McEwan's beer history began in 1856 when William McEwan founded the Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland. McEwan's merged with rival William Younger & Co to create Scottish Brewers Ltd in 1930 and in 1960 Scottish Brewers joined Newcastle Breweries to form Scottish & Newcastle (S&N).

In 2005 S&N closed the historic Fountain Brewery, transferring production to Edinburgh's Caledonian Brewery. Heineken acquired S&N in 2008 and in 2011 sold the McEwan's brand to Wells & Young's (subsequently Charles Wells / Eagle Brewery).

The Eagle Brewery and beer brands including McEwan's were acquired by Marstons PLC in 2017.

Marstons merged with Carlsberg in 2020. The Eagle Brewery was sold to the Spanish brewer Damm in 2022, with Carlsberg Marston retaining ownership of the brands.

Carlsberg's purchased the remaining Marston share in 2024, and Carlsberg Britvic was formed in 2025. McEwan's beer brands thus become fully owned by Carlsberg Britvic.

Production of surviving beers is now shared between Northampton and Burton, but all are listed here.