Pilot Beer
Last updated 15 May 2026
Edinburgh's most consistently excellent craft brewery. Pilot started in a railway arch in Leith and has grown into one of Scotland's most respected modern breweries. Their lagers are the quiet standout — clean, crisp, and brewed with the kind of care that most Scottish breweries reserve for IPAs. Leith Juice (a hazy NEIPA) is the headline beer, but the Vienna Lager and Blonde are what you'll keep coming back to. The Leith tap room is one of Edinburgh's best drinking spots: industrial-chic, fresh tank pours, regular street food pop-ups. Everything Pilot makes is available direct from the brewery and from specialist bottle shops across Edinburgh.
Edinburgh's most consistently interesting craft brewery. Pilot doesn't chase fashion and doesn't apologise for the same beer twice — Leith Juice and Mochaccino Stout are permanent fixtures because they're outstanding. The tap room in Leith is small, honest, and worth the trip.
Tasting the flagship: Leith Juice (NEIPA, 6.2%)
Tropical fruit forward — mango, pineapple, citrus. Soft pillowy malt underneath.
Juicy and rounded; low bitterness, high hop flavour. Mouthfeel is the calling card — fuller than most NEIPAs at this ABV.
Soft, lingering tropical hop. Bitterness is whisper-quiet; sweetness is restrained.
Flavour profile
- hops4/5
- malt2/5
- bitterness2/5
- body3/5
- sweetness2/5
- abv3/5
Drinker-axis profile across the brewery’s core range, scored 0–5.
Rating breakdown
See how we score breweries for the full methodology.
Visiting
8 Bonnington Industrial Estate, Tennant Street, Leith, Edinburgh
EH6 5HF
- fri
- 16:00–22:00
- sat
- 13:00–22:00
- Glasgow
- 1h 15m · ~50 miles · M8 then Leith via Easter Road.
- Edinburgh
- 10m · ~2 miles · Down to Leith via Easter Road or Constitution Street.
Lothian Bus 16, 22, 35 to The Shore (Leith) — 8 min walk. Tram doesn't reach Leith yet.
Free street parking on industrial estate; full at peak Saturday afternoons.
Beers to try
Leith Juice
Hazy IPA · 6.2% · 30 IBU
Pilot's flagship and Edinburgh's most-recognisable hazy IPA. Soft, tropical, never aggressive.
Food pairing: Fish and chips, fried chicken, mature cheddar.
Mochaccino Stout
Coffee stout · 4.4% · 35 IBU
Single-origin coffee + cocoa nibs. Drinks much bigger than 4.4%. Among Scotland's best stouts at any ABV.
Food pairing: Chocolate desserts, smoked brisket, blue cheese.
Vienna Lager
Vienna lager · 5.2% · 22 IBU
Amber, toasted-malt, faintly bready. A reminder that craft brewers can make a proper lager when they bother.
Food pairing: Roast pork, schnitzel, hard cheese.
Peach Melba Sour
Fruit sour · 5% · 5 IBU
Peach, raspberry, vanilla. Tart but balanced — not in pastry-sour territory. Seasonal but back annually.
Food pairing: Brunch, soft cheese, summer salads.
Where to buy
| cask | keg | bottle | can |
|---|---|---|---|
No Pilot is a keg-and-can brewery only. | Yes Edinburgh craft taps; selected UK accounts. | No No bottling line. | Yes 440ml cans through the brewery shop and online. |
Format availability for the core range. Limited / seasonal releases may differ — check individual beer cards above.
Supermarkets: Limited — Pilot is independent-retail and online focused. Selected Tesco/Waitrose stores in Edinburgh stock Leith Juice in cans intermittently.
- Pilot online shopDirect · Edinburgh
Full range in mixed cases. Most reliable source.
- Cornelius Beer & WineOff-licence · Edinburgh
Easter Road independent — always has the Pilot core range.
- The Hanging BatBar · Edinburgh
Lothian Road craft bar; rotating Pilot tap.
- Honest BrewOnline retailer
Pilot mixed cases occasionally featured.
Direct delivery: Pilot Beer online shop · UK mainland · Free over £40
Food pairings
Pilot beers are mostly hop-forward — they cut fried food, salt, and aged cheese well. Mochaccino Stout is the outlier — give it dessert.
| Beer | Food | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Leith Juice | Fish and chips, fried chicken, mature cheddar | Tropical hop matches fried batter; bitterness cuts through salt. |
| Mochaccino Stout | Chocolate brownie, smoked beef brisket | Coffee notes amplify both cocoa and smoke. |
| Vienna Lager | Roast pork belly, Wiener schnitzel | Toasted malt is the Vienna match — works with anything roasted. |
| Peach Melba Sour | Goat's cheese salad, brunch | Tart fruit lifts creamy cheese and balances brunch sweetness. |
How it’s brewed
Modern craft with a backbone. Hop-forward but not stupidly bitter; clean fermentation; no shortcuts on conditioning.
Small — ~3,500 hl/year
~600,000 pints (2024)
American + New Zealand hops on the IPA stream. Single-origin coffee for Mochaccino. Maris Otter and Pilsner malt base.
- NEIPA / hazy IPA
- Stouts
- Sour ales
Visit the brewery
Small industrial-unit tap room on Tennant Street, Leith. Open Friday and Saturday afternoons. Beers from the tank; food trucks rotate.
- Tap room: Yes
- Parking: Yes
- Dog-friendly: Yes
- Wheelchair access: No
- Family-friendly: No
- Food on site: YesRotating food trucks; the brewery doesn't run its own kitchen.
60 min
Walk-in only. No formal tour; brewers will chat when not pouring.
90 min
Full brewery tour, 4 tastings, branded glass. Min 6 people.
Head brewer
Co-founder with Patrick Jones in 2013. Brewed the original Leith Juice in a single-vessel pilot system in their garage before scaling. Refuses to add lactose to anything.
Approach: Make beers we want to drink. Refuse fashion-chasing — no pastry stouts, no lactose IPAs, no contrived special editions.
Timeline
- 2013Founded by Patrick Jones and Matt Johnson in a Leith garage.
- 2014First commercial release of Leith Juice — became the flagship.
- 2016Moved to industrial unit on Tennant Street. Tap room opens.
- 2019Friend Zone collaboration series launches.
- 2023Mochaccino Stout wins SIBA Scotland gold.
Awards
- SIBA Scotland Gold (Mochaccino Stout)2023
- Scottish Beer Awards — Independent Brewery of the Year2021
- SIBA UK Silver (Leith Juice)2020
Live music & events
The Leith warehouse tap room runs community events and acoustic sessions roughly monthly, often tied to can releases or collaborations. The industrial space suits intimate gigs well. Check their social channels — events are announced a week or two in advance rather than on a fixed schedule.
Check what’s on →- Don't queue Saturday at peak (3-5pm). Go Friday 4-6pm — same beer, half the wait.
- The tap room often has experimental brews that never go to packaging. Ask what's pouring beyond the listed taps.
- Park on Constitution Street and walk 5 minutes rather than circling the industrial estate.
- Combine with the Saturday Leith Market 200m away — Pilot tap room + market = full morning.
Where to eat nearby
Best time to visit
Friday or Saturday afternoon when the tap room's open. Spring and autumn are quieter; summer Saturdays get busy with locals and tourists working the Leith brunch-and-beer circuit.
Weather: Indoor industrial-unit tap room with garage doors that open in summer. Edinburgh weather is irrelevant inside.
Pilot Beer FAQ
+Where is Pilot's tap room?
8 Bonnington Industrial Estate, Tennant Street, Leith (EH6 5HF). Open Friday and Saturday afternoons only.
+Can I tour the brewery?
Casual visitors can walk in to the tap room during opening hours. Formal tours need booking ahead via the website — minimum 6 people.
+Where can I buy Pilot beers in Edinburgh?
Best range: the online shop (mixed cases, free delivery over £40). Around town: Cornelius Beer & Wine on Easter Road, The Hanging Bat on Lothian Road, and select Waitrose/Tesco stores.
+Does Pilot do cask?
No. Pilot is keg-and-can only. If you want Pilot beer, look for it on craft-keg taps or pick up cans direct.
+Is the tap room dog-friendly?
Yes — well-behaved dogs welcome. Not really set up for small children.
Other City of Edinburgh breweries
Where to stay near Pilot Beer
Hotels, B&Bs, and self-catering within easy reach of Pilot Beer's tap room.
Booking links are affiliate links — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
At a glance
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Last updated 15 May 2026