Swannay Brewery

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

Established in 2015

Contact
Birsay, Swannay, KW17 2NP, Scotland
Description
The Swannay Brewery was founded by Rob Hill as Highland Brewing Company in 2005 in Moorhouses. Moved to Orkney in 2006. In 2015 the brewery rebranded from Highland Brewing Company to Swannay Brewery.

Our brewery is located on the northwesterly tip of Orkney’s mainland, a wind-battered area known as Swannay. Brewing in a rustic farmstead we’re in a unique location: showered in spray from the Atlantic Ocean in the winter and surrounded by fertile farmland in the summer.

Our founder Rob Hill - ever the collector - first came to Swannay Farm in 2003 looking to buy the old time clock. One year later, after being let-go from his then current head brewer job, he somehow bought the whole building complex and started to think about how to make beer at Swannay.

With no means or desire to purchase shiny new brewing plant Rob went on the hunt for something that’d been used before. He ended up with not one but three kits(!): a five brewers barrel (BBL), a 20 BBL and a 100 BBL.

Already with twenty-five years’ brewing in his boots Rob knew exactly what the first beer needed to be: Scapa Special, our flagship pale ale that still accounts for around a third of all we brew today. It wasn’t long before the five BBL kit was up to four brews a week using just three fermenting vessels. This was no mean feat considering Rob was also doing all the delivering, cask washing, sales, admin - literally all tasks involved in running the company - himself.

Around about 2010 Rob’s son Lewis returned home from university and (perhaps foolishly) started helping out at the brewery. The 20 BBL plant was soon ‘commissioned’ and production volumes continued to increase. Today a team of six comfortably brew Swannay’s range of modern classic beers four to five times a week.

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7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Cask at The Grill. It pours clear deep reddish - brown with a decent khaki head. The aroma is toasty, molasses, umami, liquorice, malt loaf, toasty, toothy, earth and cacao nibs. The taste is dry, bitter, toasty, toothy, cola, molasses, dried berry, malt loaf, light tannin, dried berries and raisin with a drying, toasty finish. Light+ body and soft carbonation. An interesting offering. Nice wi a dram on the side.

Tried from Cask at The Grill Aberdeen on 16 Jan 2026 at 11:13


Tried from Cask at Imperial (JDW) on 16 Jan 2026 at 09:38


7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

keg at cloisters ...hazy amber ...thin white lacing ... dry fruit ...long dry fruit ...dry pithy fruit

Tried on 06 Jan 2026 at 14:18


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6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Sample at the Red Lion (JDW)
Medium white head. Clear golden pour. Light bitterness

Tried from Cask at Red Lion (JDW) on 06 Jan 2026 at 09:42


8
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Can, gift from Mum. Hazy golden body with an off-white head. No visible carbonation. Faint lacing. Aroma of underripe peach and straw. Flavour of lemon and lime. Medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. Soft fizz. Bright and fresh, not as sweet and dank as most other NE style beers I’ve tried, but this is very good.

Tried from Can on 04 Jan 2026 at 21:26


7.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

cask at the bow bar ...deep red brown ..small tan head ...soft sweet caramel toffee malts ..soft sweet caramel toffee

Tried on 21 Dec 2025 at 15:39


Made for Cloisters

Tried from Cask on 19 Dec 2025 at 18:54


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6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Sweet stone fruit, wine gums & citrus tastes with a lightly hopped tangy finish.
Easy going Quaffer

Tried from Cask at Jolly Judge on 28 Nov 2025 at 10:30

gave a cheers!

5.5

Tried on 08 Nov 2025 at 13:04


7.6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Can from Appellation Wines. Pours hazy yellow gold with a thick white head. Aromas of lemon, pineapple and peach.
Taste adds melon and passionfruit. Fruity, light bitter finish.

Tried on 31 Oct 2025 at 17:22