15/01/2007

+ Blue Blazer, 2 Spittal Street, Edinburgh.
Settle down with a beer and toastie in the snug at the back of this Old Town pub and you’ll have yourself a grand night-in on your night-out. While space is at a premium, real ales (and knowledgeable staff) are in abundance and it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever find (or want) a true ‘Blue Blazer’ – a whisky-based cocktail – among the eight resident and guest cask ales.

+ Bon Accord, 153 North Street, Glasgow.
This CAMRA pub has barrel loads of character, though it’s not the oldest real ale pub in the city. Over the space of a year you can try out up to 500 different ales, with 10 on tap at any one time, as well as 50 malt whiskies.

+ Fisherman's Tavern, 10-16 Fort Street, Broughty Ferry, Dundee.   
Formerly a fisherman’s cottage, this 19th century pub has plenty of crannies and nooks in which to enjoy half a dozen brews including Hanby Drawwell Bitter, Atlas Three Sisters or Courage Directors.

+ Fox & Hounds, South Street, Houston, Renfrewshire.
A viewing window at the bar allows you to watch your ale being brewed at this much-loved pub, which manager Carl Wengel and his family have run for almost 30 years. It was Carl’s love of real ale that led them to start up the Houston Brewery Company, which operates out of the former cellars and produces four award-winning brews, Texas, Peters Well, Killellan and Barochan.

+ Moulin, Pitlochry, Perthshire.
Famed for its pudding and beers, this 17th century inn also boasts its own brewery tucked inside the stables across the street. In winter, you can enjoy a pint of Ale of Atholl, Braveheart, Moulin Light or Old Remedial in front of the log fire and, in the summer, take them outside into the flower-filled courtyard.

+ Old Inn, Gairloch, West Highlands.
This traditional coaching inn has an enviable location tucked near the tiny fishing harbour at the foot of the Flowerdale valley. Spit roasts, Highland game and West Coast seafood are a big draw and the AA voted this Seafood Pub of the Year for Scotland in 2006. Regularly-changing beers such as Adnams, Cairngorms Tradewinds and Isle of Skye Red Cuillin, will also quench the thirst after a trek up the nearby Torridon mountain range or a spot of whale watching at Gairloch Harbour.

+ Prince of Wales, 7 St Nicholas Lane, Aberdeen.
Up to eight real ales are served at this Aberdeen institution, from possibly the longest bar counter in the city, if not the country. As well as being a welcome escape from the city’s increasing number of style-less style bars, it offers up regular ales such as Caledonian 80/- and Theakstons Old Peculier, as well as guest ales from Atlas and Isle of Skye brewers.

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