Stewart Brewing

Stewart Brewing was founded in 2004 – making it Edinburgh’s original modern-craft brewer.

But for co-founder Steve Stewart – who set up the business with his wife, Jo – the story goes back much further than that.

“It was gifted a home brewing kit for my 16^th birthday,” Steve says, “and my interest really grew from there.”

That interest led to a degree in brewing and distilling at Heriot Watt University followed by jobs at breweries in Scotland and Belfast. After passing his Master Brewer qualification, Steve then spent a year at Harpoon Brewery in Boston, USA.

“That’s really where the idea of starting a brewery of my own began,” he says. “Jo and I moved back to the UK and our garage became a 50-litre microbrewery. Seven years of recipe trials later, in 2003 we trialed our first commercial beers… and the rest is history.”

Stewart Brewing started small, with a staff of just two – Steve and Jo – and a line up of three cask ales. But from those humble beginnings, it quickly established itself as one of Scotland’s most successful and reputable breweries.

In 2013, operations moved to custom-built premises in Loanhead, just outside Edinburgh. Today the brewery employs 30 staff and produces a wide range of first class craft ales, lagers and limited edition beers.

“I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to build over the last 16 years,” Steve says.

“There have been many times our achievements as a brewery and a team have staggered me, and even to this day it gives me such a great sense of reward to see our products on shelves, in bars and at awards.”

“We are a brand that’s proud of our Scottish roots and try to represent that in all our products,” he adds.

“Our vision is to not only be synonymous as the original craft brewer in Edinburgh, but to also be contemporary, forward-thinking and a leader in our sector.”

Edinburgh Beer Box offers three great craft beers from Stewart Brewing – Radical Road; First World Problems; and Franz.

“Radical Road is our most award-winning beer,” Steve says, “winning World’s Best Pale Beer Bitter over 5.0% three times in the last seven years, most recently in 2017. This can is also the first to feature our new 2020 rebrand, with the rest to follow soon.

“First World Problems was originally the recipe of a competition winner, James Hardacre, who later joined the team and now manages our Craft Beer Kitchen,” he adds.

“We’ve perfected the recipe over the years and it’s now one of our most popular brews.

“Franz is a lager unlike any other, packing an unexpected punch with its American hop character.”