Lochiel Brewing opened in May 2015 and is self-financed by Ian Cameron in Mesa, Arizona. A couple unique things about Ian and Lochiel, Ian is a deaf professional brewer who gained experience from over 15 years of home brewing and three years volunteering at various breweries in the southwest. The other, Lochiel is the only Scottish brewery in Arizona, if not the southwest. Named for Cameron’s ancestral home in Scotland, Lochiel focuses on Scottish-style beers that have strong malt qualities.
The Scotch ale is a family recipe handed down through generations of a Cameron of Lochiel lineage and was developed over 300 years ago. Ian did much of the construction himself. He has a two-vessel 10-barrel full electric, brewhouse with several 7-barrel and 15-barrel fermenters and brite tanks focusing on the production of a range of Scottish-style beers. He brewed his first two batches of beer before the tap room open and immediately had buyers for it. Those funds were used to fund the tap room construction while he worked through all the regulatory hoops. Ian is very proud of the fact that he was profitable in their first year which is unheard of for more than 98% of breweries in the USA.
The brewery is located in a business park in east Mesa, AZ. The tasting room has several tables and a bar in the same room as the shiny new brewing equipment. They had nine of their own beers available and we tried them all. The beer tender was very friendly and offered that they have a no tipping policy because the owner believes in paying his workers a living wage. It is the place to try some unique types of beers.
Jacobite Heavy Scotch Ale at 12% is smoky, flavorful and smooth. Scotch Ale is again smoky and tasty. The Scottish Porter is between a Porter and a Stout and quite good. They do not have a kitchen but do offer snacks free of charge as well as nonalcoholic drinks. A nice selection of board and card games were available to play while we quaffed our ales. We also had a crowler to take home of the Narcocorrido, a nice Mexican Lager paying homage to the southern border town of Locheil, AZ. The word is Ian has his sights on expanding next door to add more capacity as well as starting a Scotch whisky distillery. We suggest you check this place out.
There is no nearby lodging noted. we suggest Uber my friends.
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