Pilot

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

Established in 2013

Contact
Unit 4B, Stewartfield, Edinburgh, EH6 5RQ, Scotland
+44 131 561 4267
getintouch@pilotbeer.co.uk
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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ianwelby
ianwelby (4878) ticked
Young Leith Steam from Pilot
11 months ago
6.4/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6
Tried from Can on 07 Sep 2025 at 17:51
ITFCDan
ITFCDan (2726) ticked
Young Leith Steam from Pilot
11 months ago
6/10
Tried from Cask on 26 Aug 2025 at 18:02
ITFCfan
ITFCfan (4119) ticked
Young Leith Steam from Pilot
11 months ago
6.1/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Tried from Cask at Peterborough Beer Festival (CAMRA) on 25 Aug 2025 at 13:49
allmyvinyl
allmyvinyl (21513) reviewed
Rosé Sour from Pilot
11 months ago
7.6/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 8
Can from Appellation Wines. Pours like fizzy rose wine with a short-lived head. Aromas are biscuit and tangy sour grape.
Taste is more of the same. Lovely balance to the tangy side and the malt.
Tried on 23 Aug 2025 at 15:58
McCash
McCash (16320) ticked
Lost Shore Lager from Pilot
1 year ago
Can from Appellation Wines.
Appearance - golden and clear, white head.
Nose - toast and generally grainy.
Taste - more of the same.
Palate - light bodied, dry and edge of astringency.
Overall - OK.
Tried from Can from Appellation Wines (Comely Bank) on 20 Aug 2025 at 22:36
Grumbo's photo of Young Leith Steam
Grumbo
Grumbo (25692) reviewed
Young Leith Steam from Pilot
1 year ago
6.5/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 5 Overall 6.5
Grumbo's photo of Young Leith Steam
20/8/2025. Cask at the 46th Peterborough Beer Festival. Nice pour. Toasted, resin, fruity, caramel aroma. Pretty decent.
Tried from Cask on 20 Aug 2025 at 13:05
ianwelby
ianwelby (4878) ticked
Summer Fruit Sour from Pilot
1 year ago
6.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 6
Tried from Can on 08 Aug 2025 at 17:34
ianwelby
ianwelby (4878) ticked
Elderflower Rice Lager from Pilot
1 year ago
6.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 6.5 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 6
Tried from Can on 01 Aug 2025 at 18:39
McCash
McCash (16320) reviewed
Summer Fruit Sour from Pilot
1 year ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 7 Aroma 7.5 Flavor 7.5 Texture 8 Overall 7
Can from Appellation Wines.
Appearance - cloudy amber to orange. Foamy, snow white head.
Nose - raspberry and red cherry. Light funk.
Taste - sour red fruits, mainly raspberry. Some creaminess from vanilla.
Palate - light bodied, tart and funky finish.
Overall - good example of the style.
Tried from Can from Appellation Wines (Comely Bank) on 26 Jul 2025 at 18:50
McCash
McCash (16320) reviewed
Elderflower Rice Lager from Pilot
1 year ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 7 Overall 7
Can from Appellation Wines.
Appearance - pale yellow and fairly clear. Thin white head.
Nose - peach and apricot, some herbs but not massive on the elderflower side of things.
Taste - sweet orange and peach again with elderflower following it in.
Palate - light bodied, sweet middle and dry finish.
Overall - interesting!
Tried from Can from Appellation Wines (Comely Bank) on 26 Jul 2025 at 18:19