Tuggy Noble grows up on the Achadunan Estate, a farm in rural Glen Fyne, Argyll. The 4500-acre estate includes a salmon river, peat-rich hills, habitat for wild red deer and grazing land for a herd of highland cows.
In her teens, Tuggy moves to London where she eschews the debutante lifestyle and meets Jonny Delap, an English businessman. They are married in 1967, and raise two sons, Jamie and Michael in Hampshire.
After health-related early retirement, Jonny and Tuggy return to Glen Fyne with the aim of finding a new purpose for the family estate to create jobs, tourism and industry. On Tuggy’s suggestion, they begin the process of converting a former dairy building into a brewery.
A two-vessel British brew kit is installed, and Fyne Ales’ first head brewer is recruited. The first Fyne Ales recipe is designed – a traditional full-bodied amber called Highlander is brewed on St Andrew’s Day, 30 November 2001.
With the need to dispose of spent grain from the brewing process, Tuggy revives the estate’s farm with four highland cows and one heifer, the beginnings of new herd.
The brewery continues to grow, both in reputation and demand. Increasing popularity around Scotland sees Tuggy tackling cross-country deliveries with her trusty Land Rover and trailer.
Two further core beers are introduced, Maverick and Vital Spark, and Fyne Ales wins its first handful of beer awards, including Gold in SIBA Scotland competitions and a Bronze in CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain.
Fyne Ales recruits a new head brewer, Wil Wood, who designs a recipe for a new core pale ale, Avalanche.
In 2009, Founder Jonny Delap sadly passes away after prolonged ill health, his son Jamie returns to Scotland to assume the role of Managing Director.
150 visitors attend Fyne Ales’ first summer festival in June 2010. The first FyneFest is marked by the launch of a new session beer showcasing American hop, Citra. Jarl quickly becomes a brewery and community favourite.
Renovations take place to convert a former grain store into a Brewery Tap & shop. Powered by solar energy, the tap opens to the public for the first time in summer 2012.
Continued success in national awards increases demand for Fyne Ales beers; with the brewery operating at max capacity (14,000 litres per week), options are explored in building a new brewhouse.
We undertake a successful river-restocking project to increase salmon numbers which dwindled due to overfishing.
The new Fyne Ales brewery, featuring a state-of-the-art, 6500 litre, all-British brew kit is installed into a converted sheep shed across from the Brewery Shop & Tap. Maximum capacity extends to 100,000 pints per week.
Jarl wins the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) Overall Champion award in 2015.
In late 2016, Fyne Ales begins work on the Achadunan deer farm project, establishing a herd of over a hundred red deer over the winter months.
Origins Brewing launches in late 2017 as a showcase for small-batch experimental beers brewed in the original brewery designed to celebrate Fyne Ales’ unique provenance.
Fyne Ales wins ‘Beer Destination of the Year’, ‘Beer Event of the Year’ and ‘Innovation of the Year’ at the Scottish Beer Awards in 2017 and 2018.
FyneFest 2018 is the biggest in the event’s history, welcoming over 2500 visitors and pouring beer from over sixty UK and European breweries in June 2018.