INVERNESS DISTILLERY

Loch Ness can lay claim to its very own monster and now, not to be outdone, the River Ness can as well. But while the loch monster holds sway over a vast expanse of very deep water and is seen by only a fortunate few, the river monster sits proudly on the banks of the Ness and can be seen by all.

This new monster is the Uile-bheist, Inverness’s first distillery in 130 years, reconnecting the highland capital with its proud but lost whisky and brewing history. Uile-bheist is Gaelic for ‘monster’ and is the first distillery to open in the city since 1892. Started in January 2021 and completed in February 2023 at a cost of

£7.5m, the distillery is powered by a low carbon sustainability centre on site and is tipped to attract 100 tour visits per day in peak season. Around 40 jobs will be created by Uile-bheist’s operations, in production, tours, admin and marketing and indirectly (downstream).

“Our scale is craft, not volume. Our clean energy process, using shallow water wells, has been described as exemplary,” said owner Jon Erasmus. “It’s great to bring whisky distilling and brewing back to the city, but we also wanted a high level of design specification throughout, from the stills to the dramming area, to the tap room. If people have travelled from

New York or Tokyo, or if they’ve seen a lot of other distilleries, we want them to come here and think: I really like what they’ve done, here. Everything is photogenic.”

Water and energy for Uile-bheist’s whisky production comes from the River Ness through a pioneering district heating system which uses shallow water wells to fire heat pumps; a system being eyed by local authorities. Water is treated by fluorescent light with the only grid requirement being electricity, partly provided by the glass-fronted building’s roof-top solar installations.

With products now in production, even the brewing/distilling process has been fine-tuned with sustainability as the watchword. Its first two signature craft ales, Inverness Lager and Spirit Dweller IPA, are the first beers brewed in Inverness for 34 years and are now available for visitors in the stunning on-site tap room as well as at selected local hotels.

Future phases will see the creation of a distilling ‘campus’, with increased capacity, a bonded warehouse with shopping plus enhanced tap room, tasting and visitor spaces.

Head Distiller Andrew Shearer, who previously worked for Glen Turner and Kinrara in the Cairngorms National Park, explains: “We use Bairds Malt, which opened a new malting down the road, so they are as local as you can possibly get. That keeps our carbon footprint down to a minimum. We have also taken a lot of steps to recover the energy in our processes. We have a lot of heat exchangers and we are always trying to capture that energy that we have generated in order to re-use it in the process.

“We have one of the more efficient set-ups that I have seen, to minimise our carbon impact. Our distribution is currently very local, too, so even at finished product stage we are keeping our carbon impact low.”

The production of the low carbon whisky and craft beer comes through a dual technology developed by, and imported from, famous German brewing innovators and coppersmiths, Kaspar Schulz. Interestingly, this is the first whisky stills the company has made in over 140 years, as they are traditionally renowned for brewing.

New Head Brewer, Andrew Hodgson, whose previous experience was with Black Isle Brewery and Tempest Brewing Co, is pleased with the first two products, Inverness Lager and Forest Dweller IPA.

“The lager is great, it is nice and clean. It has had a long time to condition just under zero degrees, so that’s fantastic. The IPA is a good example of a west coast IPA. High in bitterness and North American hops to give us that piny, resinous character. It has some nice malt character in there as well to make it a bit sticky but it has tons of body to it. It’s best served cold.”

Uile-bheist enlisted Melbourne-based pop culture illustrator, Ken Taylor, who has worked with Jack White, The Pixies and Pearl Jam, to design their ‘monster’ motif. Large scale installations by the designer, who also created posters for

films Up, Pikachu and How to Train

Your Dragon, adorn the tap room and tour space walls.

Investors can now purchase the very first historic limited run of 100 casks by visiting https://www.uilebheist.com/distillery-whiskytours/#casks

City Mobility has been serving customers throughout the Highlands & Islands and North East of Scotland since 2002. Supplying, servicing and repairing powered wheelchairs and mobility scooters both privately and through the allinclusive Motability Scheme.

Its showroom in Inverness has grown to have one of the largest selection of products in Scotland with over 70 different models from over 15 well known and respected brands, on display.

But don’t worry if you cannot get to them because they will come to you for a test drive!

You can see the range City Mobility generally stocks at www.city-mobility.co.uk

City Mobility is the only Powered Wheelchair and Scooter dealer based north of the central belt that, as well as selling products to you privately, also provides products through the Motability lease scheme.

If you receive one of the following allowances, you can qualify for a product on the Motability scheme:

• The Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

• The Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

• Higher rate mobility component of the Adult Disability Payment (Scotland only)

• War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS)

• Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)

• Higher rate mobility component of the Child Disability Payment (Scotland only)

Every lease is all-inclusive, which means all the essentials are included in the price you pay, such as:

• A new product

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The standard lease is for three years and payments are deducted from your allowance every four weeks. At the end of the agreement, you hand back the product and you can choose a brand new one!

To enquire about a mobility scooter or powerchair through the Motability Scheme or as a private purchase call City Mobility on 01463 250850.