Eskbank Brewing

Eskbank Brewing Company is a new independent brewery based in Eskbank, Midlothian, just south of Edinburgh. The brewery launched in 2026 from premises at the Hardengreen Industrial Estate, taking over the brewery and taproom previously occupied by Cross Borders Brewing. Rather than starting from an entirely new site, Eskbank has therefore inherited a brewing space with an existing connection to the local beer community, giving the new brewery an immediate home in an area with a growing independent brewing scene. The brewery is owned and led by Sam Blumers, who brings experience gained from working in breweries and distilleries around the world to his own brewing project.

The location is particularly appropriate for a brewery carrying the Eskbank name. Eskbank sits within Midlothian's historic brewing and agricultural landscape, close to Dalkeith and only a short distance from Edinburgh. The wider area has a long association with brewing, with Dalkeith historically home to several breweries, including the old Dalkeith Brewery operated by McLennan & Urquhart from the nineteenth century. Although Eskbank Brewing is an entirely modern operation with no direct continuity from those historic breweries, its location places it within a part of Midlothian where brewing has been an important local industry for generations. Today, it forms part of a new generation of small independent breweries developing around Edinburgh and the surrounding Lothians.

Sam Blumers' brewing philosophy combines traditional craftsmanship with inspiration gathered from modern brewing and distilling. His experience across different parts of the drinks industry gives Eskbank an unusually broad starting point for a new brewery, rather than tying it to one particular national brewing tradition. The emphasis is on making carefully considered small-batch beers while retaining the freedom to experiment, allowing the range to develop naturally as the brewery establishes itself. This is very much a contemporary independent brewery rather than a producer attempting to recreate a single historical Scottish beer style.

The brewery's taproom reopened in June 2026, initially offering three beers brewed by Eskbank alongside guest ales and ciders. Its presence in the former Cross Borders premises also means that Eskbank has inherited a functioning taproom environment as part of its launch, allowing the brewery to develop a direct relationship with local drinkers alongside its packaged beer. That local focus is important for a brewery of this scale: rather than being built immediately around national distribution, Eskbank has the opportunity to establish its identity through the people drinking its beers at the brewery itself and across the Edinburgh and Midlothian beer scene.

Eskbank Brewing is therefore very much a new chapter rather than an old brewery revived under a new name. The company itself was incorporated in January 2026, and the brewery is still in the early stages of establishing its range and defining its house style. What makes it interesting is the combination of an experienced brewer, an established brewing location and a deliberately open approach to beer. Based in Eskbank but close to Edinburgh, it is part of the continuing growth of independent Scottish brewing, with the freedom to draw on influences from across the international beer and drinks industry while developing beers with a distinctly local home.