Town brews first beer in 100 years

The first commercially made beer to be brewed in St Andrews in over a century has been launched, with St Andrews Brewing Co. celebrating the opening of its new brewery.

Launching on Saturday 19th of July in 3 different formats, St Andrews (Very) Special is a deep gold, hoppy, imperial pale ale that comes in at 7% abv.

20 individually numbered limited edition one litre ‘magnum’ bottles are up for grabs, which are hand painted by local artist Susan McGill and signed by St Andrews Brewing Co. founder Bob Phaff & Luvians Bottleshop manager Archie McDiarmid.

Bottle number 1 is to be presented to St Andrews Musuem and kept for posterity and bottle number 2 will be auctioned for a local charity, while the remaining eighteen special edition bottles will be available for sale exclusively at Luvians Bottleshop and St Andrews Brewing Co. Taphouse.

A small batch of limited edition 330ml bottles which will be available at Luvians Bottleshop – a local wine, spirits & beer specialist – and other selected beer specialists across Scotland.

There will be a special launch & tasting at Luvians at 5pm on Wednesday 23 July. At this time the Bottle No 1 will be presented to a representative of St Andrews Musuem.

As a thank you for the many fans & supporters of his beers, on the 25 June, the day of the first brew, Bob opened the doors of the new brewery on the banks of the Kinnessburn, just a few minutes’ walk from the centre of town, so the public could tour the new facility and bear witness the inaugural brew.

Speaking about the historic nature of the beer, St Andrews Brewing Co founder and head brewer Bob Phaff said: “On my first night in St Andrews, just over 2 years ago, I asked at a pub for a pint of their local beer. There wasn’t one at the time so I decided to make my own.

“St Andrews Brewing Company was registered that same night, but I had no idea how long it had been since there was an active brewery within the town itself.

“I have been brewing at a site in Glenrothes while looking for a suitable location in St Andrews and it was only when I signed the lease on the new brewery that I did some more digging and discovered that the Argyle Brewery, which was based on Argyle St, not far from the our new brewery, ceased brewing in 1901.

“I’m exceptionally proud to make the first beer brewed commercially within the town for over a century.”