Uile-bheist
Full Highlands food & drink guide — distilleries, restaurants, where to stay, when to go.
The first new distillery built in Inverness for 130 years, on the banks of the River Ness in the city centre. A combined distillery and brewery — the owners call it a brewstillery — with a restaurant, taproom and hotel on the same riverside site, powered by an energy centre drawing on the river.
Inverness had no distillery for over a century and now has one you can walk to from the railway station. Uile-bheist — Gaelic for monster, and pronounced roughly Ewl-uh-Vesht — sits on the stretch of the River Ness where Saint Columba is said to have turned back a water beast in 565 AD, and the branding leans hard on that. Underneath it is a serious modern setup: Kaspar Schulz stills, proportionally tall with a boil bulb at the neck for extra reflux and a lighter spirit, wash fermented with the site's own brewer's ale yeast, 100% locally sourced barley, and an energy centre that takes heat from the river. Master distiller Drew Shearer came through Heriot-Watt. The tour range runs from a 75-minute walk-round to a full dinner package.
Visiting Uile-bheist
Ness Bank, Inverness
IV2 4SG
- Shop
- Café/Restaurant
- Parking
Tour options
75 minutes min
Guided tour of the distillery and brewery, then tastings of Uile-bheist lager and Colpach blended whisky. A £1.65 per-person booking fee is added at checkout.
The same guided tour by an accessible route through the distillery and brewery, with whisky and beer tastings. A £1.65 per-person booking fee is added at checkout.
Full guided tour, then a flight of four signature craft beers and a dram of the signature blended malt in the taproom. Booking fee added at checkout.
Guided tour and a shorter tasting of one beer and one malt, followed by a three-course dinner in the riverside restaurant. Booking fee added at checkout.
Full guided tour, the complete flight of four craft beers and the signature blended malt, then the three-course dinner. Booking fee added at checkout.
How it’s made
- Water source
- River Ness
Stills engineered by Kaspar Schulz, proportionally tall with a boil bulb where the body meets the neck for added reflux and a lighter spirit. 100% locally sourced barley, water from the River Ness, and a wash fermented with the site's own brewer's ale yeast. New make matured in handpicked ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks alongside other cask types. The site runs a sustainable energy centre drawing on the river.
Getting there
Inverness city centre, on Ness Bank about a 15-minute walk from Inverness railway station and bus station along the riverside.
Where to stay near Uile-bheist
The map is centred on Uile-bheist — set your dates on it, or go straight to hotels, B&Bs and self-catering through the providers underneath.
Booking links are affiliate links — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Location
Ness Bank, Inverness, IV2 4SG
View on map →Near Uile-bheist
Things to do nearby, from our sister site TripSCOT, which covers the day-out side. Distances are in a straight line from Uile-bheist, not by road.
- Inverness Museum and Art GalleryMuseumunder 1 km
- InvernessTownunder 1 km
- Culloden Battlefield Visitor CentreMuseum8 km
- BeaulyTown15 km
- Fairy Glen Falls, RosemarkieWaterfall15 km
- Cawdor Castle GardensGarden19 km
Nearest station: Inverness (under 1 km)
Frequently asked questions
+How much is a tour at Uile-bheist?
The Discovery Tour and the Accessibility Tour are both £33 per person. The River Ness Flight is £50, Taste of the Highlands £60 and the Signature Experience £80. A per-person booking fee is added at checkout on top of each of those, so check the total before you confirm.
+Can you walk to Uile-bheist from Inverness station?
Yes — the distillery is on Ness Bank in the city centre, roughly a 15-minute walk from Inverness railway station along the river. It is one of the few Scottish distilleries you can visit without a car.
+Is there a Uile-bheist single malt yet?
Not yet. The distillery opened in 2023 and the tours pour its Colpach blended whisky and its beers; it describes Colpach as the foundation of the future single malt. New-make spirit is no longer offered on the tastings.
+What is a brewstillery?
Uile-bheist's own word for the site: a working brewery and a working malt distillery under one roof, with a restaurant, taproom and hotel attached. Tours cover both the beer and the whisky side.
Other Highland distilleries
Oban
A tiny two-still distillery sitting right in the middle of the town it’s named after. Oban bridges Highland and West Coast island character — gently smoky, salty, fruity.
The Dalmore
The Highland distillery that appears on more end-of-year gift lists than any other. Dalmore is famous for heavy sherry-cask maturation and extremely serious prices at the top of its range.
Glenmorangie
Home to the tallest stills in Scotland — nearly five metres — which produces a notably light, fragrant spirit. Glenmorangie is one of the best-selling single malts in Scotland full stop.
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