Banchory Beer Festival, the North-east of Scotland’s largest outdoor beer festival, is set to offer festival goers the chance to sample some of the finest Scottish produce the country has to offer.
The festival not only promotes the continued growth of the beer scene in Scotland, but also caters to the craft gin and spirits industry which has boomed over the past few years.
Banchory Beer Festival is a great place to discover new, exciting businesses from across Scotland and the rest of the UK.
As well as high quality drinks, the three day festival which takes place on 12th to the 14th August, has partnered with a number of foodies from across Scotland, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
To help get the best out of the festival we've picked out some of the best food and drink to check out:
Established in October 2015, this Scottish gin is already making waves in the industry. By fusing together traditional and locally forged Stirlingshire botanicals, the distillers have created a unique, young gin, which is growing in popularity by the minute.
Best enjoyed served on ice with a few torn basil leaves, or in a gin and tonic with fresh orange peel, basil leaves and a premium tonic, this gin is guaranteed to be popular with festival goers, and is very smooth at 43%.
Aberdeen’s only micro-brewery, Fierce Beer, is the new kid on the block in the brewing scene, and is already making its mark across the country.
With its beers now available from John O’Groats to London, the brewery, which is only two months old, now boasts a core range of 8-10 beers, all created and bottled in-house.
With its pack-a-punch flavoursome beers oozing with fresh, high quality ingredients, these brews are definitely a must try of the festival. Looking for a beer that screams flavour? Fierce Beer is for you.
A Banchory Beer Festival first, the award-winning fish and chips establishment, The Bay Fish and Chips, will be taking to the road in its state-of- the-art van, serving up the finest, sustainable seafood the North-east had to offer.
A favourite of the festival organisers, this is one fish supper you won’t want to miss.
By using local, sustainable produce, The Bay guarantees fresh, delicious dishes which will compliment any drink at the festival. If you haven’t tried out their food yet, a visit to The Bay is a must.
The creators of the first Scottish tonic water, Walter Gregor, and a unique selection of flavoured artisan lemonades and craft sodas, Summerhouse Drinks has been a popular soft drink business since establishing in 2014.
Made with natural ingredients, these grown up sodas are the perfect serves for some of the gins and spirits available at the festival. With flavours including hint o’ mint lemonade, misty lemonade, pink lavender lemonade and Scottish raspberry lemonade, these soft drinks are brilliant if you like experimenting with different flavours.
Offering up three different brands of proseccos, the festival will boast everything from sweet frizzante style bubbles, to dryer spumante prosecco, as well as a medium rosé spumante.
With a wide selection of proseccos, there’s guaranteed to be something to suit everyones taste buds.
A new gin to Scotland’s every growing collection, Persie Gin features thee aromatic gins, hailed as ‘nose candy’ for gin lovers.
With a zesty citrus, herby and aromatic, and a sweet and nutty old tom, the addition of these gins at the gin bar will allow festivalgoers to try something completely new to the market.
These guys will also be opening their distillery, located in Perthshire, to the public on 11th August, a great way to kick-start their festival involvement.
This year, the festival has collaborated with Edinburgh’s Alchemy Brewing, creating an IPA festival brew called ‘Slippery when Wheat’. The IPA has a 50/50 wheat and malt base, making it a lighter beer, perfect for the summer months.
With the addition of South Pacific hops, it’s a bright, flavourful white IPA, which will keep you feeling refreshed throughout the festival. This brew is extremely unique and will only be available to try at the festival.
The first and only rum to be distilled in Scotland, Dark Matter Distillers have been festival regulars since 2015.
These spiced rum geniuses have already won a gold award from The Rum Masters Spirit Business awards for their delicious spiced rum, and have a passion to re-invent the perceptions people have of rum. Best served on ice, it also tastes delicious accompanied with a cold bottle of ginger beer, or Summerhouse Drinks Hint O’ Mint lemonade.
Known for their delicious Aberdeen Angus beef, the family run business, which was established in 2000, will be serving up some of the very best meat available in the North-east of Scotland.
With their passion for good food, high quality, regional produce, and with 100% traceability of all the meats, the team at The Store, serve up the freshest dishes, which will leave festival goers begging for seconds. With burgers, sausages and much more available, be sure to pay a visit to The Store.
A world-class brewery based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, these guys specialise in modern, hop-forward beers with bold and distinctive flavours.
Their debut to Banchory Beer Festival, these guys will be serving up a selection of punchy beers, which are guaranteed to be in demand. Core range beers include: Bread and Butter, Heart and Soul, Pride and Joy, and Divide and Conquer to name a few.
Banchory Beer Festival is a three-day beer festival taking place on the Deeside Rugby Club Pitches in Banchory. For the first time, the festival is hosting a family friendly day on Sunday 14 August, boasting numerous free activities for children.
Ticket prices are £15 plus booking fee for adults, £7.50 plus booking fee for children aged 14 – 17 and are free for children under 14.
• For more information on Banchory Beer Festival, or to purchase tickets, please visit the website www.banchorybeerfestival.com
