Fire delays Arran Brewery hotel plans

Plans for Arran Brewery to open a hotel in Perthshire have suffered a blow.

A fire on Tuesday night at the Loch Earn Brewery Hotel in St Fillans has left considerable damage.

The blaze started in an extractor fan in a bathroom.

Fire services were quick on the scene and no one was injured but the smoke caused considerable damage.

Managing Director Gerald Michaluk said, “I am happy no one was hurt and I want to thank the fire service for their prompt response and action.

“Just literally a week away from opening our first phase of rooms this is not good news, and extensive damage means that we have had to temporarily close our bars, restaurant and coffee shop.

“Our Cider production facility was not effected and is still on schedule to start production when apples become available in the coming months.

“We are still assessing the extent of the damage but it has set back our plans and realistically it will be 2018 before we can open the accommodation most likely”.

The brewery has been slowly developing the site at Loch Earn to produce its Craft Lagers, Cider and has plans for Apple Brandy production.