Pilot was born when Matt Johnson and Patrick Jones met while studying for masters degrees in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in 2012, and it’s still just the two of us. A shared view that there was something different to be done in brewing – not traditional real ales, but not just another U.S. craft beer clone either – led to home-brewing together, which eventually led to buying a second-hand brewhouse and moving to the heart of cosmopolitan Leith, commencing brewing right at the end of 2013.

We’ve never done things the easy way. We dismantled the plant ourselves. We moved it to Leith and rebuilt it ourselves. We dug out the drainage (pro-tip: pay real men to do that), installed the flues and built the cooling system ourselves. We design, brew and drink the beer ourselves. We even did the logo, artwork and THIS BLOODY WEBSITE ourselves. We are Pilot.

Not taking the easy road runs through everything we do.  The coffee in our Mochaccino Stout isn’t supermarket instant, but beans roasted and ground to our exact specifications, the cocoa a mix of raw and roasted organic nibs. The 50% malted oat mash for Blønd is, frankly, a swine. There are no shortcuts to the results we want. It’s hard work, it takes time and it’s expensive. But it’s worth it.

Buy Pilot beers online.