Craft Beer in Edinburgh: Bars, Tours & Bottle Shops

Edinburgh has quietly become one of the best beer cities in Britain. A cluster of independent breweries in Leith, a run of serious craft bars along Lothian Road and the Old Town, and a growing set of bottle shops and beer tours mean you can spend a whole trip drinking well without ever repeating yourself. This guide sorts the scene into three parts: the bars and pubs to drink in, the tours and experiences that add some context, and the bottle shops for taking beer home.

Every venue below has its own page with location, what to expect and practical tips. Use the cards to jump straight to a spot, or the comparison table to weigh them up by area, format and price.

Craft Beer Bars, Tours & Shops in Edinburgh

Compare Edinburgh Craft Beer Venues

Venue	Type	Area	Price
The Hanging Bat	Bar/Tour	Lothian Road	££-£££
The Bow Bar	Bar/Tour	Old Town	££
Salt Horse	Bar	Old Town	££
Fierce Bar	Bar	Rose Street	££
Brauhaus	Specialist	Tollcross	££
Cloisters Bar	Bar	Tollcross	££
BrewDog Lothian Road	Bar	Lothian Road	££
Campervan Brewery	Bar	Leith	££
Scot Beer Tours	Bar/Tour	Central	£££
Innis & Gunn Taproom	Specialist	Lothian Road	£££
Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival	Festival	Leith	£££
Beer Cave	Bottle shop	Comely Bank	££
Beer Hive	Bottle shop	Leith Walk	££
The Great Grog Bottle Shop	Bottle shop	Abbeyhill	££
Jolly Judge	Traditional pub	Old Town (James Court)	££
Bottle Barn	Bottle shop	Corstorphine	££

Two smaller spots are worth knowing without a full page of their own: the Jolly Judge, a tiny historic pub tucked down James Court off the Royal Mile with a short but well-kept beer list, and Bottle Barn in Corstorphine, a neighbourhood bottle shop handy if you are staying out west.

Must-Try Edinburgh & Scottish Beers

Wherever you drink, keep an eye out for a few beers that sum up the local scene:

• Mochaccino Stout by Pilot — a smooth coffee milk stout from the Leith brewery, and a good introduction to Edinburgh dark beer.
• Cranachan Killer by Fierce — a fruited sour built around the flavours of the classic Scottish raspberry-and-cream dessert.
• Irn-Bru Sour by Vault City — a bright, tongue-in-cheek sour nodding to Scotland other national drink.
• Punk IPA by BrewDog — the beer that kick-started the modern Scottish craft boom, still on taps across the city.

How Much Does Craft Beer Cost in Edinburgh?

Expect to pay roughly £5.50 to £7 for a pint of craft beer in most Edinburgh bars, with stronger or more experimental beers priced higher and often served in smaller measures. Craft costs more than mass-market lager because independent breweries work in smaller batches, use more expensive hops and malt, and price for quality over volume. If a beer is above about 6% ABV, many bars will pour it as a two-thirds schooner or a half rather than a full pint.

Two measures worth knowing: a schooner is a two-thirds pint, a useful size for stronger beers, and a taster is a small sample most craft bars will happily pour so you can try before committing to a full glass.

How to Choose Where to Drink

If you want traditional cask ale, head for the Bow Bar or Cloisters. For modern draught craft that changes constantly, The Hanging Bat and the BrewDog and Fierce bars are the reliable picks, with Fierce the best for tasting flights. To drink at the source, make the trip out to Campervan in Leith. If you would rather learn as you go, book Scot Beer Tours or the Innis & Gunn Brew School, and if you are travelling in summer, the Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival packs dozens of breweries into one weekend. To take beer home, the bottle shops — Beer Cave, Beer Hive, Salt Horse and The Great Grog — cover everything from mixed cases to growler fills.