Windswept Brewery throws party to celebrate 10th anniversary in style
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
WINDSWEPT Brewery celebrated its 10th anniversary in style by throwing a party to thank a portion of its most loyal customers.
The Lossiemouth-based brewery held an all-day event at its premises, with guests beating treated to live music, fresh food and being given the chance to sample soon-to-be-released beers.
A sell-out 200 crowd of people attended the event, which took place on Saturday, September 17.
Windswept founder Nigel Tiddy said: “It was a fantastic event and a lot of fun.
“There was a really good attendance, which we were happy with, and the vibe was great.
“There were lots of familiar faces, we probably knew most people, but there were a few tourists as well.
“I think the majority were locals who we have known so it was great to be able to thank people for the support they have given us.”
For Mr Tiddy, who founded Windswept with fellow former RAF pilot Al Read, the day was a chance to look back on a successful decade in business.
The brewery started out as the idea of two beer-lovers who regularly made home brews in a garage and has become a multi award-winning brewery which employs 12 members of staff.
Over the last 10 years, 60 members of staff have come through the doors of Windswept and countless awards have been won.
The brewery’s APA and Wolf won at the Scottish National Awards soon after forming and awards for Best Drink, Best New Product (Wolf of Glen Moray) and the Excellence Award at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drinks Awards were notably added in 2015.
Windswept opened its Tap Room – where part of the 10th anniversary event was held – in 2018 and was awarded a four-star Visit Scotland award for it and its tours at the end of 2021.
“The event was an opportunity to reflect on the 10 years that we’ve had,” Nigel added.
“It has been quite a journey. We had a look back at the numbers and we’ve brewed more than 1.5 million litres of beer and more than half a million bottles have been bottled.
“It was interesting to look back at the early days. We have had 60 people involved over the years and we wouldn’t be here without them.”
Two new beers were offered to guests, while they enjoyed food from The Big Orange, run by Mike McGarrie.
Seville Unrest and Redpoint, both set to be launched in October, were available for sampling, with both receiving good reviews.
Perhaps one of the day’s highlights, though, was the music.
Three local artists played at the event, starting off with Jamie Alsamarraie, before fourpiece The Barn Electric played an array of hits.
The Unforgiven, and frontman Stewart Evans, who is Windswept’s head brewer, stole the show late on.
“All artists had a very different vibe and all were fantastic,” Nigel added.
“The highlight was Stewart, who put on quite a show. There was a big build up and he had smoke machines, blow up guitars and fake microphones for crowd members.
“He has a good stage presence and the band were really good. They are experienced musicians who have played a lot of big gigs.
“Their rendition of ‘hit me baby one more time’ was the stand-out moment of the night!”
