When I wrote my 2021 book, Modern British Beer, I made the very intentional decision to put Fyne Ales irreplaceable Blonde Ale, Jarl, right at the beginning.
For me, it’s a beer that merges two schools of thought: that it is a modern beer, hopped with Citra imported from the Pacific Northwest, showcasing a bold, citrus fruit character, but one that is also a 3.8% cask beer, and at the same time feels resolutely anchored to British brewing tradition. Jarl, though, is not simply a modern British beer—it is a modern Scottish beer. Honestly, there is perhaps no beer experience that is resolutely more Scottish than to enjoy a pint at its source in Glen Fyne.
That was the inspiration for this particular discussion—an effort to take a closer look at what’s happening in the contemporary world of Scottish brewing. FyneFest, conveniently, provided the perfect place to chew on this topic and indeed it features Fyne Ales’ very own head brewer Sam Shrimpton. Also on the panel are two owners/brewers at two of Scotland's youngest breweries: Lucy Stevens of Closet Brewing in Edinburgh, and Harry Weskin of Dookit Brewing in Glasgow.
Listening to this episode, you’ll quickly realise that no one on the panel claims immediate Scottish heritage (although Harry is pretty damn close.) However, they are, each in their own way, vital to the local, independent beer community. It’s great to find out that the spirit that bound businesses together during the last resurgence of small breweries still exists today—in fact I’d argue it probably wouldn’t exist without it.
Tune in to hear two of the best young Scottish breweries talk about what they do, while perhaps one of the finest contemporary breweries to exist north of the border provides balance and context to this conversation.
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Tickets for FyneFest 2026 are available now, and we’ll be back hosting our panel talks and tastings for another year! Get your tickets here.