IT’S a reasonable excuse to have a drink.

Traquair is celebrating 50 years of brewing by bringing out a special ale.

Just 20,000 bottles of Traquair 50, packaged in a specially designed bottle, have been produced.

The first beer was brewed at Traquair back in 1965 after Peter Maxwell Stuart, 20th Laird of Traquair came upon an extraordinary discovery in the 18th century wing of the house.

A complete brew house and tun room had been left untouched for over a century and used as the family junk store.

Having uncovered the vessels, cleaned and restored the equipment he decided to try his hand at brewing.

Together with his friend Sandy Hunter, then owner of Belhaven Brewery, they came up with a recipe for a traditional “wee heavy”, the original Traquair House Ale. The beer was first brewed in 1965 and is still brewed there now.

To celebrate the half century of brewing, Peter’s daughter, Catherine Maxwell Stuart, who now runs the brewery, came up with the Traquair 50.

With an ABV of nine per cent this is not a beer to be taken lightly but promises to be a smooth dark and well balanced ale,” she said. “We have had a tradition of producing 'specials’ down the years which have become collector’s items and the Traquair 50 will be no exception. The oak fermentation gives our ales a depth and complexity that gives our beers their unique character. With a guaranteed shelf life of 10 years, you can keep this bottle in your cellar for some time!” The Traquair 50 is available from Traquair House, which is open daily until the end of October, and from selected independent retailers.