Cold Town

Cold Town Beer takes its name from Calton Hill, the Edinburgh landmark once known as "Caltoun" or Cold Town, where Britain's first lager was supposedly brewed in 1835. It's a neat piece of local history to hang a brewery on, and the Edinburgh roots run deep through everything Cold Town does.

The brewery launched in 2018 inside a former church in the Grassmarket, one of Edinburgh's most atmospheric corners. What started as a small-batch microbrewery quickly outgrew the space. By 2019, Cold Town had moved its main production to a larger facility on Dunedin Street and transformed the original church into Cold Town House, a bar and taproom with eight visible brewing tanks and a rooftop terrace with views across to Edinburgh Castle. It's become one of the city's more characterful drinking destinations.

Cold Town brews with 100% Scottish pale malt from Crisp Malt in Alloa and has built up a range of more than twenty styles. Their regular lineup spans lagers, IPAs, sours, and stouts, with limited-edition experimental releases under the LAB° and CO-LAB° series. A Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout won Beer of the Year at the 2025 London Beer Competition, and the brewery holds SIBA Indie Beer certification.

The alcohol-free entry is the AF Hopped Lager at 0.5% ABV, brewed with Cascade, Azzaca, and Citra hops. It sits in the same flavour territory as the brewery's regular lager: clean malt base, forward hop aroma, and a finish that carries some genuine bitterness. As AF lagers go, it punches above the category average rather than just being an afterthought, which is often the risk when a full-range brewery dips its toe in. Available on the Cold Town website, Amazon UK, and through independent specialist retailers.

The Collection

Hopped Lager 0.5%