Beer in Edinburgh

The history of beer in Edinburgh is perhaps the lengthiest of any region of Scotland. Throughout the history of Edinburgh, brewing takes its place as one of the most important and oldest industries. The origin of brewing goes back to the 12th century monks of Holyrood Abbey, who took advantage of the clear spring water for the production of their ale.^[1] The brewing industry certainly contributed to Edinburgh's earned moniker of "Auld Reekie" so named due to all the smoke produced by coal and wood burning furnaces and boilers. This is evidenced by the fact that at the turn of the 20th century, Edinburgh had no less than thirty-five breweries churning out this smoke from its maltings and brewhouses. This haze may not have been so noticeable were it not for the density of the buildings and population in such proximity.^[2] There are two lists below, one for defunct and one for operational breweries & microbreweries in Edinburgh. All breweries listed have an EH postcode.

Operational breweries

Name	Location	Established	Website	Notes
Alechemy	Livingston	2012	http://www.alechemybrewing.com/
Archerfield Ales	Archerfield Estate, Dirleton	2012	http://www.archerfieldwalledgarden.com/brewery/	Brewed by the Knops Brewing Company
Barneys Beer	Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh	2012	http://www.barneysbeer.com/
Black Metal Brewery	Bilston Glen Industrial Estate	2014	http://www.blackmetalbrewery.com/	Currently brewing at Top Out Brewery
Caledonian Brewery	42 Slateford Rd, Edinburgh	1869	https://www.caledonianbeer.com
Innis & Gunn	-	2003	http://www.innisandgunn.com/	Brewed in Glasgow at Wellpark Brewery
Knops Brewing Company	Archerfield Estate, Dirleton	2012	http://www.knopsbeer.co.uk/
Liquid Brewery	-	2013	http://www.liquidbrewery.co.uk/
Natural Selection Brewing	-	2011	http://www.naturalselectionbrewing.com/	Brewed by students from Heriot Watt University Stewart Brewing
Pilot Brewery	Jane St, Edinburgh	2013
Stewart Brewing	42 Dryden Rd, Loanhead	2004	http://www.stewartbrewing.co.uk/
Top Out Brewery	6 Dryden Rd, Loanhead	2013	http://www.topoutbrewery.com/

Closed breweries

Name	Established	Closed	Notes
McEwans	1856	2008	Bought out By Heineken in 2008, then by Wells & Young's Brewery in 2011[3]
Youngers	1778	1931	Merged with McEwans

See also

• List of breweries in Scotland

References

1. Edinburgh in the 1950's. Jack Gillon. 1988. Retrieved 29 Jul 2014.
2. "Edinburgh's Real Ale Breweries". CAMRA. 1999. Retrieved 15 Dec 2013.
3. "Fountain Brewery The home of Edinburgh's Beers". John D Martin. 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-06-21. Retrieved 29 Jul 2014.