Brewery: Craigmill Brewery
Location: Strathaven, Scotland, ML10 6PB
ABV: 3.8%
Version: 500ml bottle

This is one of the Strathaven (pronounced more like 'Strathvin') Ales from the small Craigmill Brewery in Lanarkshire and not one I had come across before I spotted it (and a companion 80 Shilling) in a local gift store in a Lanarkshire country estate.  The colour is a  pale straw yellow, while the taste is very clear and much crisper than many IPAs, with an almost dry quality to it, which I didn't expect, very, very smooth, gentle mellow aftertaste lingering on the tongue afterwards rather pleasantly. Billed as "an easy quaffing favourite" and yes it is indeed.

Clydesdale name refers to the mighty Clydesdale horses bred nearby by the Hamilton family - in fact when we left the former estate of the Hamilton family (where I bought the ales) we passed a breeding farm which still proudly produces these immensely strong beasts which were a mainstay of British farming for centuries.

The Clyde Valley is only miles from Glasgow, with Motherwell, a former heavy industry site, nearby and yet it is in the middle of beautiful countryside, well known for being home to many farms - it’s a great spot for going to pick your own, from strawberries to tatties and its from the Valley that the hops in this IPA come, so its about as local a beer as you can get. Not spotted it elsewhere yet though, sadly, so the very localness of it might mean you’d struggle to find it elsewhere.

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