the rich and famous, then you know where to head. Can't promise that Alex Kapranos, or for that matter Mel Gibson will be propping up the bar when you visit but there again, the customers who did pop in and find them there probably thought the same thing!