Supporting Scotland’s Breweries

On Wednesday night I joined the Scottish Cross-Party Group on Beer and Pubs by visiting three craft breweries located in Leith to learn more about the brewing process as well as the challenges and opportunities of the beer and pubs sector.

I was impressed by the brewers’ knowledge, expertise, and the quality produced at the three breweries we visited:

Pilot Campervan Brewery Newbarns Brewery

The tour was followed up by a meeting between MSPs and industry representatives of the sector on Thursday.

Pub numbers have been slowly declining across the UK for decades but recent shocks, such as the pandemic, energy crisis and increased Employer National Insurance Contributions, have put our pubs under more pressure than ever before.

New Scottish Government measures that came into force on 31 March give Scotland’s tied pub tenants more rights and greater protection.

The Scottish Pubs Code also enables tied pub tenants to stock a wider range of beers beyond those supplied through the pub-owning business, providing more choice for customers, and supporting local breweries such as Arran Brewery.