BUILDING A BREWERY

SECURING THE PREMISES

On the thirteenth (unlucky for some, but hopefully not for us) of January 2020 we, Moonwake Beer Co, took hold of the premises 6A Tower St in Leith, 34m from the shore.

We would like to invite you all to join us on our journey, from career brewers to friends to starting our own brewery in the heart of Leith. Join us in our tears, joys, frustrations, and ultimately, brilliant beer, made with passion in a space and brewery you have seen develop, literally, from the ground up. 

We were determined to gain this premises after first visiting and falling in love with the location. Even though it was a wee bit smaller than we would have liked, working with a team of architects turned this problem into a golden opportunity. A mezzanine would be added to create floor space and the ultimately a viewing platform, so you can enjoy your beer while being part of the process and seeing exactly which tank it came from.

But before we could start on the mezzanine, we had to put our hardhats on and be demolition experts. We have to strip out the entire building, taking it back to a bare unit.

DEMO EXPERTS

We took hold of 6A Tower street filled with excitement. Then we walked into 6A Tower Street and wondered if we had made a mistake! The place was a mess! We had to take down old signage, a wooden office block and a complete brick structure where the toilets and kitchen were. We found all sorts of stuff, most of which we had to throw away, but we both kept a memento. Fin gained a Land Rover Alloy and Vinny gained a Bosch Services sign, which will adorn our lab. I could take you through everything we did step by step, but you’ll probably find it boring, it’s a ‘you had to be there moment’, so here are some facts and pics.

  • Whoever put the ceiling and ply board walls on could not drill a screw in straight.
  • We filled two 30 yard skips.
  • We moved approx. 12 tonnes of brick by hand...not fun.
  • We had no hospital visits, which is a hell of an achievement for Vinny!
  • The impact driver was awarded MVT (most valuable tool).
MASTER PAINTERS
We unleashed our inner Michelangelo during the March to June lockdown to create our brewery mural, though some doubted our painting skills.Our graphic designer, Greig Pirrie, designed us a fantastic template and it was up to us to make it happen. Even though a few people doubted our painting skills. Shout outs to David Heslop who helped us transfer the template to the wall, and to Connie Skinner whose freehand skills made the circle edges crisp.
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