JUST HORSING AROUND FOR THE BEER!
ORGANISERS of a real ale festival are to go on an odyssey around Scotland collecting beer – by horsebox.
The men behind Stonehaven's First Real Ale Festival will travel the highways and byways to bring the finest ales in the land back to the Mearns town for the event, to be staged on Thursday November 5 and Friday November 6.
Organiser Robert Lindsay said: "Our first festival is a Homecoming of Scottish real ales, with at least one beer from every brewery in the country – including small brewhouses and brewpubs.
"Unfortunately, not every one of these can deliver their beers, so we decided if they can't come to us, we'll go to them. It's our odyssey around Scotland to bring the finest ales in the land back here to Stonehaven for people to enjoy."
The result is a three-day journey that will take the three men – Robert and fellow organisers Iain McFadden and Kenny Harper – from Stonehaven as far west as Oban and as far south as Jedburgh.
As for the unusual form of transport, Robert said: "We will be collecting casks from about 35 breweries, so needed something to carry them home.
"But also we needed something to provide accommodation. The festival, as well as being a fun event and celebrating Scottish real ales, is raising money for the Maritime Rescue Institute, which runs Stonehaven's lifeboats.
"We want every penny raised to go to them, so we need to keep our costs down. So it's a horsebox and sleeping bags for the three of us, as opposed to hotels or bed and breakfasts. We won't mind roughing it for a good cause."
The organisers of the festival – sponsored by Deeside Brewery - are also using their road trip to drive home another message – the need to drink responsibly.
"We are working in partnership with Grampian Police to get home that message," said Robert, owner of the Marine Hotel in Stonehaven.
"The main one for the festival is the most obvious – don't drink and drive. But we would also like to remind people about the need to be responsible in all areas of their life, and are encouraging them to visit websites like Drinkaware.co.uk."
The trio will leave Stonehaven on Sunday November 1, and return on Tuesday November 3, to start the hard work of setting up the festival in the Town Hall.
To find out more, visit www.stonehavenrealalefestival.co.uk
To find out more about the Deeside Brewery, visit www.deesidebrewery.co.uk
For more information on MRI visit www.maritime-rescue-institute.org
IAIN MCFADDEN and Robert Lindsay - hitting the road to promote real ale festival
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Weather for Stonehaven
Saturday 04 February 2012
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