Arran Brewery gets a taste for an ancient Scots drink

AN ANCIENT Scottish drink called blaand, made from a by-product of the cheese-making process, is set for a new lease of life after Arran Brewery bought the rights to the Fallachan brand.

Fallachan – Gaelic for “hidden treasure” – was previously owned by Humphrey Errington, who makes Lanark Blue cheese at his farm near Carnwath in South Lanarkshire and revived the centuries-old recipe when searching for alternative ways of using whey.

Arran Brewery, created by the recent merger of the Isle of Arran and Isle of Skye breweries, has paid an undisclosed sum for the brand and the equipment used to create blaand, which is believed to have been introduced to Scotland by the Vikings.

Managing director Gerald Michaluk said: “It is great to be expanding the range of traditional beverages the brewery can produce and I am particularly pleased to help a traditional, almost lost drink, find its way back into the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.”

Fallachan will be available in the brewery’s own shops and will be on sale across the country next year.