Pilot

Microbrewery in Leith, Midlothian, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Associated with 2 Venues

Established in 2013

Contact
Unit 4B, Stewartfield, Leith, EH6 5RQ, Scotland
Description
Pilot was born when Matt Johnson and Patrick Jones met while studying for masters degrees in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University in 2012. 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 are Pilot.

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6.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 7
Bottle shared in London - thanks to Paul. Pours lightly hazy gold with a creamy, white head. Lots of basil in the nose, suggestions of tomato sauce, lemon and lime zest. Medium sweet flavour with lots of citrus peel, bitter pine, green herbs, dough. Light bodied with average carbonation and massaging carbonation. Lightly sweet on the finish, with more zesty citrus, pine, lemon. Not bad.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Apr 2016 at 13:04

8/10
Tried on 21 Apr 2016 at 12:59

7.1/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
On cask at Carter’s Tap. Appearance - very cloudy amber with a golden head. Nose - tropical and citrus going on. Maybe papaya. Taste - papaya and apricot. Orange on the finish. Palate - light to medium bodied with a creamy texture and a long dry finish. Overall - lovely beer. Lost points on appearance for being unfined but best thing on there today.
Tried from Cask on 21 Apr 2016 at 09:05

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
Cask-conditioned and unfined at the City Arms, Cardiff 3/4/2016. Golden and slightly hazy, with a decent, off-white, head. Aroma of tropical fruits and grassy hops, Flavour was sweetish, with more fruits, weetabix malts and a dryish finish. Good.
Tried from Cask on 11 Apr 2016 at 05:41

8/10
Oranges, mangos, clementines. Super soft malts. Really great apa. So clean. So damn good. Pine and pith. @Ale House.
Tried on 05 Apr 2016 at 23:36

6.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Hazy golden beer with a distinct basil/herb aroma, with just a dash of lemon cutting through it. Flavour reverses that a bit. There’s more prominence to the hop and citrus in the flavour but there’s still a herby dryness to it and it has a strong savoury quality to it. I’m not sure how to rate this one. I can’t lie and say I’d rush back for more but I’m really pleased to have tried it. Odd one though. This might match perfectly with some food but I’m not sure if I’d ever fancy it other than that.
Tried from Can on 29 Mar 2016 at 10:11

6.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Poured from keg at Junkyard, half-pint shared with Finn. Jet black body. Bright naked surface. Minimal lacing. Mocha smell, nicely roasted. Roasted black malty flavours with hints of cocoa and coffee. Prolonged ending. Likable mid-sweet stout (Saturday pub crawl in Nottingham 20.02.2016).
Tried on 19 Mar 2016 at 04:18

8/10
Tried on 18 Mar 2016 at 17:01

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
On tap at the Bow Bar, Edinburgh. Pours murky brown. Vanilla, caramel, biscuit, some nuts. Sweet.
Tried from Draft at Bow Bar on 13 Mar 2016 at 16:03

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
On tap at Brewdog Edinburgh. Pours orange with medium white head. Tropical fruit hoppy aroma, juicy. Caramel malts, toasted, sweetish, with lots of bitterness in the finish. Dry.
Tried from Draft at BrewDog Edinburgh Cowgate on 13 Mar 2016 at 13:02