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Built in 1895, the Tullie Inn consists of the original Tudor-style accommodation rooms adjacent to the station, with the restaurant and bar in the more recently-built glasshouse at the front. The side heated garden leads to another massive garden in the rear. The decor is self-described as having a "Cape Cod nautical theme", which seems odd as we definitely felt like we were in Scotland and not Massachusetts. On this first visit the pub had just run out of the tempting Blonde & Bonnie, so we went for pints of The Ale of Leven (4.5% ABV, Loch Lomond Brewery, Alexandria, Dumbartonshire). This is a pale amber brew like spicy heather. Andrew described it as "a proper pint of Scottish heavy to sustain you through your glen walks." I could sense the distinct strain of a chanter in the remote braes of my palate. Our thrifty Scottish reveries were a bit tainted by the fact that the pints cost £3.75 each. But Loch Lomond is a tourist area, after all.
The next evening after a wedding-party meal in Duck Bay, we stopped in for a nightcap. We had a taste of The West Highland Way (3.7% ABV, Loch Lomond) which we both found to be a bit of a bland stroll. We decide to try pints of a cask lager, Schiehallion (4.8% ABV, Harviestoun Brewery, Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland). The barman told us this had been popular, which is a good thing because we figure if lager drinkers decide to try a cask lager, they might actually discover taste. It's an excellent idea if I don't mind saying so. And I don't. I don't mind drinking a cask lager. I mean, what the hell? This is 2013 and it's the era of diversity. So why not a cask lager? My memory goes through shudders of my university years when there was nothing to drink but that shite watery American macro lager, back before I could afford to buy
imports and before the microbrewery explosion that didn't start until later. If this is the new face of lager, then good on it!
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