Belhaven Brewery: Brewery Lane, Dunbar

Punters, if you want a cheap day out get yourself to the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar! This is apparently Scotland’s oldest independent brewery, with a commercial history dating back to 1719.

Cheap!

I said it was cheap – a tour of the brewery only costs £5 (or £3 for concessions).

The Tour

First stop on the tour is the in-house bar called the Monks Retreat. The frequency with which monks are referred to in brewing may make you think they were absolute pissheads!  Indeed, some of you may be aware of their association with Buckfast – the favourite drink of the Scottish jakie. However apparently monks brewed beer as it was a nutritious drink during times when they were on religious fasts.

While learning such fascinating facts you can enjoy a pint of Best or there is a selection of alternative products to sample, they even have a fruit beer for the ladies -or should I say those not into their beer ! They then take you round the factory explaining the brewing process, and after that it’s back to the bar again to try other Belhaven pints. If you like you could have about 4 free pints easily on the tour.  For £5 that’s GOOD VALUE!

Dunbar

The brewery is located in Dunbar, a seaside town, which is also a nice day out. It’s got historic buildings, traditional local little pubs, and you can work off the pints with a walk along the harbour. It’s the sort of place I could happily spend my retirement!

How to get there

You can get the train from Waverley Station to Dunbar in around 25 minutes. Again fares don’t break the bank, at around £11 for an off peak day return. If you’re parched after the train ride, get yourself into the Royal Mackintosh Hotel at top of Station Road for a pint (which is less than a 5 minute walk from the station).

How to book

Sadly the Belhaven Brewery is only open Monday-Friday, so you’ll need to take a day off the work. If you’re on holiday, retired, a student, or unemployed, this could be ideal though.

You need to book on a tour in advance, but you can do this online at the following address:

http://www.belhaven.co.uk/tours/

Dunbar

The Abbotsford: 3-5 Rose Street, Edinburgh

I enjoyed my recent visit to this traditional pub. It has an impressive interior with an 'island bar' (a bar in the centre of the pub) which provides a good focal point to the pub and a good pint. The bar also has a good selection of whisky, and if you are a tourist they even give you a menu explaining all the whisky they serve.

Upstairs is the restaurant area which is small and relaxed, offering good hearty, homemade style food. I ate there with a mate at New Year and we were served by two attractive waitresses. When the steak pie I had ordered arrived though it was cold. This lead my mate to comment ‘waitresses hot, the food not!’  However as soon as I complained, the meal was immediately replaced with a hot one.

Apart from the initial cold pie the service was fine, and the now hot pie tasted good.

Put the pie back in the oven!

Walkabout Bar: 6 & 7 Omni Centre, Greenside Place, Edinburgh

Speaking of Walkabout in my recent Bar Oz review, I thought I would re-publish a review I wrote of the Edinburgh Walkabout a few years ago. My view hasn't since changed. Apparently the Edinburgh venue closed in February.

Walkabout Bar: 17 November 2009
 
About as authentic an Australian bar as Dame Edna is an authentic Australian woman - which is to say not very authentic at all! If you go in there to watch Australian Rugby League you’re more likely to find Premiership Football on. I was told to take off my Sydney Swans AFL scarf by the English bouncer because it looked like an Aberdeen football scarf. Oh and they serve Fosters by the bucket load.

Dame Edna

Bar Oz: 33 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh

Struth, put another shrimp on the barbie, because this is the most Australian bar ever! It’s so authentically Australian that I expected to see Paul Hogan, Kylie Minogue and Rolf Harris all drinking at the bar!

Ok I’m exaggerating, but to be fair the owners have done a reasonable job in decorating the bar with surfboards and a corrugated roof over the bar. There are some bottles of Aussie piss (beer) such as Tooheys New and VB available in the fridge – ‘well you wouldn’t want a warm beer would you!’ There are also options of pints of beer that are actually drinkable such as Best and some other European beers.

The bar seems friendly, plays some good rock music, has a pool table, and shows plenty of sport (including unsurprisingly Aussie sport). I must say, despite not being a fan of themed pubs, I enjoyed my visit there. The horrendous, fake, Australian pub called Walkabout could actually learn a thing or two from Bar Oz.

Sheila, you were there!

The Blue Blazer: 2 Spittal Street Edinburgh

It’s difficult to know what to say about this bar. It’s in a terrible location surrounded by average bars such as Chanter and the area of tacky strip bars known as the ‘Pubic Triangle’. Therefore it hasn’t much to compete with. From previous visits it struck me as traditional, boring and bitter, in the same way as the Oxford Bar. Indeed I have read other reviews complaining about the rude service of the bar staff.

However I went along recently on a Sunday night for an open mic night which I enjoyed. I had a nice pint of Trade Winds, the barman seemed fine, and though the band was slightly repetitive, they created a good atmosphere. The bar itself is a traditional wooden style bar decorated with whisky boxes, beer adverts and historic photos.

As I said, I went on a Sunday for a quiet pint, which I think this bar is right for. At weekends or during the festival I could see this small bar getting quite crowded, and if you were on a lively night out this bar would be a bit of a mood killer.

The old man in this advert would love this pub!