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.

Open Mic Night !!

We're always being asked when we at The Grog and Gruel will be having another open mic night. Although bands and live music are easy to organise open mic nights are not so easy. It requires a very reliable and talented host able to accompany people when required as they perform and to gloss over those performances we would rather forget.

Luckily on Thursday March 4th we have a date with a great performer and Host "Ian Stretch MacFadyen" who will not only be performing some cracking western swing but also letting members of the public perform. We usually get a great turn out and a good few performers, like our London beat box fellow, and the German poet and of course many great rock ballads from Ryan "skelf" McFall. So come along on March 4th to see open the musical pandoras box that is open mic night. I'll even give a free gift to folk who give us a performance.

Visit Fort William

Go on! You know you want to!

A cracking advert! Have a quick peek at this short promotional video clip. What a cracking advert for the place!



For more information check out the Outdoor Capital of the UK web site and the Fort William Film Festival, coming your way very soon.

Champion

Happened to be browsing the Mountain Bike tabloids, scanning the bike porn for more sexy (and very expensive) bits of kit that are a must have for all avid bikers, when I came across another little feature on The Grog & Gruel's favourite World Champion, Steve Peat. Check out the digital magazine here and pay particular attention to the bottle of malt on the spread over pages 5 & 6.

We thought it would be a little fun to create a Peaty Malt in homage to our hero when the World Championships came to Fort William a couple of seasons ago.


Apart from Nick's rather embarrassing spelling of the word 'Whisky', it turned out a treat! Unfortunately it didn't inspire Steve to put in a win on home ground. Cheer Steve on when the Mountain Bike World Cup come back to Fort William later in 2010.