A Capital Brew

Edinburgh is steeped in history, but its craft beer scene and a new generation of brewers – is also capturing the spotlight

- MIKE WADE

IT first glance, Vessel hardly seems like a typical Edinburgh pub. Outside, on the menu board, “The best local beers” are modestly advertised alongside small food plates like skewered hake and slow-cooked pork belly.

Inside the Georgian doorway, in the olive-green calm of the neat interior, the Friday afternoon crowd, pairs and foursomes quietly chat over their beers or a glass of wine, lingering a while before leaving for home. This, apparently, is not the place to come for a night on the lash.

Vessel, owned by the local Pilot brewery, is the latest manifestation of Scotland's craft beer industry, and on this showing it seems a prosperous if understated trade, as independent breweries reach out to increasingly discriminating and knowledgeable consumers.

Nationally, beer sales are down, but the pub trade is far from doomed, insisted Sam Dick, who is responsible for Pilot’s sales.

“It's the ‘pub every night’ thing that’s dying,” he explained. “People are coming in maybe twice a week and getting themselves a decent glass of wine, or a really nice beer.”

Craft beer, he suggests, is perfectly placed to meet the public’s maturing tastes.

In its showpiece bar, fine wines and spirits are on offer alongside Pilot’s entire range of beers - eight on tap, another 12 in cans.

A tasting menu recommends pairing the finest beers with specific whiskies, with, say, a half of stout and a 10-year-old whisky setting you back £9.70.

The brewery’s thinking is increasingly typical of the craft industry, with every independent striving to distinguish its “craft” ales from the bland brands of the giant brewing multinationals.

A mile away, another local firm, Cold Town, has its impressive Cold Town House bar, flower-covered and climbing up out of the Grassmarket towards the castle like some great botanical lighthouse.