Time for a makeover

It could be too much day time TV that's done it, but after 16 (long!) years at The Grog & Gruel we reckon that it's now time we had a bit of a makeover.

The Alehouse & Restaurant will be closed from Sunday 28th November, and, assuming all goes to plan, which lets face it is a bit optimistic at best, will re-open on

Thursday 16th December.

Make it a date in your diary. Maybe it's appropriate to bring in the new with a "Bjorn Again" party? 70's flares it is then.

Artist's impression of the new look exterior

No, sorry, forget that. We will have a bit of a re-opening party on Thursday 16th December, but you don't need to come in your flares. Not unless you want to, that is.

The Alehouse will be brought to life with the new karaoke equipment.
Full height, full length wall mirrors will effectively double the size and ensure that you can always check that you're looking hot.

Quit being flippant and tell us what's happening I hear you say?

Back in 1994 we had a clear vision of what The Grog & Gruel was going to be all about. The clue was in the name. Food and drink. No fuss (not an advert for a local events company, but a statement of policy!), no frills, but good honest food and drink in a relaxed environment with a little bit of fun thrown in for good measure. 16 years, we reckon we've got there, and with that in mind, we're not about to change it.

We'll still be The Grog & Gruel, we'll still be an Alehouse and Restaurant, we'll still sell a superb range of real ales, the menus aren't changing, and we'll still be the best pub in town.

We're going for a more retro Italian look in the restaurant, but note that we've made the seats more comfy.

What will change is a little bit of what you see. A lick of paint here, a lick of paint there... And perhaps a little bit extra too. Some stonework, a black stove to huddle round on the very few rainy days we get in Fort William, and..., well you'll just have to wait and see!

Join us on Facebook, and so long as it doesn't all look too scary and off putting, we'll keep you up to date with progress. Now go and find your platforms and iron those flares... Gimme, gimme a man after midnight...

I believe the children are our future.

I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way. So, after much discussion with our lisencing board and paperwork, The Grog and Gruel will now welcome children into our Alehouse during the day in the company of a 'responsible' adult. We hope this is something our customers will find of benefit and also allow parents to enjoy our range of food and drink without having to tie their children up outside.

Although children have always been welcome into our restaurant, getting the green light from the lisencing board to having children into our alehouse took a change in the law to come about. Although under 18's will never be allowed alcohol whilst in The Grog and Gruel a fine range of soft drinks and and excellent hot drinks menu is available as well as a children's menu. We also have a high chair for those tiny wee Grog and Gruel customers. So a trip to the Grog and Gruel will no longer be reserved for the older generation it can be a grand day out for all the family.

Brand New Ales At The Grog

May is a good month for cask ale. A wonderful range of seasonal ales are on offer from our local Highland breweries to add to their usual listings. One of these to be featured this week is White Lady wheat beer from Cairngorm brewery. A classic light bodied session bitter. This copper coloured beer has a delicate malt flavour and a hint of caramel from crystal grains. It is traditionally bittered with Goldings and has a dry slightly spicy finish. It's proving very popular even for a wheat beer.


To add to our great range of ales this week we also have Hebridean Gold from Isle of Skye Brewery. A distinctively different ale, brewed with porridge oats for exceptional smoothness, with a deep and creamy head.

Both ales are selling extremely well so worth popping down to The Grog and Gruel before we sell 'oat' !!

Quiz night results

Another great evening of cask ale and intellectual jousting at The Grog and Gruel last night as another quiz night was held as part of our Easter Ale Festival. Quiz mistress Dr Jacqui Hill was hosting the evening and, after a few half pints of ale and a Wild Boar Chilli, she was in fine form. We had 10 teams in all, including last years winners and reigning champions "The Guessers" and a team of about 12 students from Lochaber College.

So.. what did we learn?? Well, The teletubby with the hat is Dipsy, A laxton Superb is an apple NOT a laxative,and Elvis Presley was did infact die at age 42 and is NOT still alive. Well done to all those who took part especially to the winners "The Guessers", runners up "Trumpton Fire Brigade" and a special round of applause for the 12 Lochaber college students who came in 3rd place (even after trying to use mobiles to get answers)

Our next quiz night will be held as part of our mid summer ale festival.

Opening Up or Closing Down ??

How can you tell it is getting into the busier trade season in Fort William? Judging by the snow it's certainly not the warmer weather. The easiest way is to look for the shops which open for the season with closing down sales. Like a blot on the landscape.

Everyday of every month of every year there is some kinda of sale on. I too find it hard to understand. Opening a business with damaged stock seems like a very poor business decision. In some small way I suppose its better than having another empty premises, but not by much. So far they have not stuck balloons on the front of the building, which only make it look worse. For anyone wanting to buy quality outdoor equipment (undamaged) in Fort William Ellis Brigham and Nevisport are well worth a visit.

Grog Gifts

Having sold out (such is demand!) we've been without any of our much loved Grog & Gruel t-shirts for a few weeks now. However, all that changes this next week as the new stock is due for delivery very soon.

We've made a couple of small changes to our design for this batch, the first such change in 16 years. We've replicated the colour logo on the front left breast for a bit of extra impact and added in our web address just in case you forget it. And if you find yourself lost and can't remember where you live they can always post you back to us as our address is now on the sleeve.

Now taking orders at the bargain basement price of just £9.75

Grog fans can also indulge themselves with one of our navy blue polo shirts with embroidered Grog & Gruel logo for that smart understated look, or buy a coffee mug for that highly caffinated traditional hot drink receptacle.

Could ale be good for you ?

Researchers have found recently that beer, in particular light ales, contains a substance that boosts bones and could mean they are less likely to suffer from osteoporosis. The finding, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, backs up previous research which also showed that the drink was good at fending off brittle bones – especially in women. Silicon which is present in pale ales from the high volume of hops is responsible and may have other health benefits.
As we move, slowly, from winter into spring the number of lighter ales on sale increases here at the Grog and Gruel as customers look for a lighter, refreshing session ale. So good news for all our ale drinkers. Now you can remove guilt from a trip to the pub as you fend of brittle bones with a trip to your favorite award winning cask ale house.

Lochaber's Favourite Watering Hole

A big thanks to all the CAMRA members who have recently voted for The Grog and Gruel to be crowned winner of the Fort William and Lochaber Pub of the year 2010. Although we are regular winners, every year there are more folk selling cask ale which makes the competition even tougher. As far as we at The Grog and Gruel are concerned the CAMRA good beer guide is the bible for ale drinkers and awards given by CAMRA are the only ones to be taken seriously.
Our formula for success has never changed. Take only the highest quality local cask ale(and the odd cask of Tetley's..(I do like the odd pint of Tetley's), treat it with love and care and sell it in relaxed, comfortable friendly surroundings. Nice to see our customers agree with our philosophy and chose to vote us winners again. We have a great line up of local, seasonal cask ales over the next few weeks, there is no better time to visit the award winning Grog and Gruel.

West Highland Way Gains a Mile !

People travel to Fort William for many reasons, mostly to take part in some kind of outdoor activity in the wonderful natural surroundings in and around Lochaber. One of the most popular activities is walking and by far the most popular route is the West Highland Way. For those who don't know the West Highland Way is a 95 mile walk from Milngalvie, North of Glasgow, to Fort William. The walk uses old Drovers paths, military roads and coaching routes to take you through some of the most spectacular scenery Scotland has to offer.
Since its official opening in 1980 the walk was 95 miles and terminated at a roundabout at the end of Glen Nevis about a mile out of Fort William. Not the best end to a hard 95 mile walk. So, after many meetings and discussions, the end of the West Highland Way has moved 1 mile to terminate at the end of Fort William High Street at Gordon Square (pictured here on a cold January morning). Not only is this a much more central location for the 85,000 walkers who use the path every year but also leaves you seconds away from The Grog and Gruel and a hearty welcome. We think this will prove to be a great move and when the "iconic feature" is unveiled for Gordon Square I'm sure you'll agree.

Japanese Whisky ?

With over 70 bottles of single malt whisky on the shelves at The Grog and Gruel, we try to feature whisky from every area available. As whisky gets a lot of its flavour from the water of the area it is produced in, regional variations give each whisky a distinct unique flavour. We have a couple bottles of Irish whisky hidden away for those who wish to drink whisky from our celtic cousins and now we have a Japanese whisky available also.



YAMAZAKI single malt whisky is made from the purest natural ingredients distilled through the art of Japanese craftsmanship in perfect harmony with nature. The whiskies are handcrafted at Japan’s oldest distillery, built by Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii in 1923. The distillery is situated in the Vale of Yamazaki on the outskirts of Kyoto, an ideal environment for whisky production where the same exceptionally pure waters used in Japan’s most esteemed tea ceremonies are used to produce YAMAZAKI whiskies.



So if you are looking for a good dram in Fort William, The Grog and Gruel is the place to go. Choose from our massive selection of great Scottish whisky or for something more unusual, why not try Japanese whisky?? Maybe one day we'll be brave enough to stock English whisky too (but probably not :))

Fort William Mountain Festival 2010

The big freeze is here. Fort William is covered is frosty snow and Scottish skiing conditions haven't been so good for years. Attention is being turned to the winter mountain sports like skiing and sledging (when I was young it was plastic animal feed bags instead of sledges, sore on the bum but a much greater sense of danger). So just a quick reminder to folk that Fort William will be hosting it's annual Mountain Festival from February 11th - 15th.


Although this is a festival for those with a keen interest in the outdoors, most of the lectures, workshops and events are entertaining for anyone and well worth supporting. A full list of events can be found here. You'll also find events to keep the children amused. Over the past few years Fort William Mountain festival has made a great reputation for itself.


Hopefully you'll find something at the festival you'll find interesting and maybe pop into The Grog and Gruel for a pre-event meet up or post event discussion. I hope I'll get a chance to see some of the festival myself

Festive Williams Brew

This weekend at The Grog and Gruel we will be featuring a great winter brew from The Williams Brothers Brewery. "Yule Smile" at 4.5 % has become available over the past couple of weeks to tie in with the festive period. With a great evening of music from Sandra MacBeth on Friday night, we thought there would be no better time to try it out.

So if you are out and about over the weekend and fancy a nice beer, awesome music in great surroundings then The Grog and Gruel is the place to be. Only a limited supply of this great ale is available so try it while you can.

Stuck for a present at Christmas??

Only a few weeks till Christmas, I bet there are still folk rushing about looking for those last minute stocking fillers. Some people can be so hard to buy gifts for. Here at The Grog and Gruel we can help with our limited edition "Champagne Heather Ale" made to celebrate 20 years of Williams Brothers Brewing Scotland's wonderful Heather Ale

We have only managed to get our hands on a very small number of these bottles, which are individually numbered, and there is already interest in them. At 11% and matured in ex-sherry casks used to mature single Speyside malt, these unique bottles of ale will prove to be a memorable gift for any ale enthusiast. At only £9.95 per 75cl bottle, you won't want to miss out on this rare opportunity to taste part of Heather Ale history.

Piggy Gifts

On trips to The Grog and Gruel you may notice the many pigs and pig related items around. Since before we opened Horace the Hog was planned as the mascot for The Grog and Gruel. Customers seem to really identify with our piggy friend and most of the pig gifts and items around the bar have been given to us by customers and friends. You may notice The Mighty Boar head of Sven above The Grog and Gruel bar, a gift from our local boar farm upon Sven's "retirement".

So just a note of thanks to one of our regulars who gave us this amusing salt and pepper set in the style of an amusing "piggy back" ride. Yes, that's what I said, "piggy back" ride. We are not an adult only blog. They will join the ranks of other piggy collectibles in the bar helping us pay homage to Horace The Hog !!

Winter opening

As usual Winter is creeping up on us. The nights are getting darker. The mornings are getting colder and you can already see crazy people putting up Christmas Decorations. Another Summer has passed us by in a flash and the time to hibernate is upon us. Although you may think that this means it is time for The Grog and Gruel to completely switch off you'd be wrong. It's time for all the maintenance jobs, staff training, menu reviewing and planning for next year to take place.

As a lot of this cannot take place during trade we will be closing on quieter trading nights. So from Nov 8th till Dec 17th we will be closed all together on Sundays. This is great for staff morale as we now can all watch antiques roadshow together. From November 8th till Dec 17th the restaurant will only be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Unless we have prior knowledge of a Christmas booking. Food will be available as usual from Noon till Nine in our Alehouse and closing time in our alehouse will be dependant on trade. So the more customers we have the later we will open (nudge, nudge).

This should not have a dramatic affect on our customers as the changes have been made after analysis of trade and after we have a few very quiet nights playing "Win, Lose or Draw" with customers. To view our opening hours for The Christmas/festive period click here.

Yes!! We have no pizzas !!

At the heart of the Grog and Gruel kitchen lies our trusty old reliable pizza oven. It has stood in place since the day we opened back all the way in 1994, when Blur were in the charts with "Parklife" and "Forest Gump" was in the cinema, good times. Over the past 15 years it has never let us down.

Picture the scene..Its mid summer in the Grog and Gruel. We are at peak trading with a full restaurant and bar with lots of hungry mouths to feed. Suddenly there is a loud bang and a bright flash and suddenly the Pizza oven fails to respond. After a lot of poking and tampering we realise there is nothing we can do. We now have to let customers know there will be a lot of disappointment.

We immediately get on the case of trying to find someone to fix our problem. Sounds easy? Well, no. After speaking to numerous catering technicians and electricians we finally get someone to look at it and find the parts we need to replace. We try to source the parts only to find not only has the original company vanished but also the company who took over from them has also vanished. Finally after days of phone calls and pulling hair out, we find a company that will custom make the parts we need. This will take over a week.

So, now we are waiting for our hand crafted parts to be sent to us. All this just to make a simple pizza. So for the next week to ten days we will have no pizza, or quesadilla's. The rest of our alehouse and restaurant menu is still in operation. Our chefs get a break from endless kneading of dough and spinning of pizza bases. Maybe next time you sit down to enjoy an authentic freshly made pizza you will think of the hassle a simple meal can be.

Three Sheets to the Wind

We're that dedicated and that passionate about our beer at The Grog & Gruel that even when we're not slaving away, striving to serve you the perfect pint, we're reading books about beer. Either that or we're really boring and haven't got any mates. Regardless, here we bring you the debut of The Grog Book Club.

Ok, so I'm not really that into writing about why I found this book interesting or otherwise. Far too traumatic as it reminds me too much of English Literature classes at school. What the hell was that Shakespeare bloke on about? And why couldn't he write in proper english like wot I do.

Anyway, a fairly interesting read and some interesting observations about beer and the world today. Particularly interesting are the comparisons of the liberal attitudes to licensing elswhere in the world and the lack of problems with more British traits such as late night post-pub trouble and binge drinking. Sobering thoughts (see what I did there!) in these times where Licensing in Scotland is going through huge changes.

Back your copy from your local book shop, check out Amazon, or get in touch and you can have mine if it hasn't been scooped up on Read It Swap It already.

Cask Marque Accreditation

Our Easter Ale & Pie festival is well under way and we have already got through a fair number of casks and munched through a large number of pies. With 9 local beers for customers to taste it was a great time for us to be visited by our cask marque inspector. For those of you who are not in the trade Cask Marque is an independent check of the temperature, appearance, aroma and taste of the cask ale being served. As always the Grog & Gruel got top marks for all the ale being served at the time of the random, twice yearly inspection. This is no surprise as we are consistently checking the ales for consistent high quality in-house. Why not pop in for a pint and put us to the test yourself??

Festival starting line up !

Only 3 days to go to the Easter Ale festival and we can now release which ales will be included in the opening line up. All your favourite breweries will be included like Isle of Skye, An teallach, Atlas and Williams Brothers. Ten hand pumps will be on the bar and beers to be included Caledonian 80/-, Black Cuillin, Latitude Pilsner, Williams Red and more.

An Teallach has been in particularly good form of late and has been getting rave reviews in the bar. Remarkable what a man with a keen interest in cask ale can brew up in his barn. I think An teallach is a favourite to win the title of "Best Ale of the Festival" voted for by our customers.

My own personal favourite is also included in the line up. Kelpie Seaweed ale from Williams Brothers is also making an appearance. In addition to the seaweed (Bladder rack) harvested on the Argyll coast, they have also used organically grown malt. Kelpie is a rich chocolate ale which has an aroma of fresh seabreeze and a distinctive malty texture. How many of you will be brave enough to try a Seaweed Ale??Rememer..we'll even let you taste the ale before you buy a pint. It all starts on Thursday so don't be late or risk missing some of these great ales.

The Tail of Sven

The countdown to our Easter Ale and Pie Festival has begun, only 5 days to go and we are very excited. The ale is settling in the cellar, The final touches are being made to our pie recipes and the staff are undergoing long tasting sessions. With all this hullabaloo going on it's not surprising that some folk have missed the new 'face' at the Grog.














Let me introduce to you Sven the wild boar. Isn't he beautiful? Sven is a gift from our local supplier of wild boar which we use for our sausages, Burgers and Chilli. He was raised on a farm in Beauly, home of Boars of Beauly. In fact The Grog and Gruel and Clachaig Inn buy all the boar meat Beauly has to offer. Sven had a harem of 9 female sows he serviced. He is a reliable 'producer' of large baby boys,the record holder weighing in at 96.4kg at 14 months. Sven's estimated weight was in the region of 250-300kg during the rutting season when they can put on up to 25% extra weight.

We feel very proud to be the home of Sven now that his working life is over. It's nice to be able to show our customers exactly where their Boar Burgers, and Chilli have come from. It's also very nice to receive such a nice gift from one of our local suppliers, another great reason to keep things local. So next time you pop in for a pint in the Grog raise a glass to Sven as he peacefully he enjoys his retirement.