A small two man show (well actually a husband and wife team) based in Dundonnell in Wester Ross, the An Teallach Ale Company started out as a small tin shed on the side of the road in 2001. The brewery now supplies their fine ales to the whole of the Highlands and as far south as Edinburgh and Glasgow; ales which have also become staples in The Stables bar.
We are talking classics such as the An Teallach Ale, translated from Gaelic as the anvil or forge and named after a mountain southwest of Dundonnell. This is still one of the finest I have tasted, a smooth ale with subtle flavours of coffee and chocolate. Another is Beinn Dearg, named after a mountain hidden from the regular tourist route by the Loch Maree mountains. And then there is the Crofters’ Pale Ale, another favourite.
The newest addition to the range is The Hector Ale, named after a sailing boat which, in 1773, transported 189 Scottish passengers from Loch Broom to the harbour at Brown’s Point in Pictou where they began the first Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia. It is a good name for this stout-like ale, made a stone’s throw away from where its namesake sailed. So why don’t you come down and try one? Maybe you’ll find your favourite too.