Raasay Barley Trial Open Day – 2nd August 2018

The 2nd August 2018 will mark a historic milestone in our journey towards the first bottling of Isle of Raasay Single Malt Scotch Whisky. It’s our second Raasay Barley Trial Open Day but perhaps even more significant is the fact that we will be mashing the first purely Raasay-grown malted barley crop.

Drilled on local crofter Andrew Gillies’s 2 acre field last year, the harvested barley was malted at a small craft malting barn in Keith by Hugh Alexander and flavoured with Raasay peat from Glam to the north of the island.

Raasay Barley Trial Open Day Programme

To start the day off Peter Martin, Director of the Agronomy Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands will be joined by Alasdair Day of Raasay Distillery and Hugh Alexander of Curio Group to give talks on the Barley Trial in our Gathering Room.

Visitors will then be able to visit to the barley trial field to view the crop and observe progress with the four barley varieties growing there this year. Lunch and drinks will then be available in the Gathering Room before the first Raasay malted barley is mashed through in the distillery.

Distillery tours will be free throughout the day so please come along with your friends to visit the still house and the barley field and enjoy a very up-close and personal Raasay barley experience.

Throughout the Day: Free Distillery Tours

• Free tours of the distillery will be available throughout the day.

12pm-1pm: Presentations in the Gathering Room:

• Peter Martin, Director, Agronomy Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Orkney College UHI – An introduction to Barley varieties and why commercial varieties of Barley do not ripen on Raasay.
• Alasdair Day, Co-founder – Background to the Raasay barley variety trial project.
• Hugh Alexander, Curio Group – The process of micro malting the Raasay Barley.

1pm-1.30pm: Barley Field Visit

• Visit to the Barley Trial field to view and inspect the crops.

1.30pm-2pm: Lunch & Refreshments Served 

• Lunch, tea, coffee & soft/alcoholic drinks available for purchase in the Gathering Room.

2pm-3pm: Raasay Barley Mashing

• The mashing of the first Raasay Barley will take place.

Ticket Information

TICKETS: Free to attend, no ticket required.
DATE & TIME: 2nd August 2018 | 12pm till 3pm
EATS: Lunch will be available for purchase in the Gathering Room featuring home made soup, freshly baked focaccia bread as well as Barbara’s famous cheese & fruit scones served with fresh cream & jam.
DRINKS: Tea, coffee & licensed bar.

If you have any questions about the open day please contact us on +44 (0) 1478 470178 or [email protected]