John O'Groats Brewery & Tap Room

John O'Groats Brewery & Tap Room is a small craft brewery based in John o' Groats, Highland, at the far northern tip of mainland Scotland. It was founded in 2015 by three keen home brewers — Allan, Simon and John — who teamed up with local hotelier Andrew to establish a 4-barrel brewery in the village's Old Fire Station. The brewery began by producing a range of cask ales, selling bottles locally before distributing across the north of Scotland. In 2019 it expanded into the Last House, the oldest surviving building in John o' Groats, dating back to before 1700 AD and traditionally associated with descendants of Jan de Groot, after whom the village is named. There the company installed a new brewery, bar and visitor centre, creating a destination tap room just yards from the famous John O'Groats signpost. The brewery's beers include its debut offering First Footing and the silky smooth Deep Groat, alongside a varied selection of flavourful ales. Its branding emphasises the dramatic coastal location — 'Brewed by the elements' and 'Enjoy a taste of the most northern headlands' — and the business operates an online shop, welcomes visitors to the Last House, and supplies stockists where its beers can be enjoyed on draught or bought in bottles. As a small independent producer, it remains privately owned and closely tied to the local tourism and hospitality economy of the far north of Scotland.

John O'Groats Brewery & Tap Room grew out of a shared home-brewing hobby. Allan, Simon and John had been keen individual home brewers for many years, starting with shop-bought kits and progressing to all-grain brewing using cobbled-together ranges of pots and pans in their kitchens and garages. The three combined forces with local hotelier Andrew and set up a 4-barrel brewery in the Old Fire Station in John o' Groats in 2015. From there they started producing a range of cask ales, initially selling bottles locally and then distributing across the north of Scotland. In 2019 the business expanded into the oldest building in John O' Groats, known as the Last House, installing a new brewery, bar and visitor centre. The Last House dates back to before 1700 AD and is the oldest surviving building in the village; it is known to have housed descendants of Jan de Groot, after whom the village of John O' Groats is named. When first constructed the cottage had a thatched roof; in 1913 the thatch was completely removed and replaced with Caithness slates, which are still in place today. Over time the building underwent modernisation, but renovation works uncovered some of its history: the interior was stripped of modern ceilings, partition walls and plaster to reveal the original structure and several hidden treasures. In the East end room, stripped walls revealed that part of a ship's ribs had been used along with stone in the building of the cottage, with around 30% of the North wall built from timber that remains in perfect condition. The brewery's location at 58.6373° N, 3.0689° W places it at the northernmost headland of the UK mainland, a fact central to its identity and marketing. The company operates an online shop, a tap room and visitor centre at the Last House, and supplies stockists where its beers are available on draught or in bottles.

• 2019

  The brewery expanded into the Last House, installing a new brewery, bar and visitor centre.

• 2015

  Allan, Simon, John and local hotelier Andrew set up a 4-barrel brewery in the Old Fire Station in John o' Groats.

Small-batch craft brewery and visitor destination at the northernmost tip of mainland Scotland, emphasising place, heritage and coastal character.

• First Footing

  The brewery's debut offering.

• Deep Groat

  A silky smooth ale.

1. 1Home | John O' Groats Brewery | Brewed by the elementsjohnogroatsbrewery.co.uk
2. 2Story | John O' Groats Breweryjohnogroatsbrewery.co.uk
3. 3John O'Groats Brewery & Tap Roomwikidata.org