The Caledonian Brewery was a brewery founded in 1869 in the Shandon area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was acquired by Scottish & Newcastle in 2004 and operated until 2022, when it closed after 153 years of production. The company dissolved in 2024.[1] The site is being developed for housing, with plans approved in 2025. It was locally known as just "the Cally".[2]
History
Early years
When it was founded in 1869, the brewery was named the Lorimer and Clark Caledonian Brewery, after its founders George Lorimer and Robert Clark.
George Lorimer was just 18 years old when his father (George Lorimer Snr.) died in a fire at Edinburgh's Theatre Royal in 1865. Young George was a keen golfer and member of the Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society - which met at the Golf Tavern and played on the adjacent Bruntsfield Links. It was through spending time at the Golf Tavern that George became friends with many of Edinburgh's leading brewers; including Thomas Aitchison, George Bernard and Robert Clark.