BrewDog Edinburgh

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

Considering you are essentially entering a life-size advert when you step through the door of a Brewdog bar, the experience is surprisingly enjoyable. The carefully styled surroundings are rough-hewn concrete cool, with ‘bar rules’ graffiti (‘No Football! No Shots! No Stella!’) scrawled on the walls like irreverent drinkers’ in-jokes. The numerous pumps are mostly stocked with distinctive Brewdog beers, with ABVs varying between 2.8 and 10 per cent and names like Hops Kill Nazis and Tactical Nuclear Penguin. If you’re tired of more conventional Scottish nips, the menu stretches right to a 41 per cent Sink the Bismark. The rapidly expanding Brewdog empire speaks for the popularity of their range, but others are given a chance too – four rotating guest beers are on tap, with customers able to vote for the contents of one pump. The kitchen does a short list of choices well, with faultless pizzas and good-quality, beer-absorbing cheese and ham plates.

• High point: A whole new way of looking at beer
• Low point: The pints might be cheeky but they’re not cheap