Meet the Brewer: Rob Hill (Highland Brewing Company)

This Week’s Meet the Brewer comes from Rob Hill courtesy of @Highlandbrewlew on twitter! They make some fab ales and are great craic on twitter so please try their beers if you see them.

What is your Brewery name?
We have an identity crisis: the company is the Highland Brewing Company Ltd; the brewery is the Swannay Brewery. Usually ‘Highland’ wins out.

What is your brewery capacity?
250 brls/wk on the big plant; 16 brls/wk on the small plant.

Rob and his many shiny awards!

What is different about your brewery?
No gimmicks. We strive for consistent beer of the highest quality.

How long have you been brewing for?
28 years. Four for myself.

How did you get into brewing?
Started as assistant brewer at Moorhouse’s, Burnley.

What beers do you brew regularly?
Orkney Best @ 3.6%, Island Hopping @ 3.9%, Dark Munro @ 4.0%, Scapa Special @ 4.2%,
Orkney IPA @ 4.8%, St Magnus Ale @ 5.2% and Orkney Blast @ 6.0%.

What special/seasonal beers do you brew?
Light Munro @ 3.0%, Christmas Light @ 3.8%, Sneaky Wee Orkney Stout @ 4.2%, Old
Norway @ 9.0% and Orkney Porter @ 9.0%.

Where do you think the future of brewing lies?
Quality is key, both in the beers brewed and how it’s looked after and served by the publicans.

What is you proudest moment in brewing?
Selling the first casks of my own beer here in Orkney.

What was last beer you drank?
A Scapa Special in one of the Orkney pubs – and very good it was too.

What is your favourite hop?
Goldings. (although recently used Summit which is fantastic)

What is your brewing ambition?
To restore our brewery site into a visitor attraction, quality ale pub, cafe bistro, educational beer centre etc. And to finally release the Guernsey brewplant from the clutches of its listed building and make its long move up to Orkney.

Do you have a Brewing hero/inspiration?
Richard Wintle. Former Moorhouse’s head brewer. He was a fantastic teacher.

Which beer do you wish you had brewed?
Marston’s Pedigree. A corker of a beer – so well balanced.

Favourite hobby outiside of brewing
Gardening, just need to find the time to do some!

Fnything else you want to tell us?
Try and source our beers on draught! Come and visit us at the brewery one day.

PS the picture is one that a kind person named William Wilkinson emailed in ,it’s of the champion beer of scotland 2010/various siba awards presentation. (I might add Rob was on a dray run at the time so he does look a littleworse for wear…..)

You can visit the Highland Brewery website here, follow Lewis on twitter here or read my Beer Reviews