There is perhaps no region more associated with the history of brewing in Scotland than that of Edinburgh and its environs. The brewing industry certainly contributed to Edinburgh's earned moniker of "Auld Reekie" so named due to all the smoke produced by coal and wood burning furnaces and boilers. This is evidenced by the fact that at the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries, Edinburgh had no less than thirty-five breweries churning out this smoke from its maltings and brewhouses. This haze may not have been so noticeable were it not for the denseness of the buildings and population in such proximity.
Two of Scotland's largest and most historic brewing firms were established in Edinburgh. William Younger started brewing in Leith around the year 1749, and went on to launch the Abbey and Holyrood Breweries. William McEwan founded his famous Fountain Brewery in the year 1856 and also became hugely successful. Long after their founders were gone, the two breweries eventually merged and ultimately became Scottish & Newcastle. Sadly, with the closing of the Fountain Brewery in the late 1990's, nothing is left of these once great breweries.