Menstrie is a town in the area of Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It is about 5 miles (8 kilometres) east-north-east of Stirling and is one of a string of communities that, as a result of their location at the base of the Ochil Hills, are collectively referred to as the Hillfoots Towns or merely The Hillfoots. The residents of Menstrie once refined woollen from sheep farmed on the Ochils. In 1800, entrepreneurs from Tullibody set up a carding and also spinning mill on the east side of the Menstrie Burn to manipulate its soft water and also power, missing from their very own village. In the early 19th century a straight road was built on the flat ground of the carse or floodplain to by-pass the old Hillfoots Road as well as boost the transport of items to and from the Hillfoots towns. Menstrie's Long Row as well as Ochil Road rest on the old course along the foot of capitals. The new roadway, currently the A91, came to be an emphasis for building of churches, residences, mills and shops. By the mid-19th century, the Elmbank and also Forthvale mills were in business on either side of the Menstrie Burn. In 1841, Menstrie's population had to do with 500 yet had increased to greater than 900 by 1881. In the 1860s a company, which included the proprietors of local mills and a distillery, funded a branch railway line through Menstrie to a terminus in Alva. This signed up with the old North British Railway (N.B.R.) line between Alloa as well as Stirling at Cambus. Menstrie had its own guest station at the North end of Tullibody Road. Almost nothing of the station stays as well as the train branch line, which continued to bring products after the Beeching Axe, fell under disuse throughout the mid-1980s in favour of road transport. The Glenochil Distillery had actually opened in the middle 18th century on the site of the Doll Farm to the eastern of the town, beside the Dams Burn. Production has continued on this site for more than 250 years though manufacturing of whisky quit around 1930. Yeast, originally a byproduct of whisky fermentation, had gradually come to be the main product and also went for manufacture of whisky and bread. Soft water, locally offered, is still valuable. A comprehensive bound stockroom location stays for storage space of whisky as it grows in barrels before bottling, while bakers' yeast has actually paved the way to fermentation items derived from yeast. The whisky and also yeast companies are currently run by separate companies, particularly Diageo, (successors to Distillers Company) and Kerry Group. The latter performs product development in addition to producing at the Menstrie site. Elmbank Mill, Menstrie in March 2010. The Forthvale Mill no more stands however the Elmbank Mill, having actually been used for some years as workplaces by the Water Board, now houses small businesses. A furnishings factory, The Charrier, stood near the Menstrie Burn however was damaged by fire in about 1968. A road close by now bears its name. In the mid-20th Century, Menstrie (pop. 1200 - 1300) was residence to family members whose menfolk worked the Clackmannanshire Coalfield and various other mines in Central Scotland. As the mining and also textile markets have declined, Menstrie has actually come to be a traveler dorm, spreading over the nearby farmland. At the Censuses in 1991, 2001 and 2011, Menstrie's population was 2274, 2083 and also 2804 specifically. For 2016, the population was approximated as 2872.