Belhaven Brewery is claimed to be Scotland’s oldest brewery, established in 1719 by John Johnstone in Dunbar, Lothian, Scotland. Its original two wells and some vaults in the brewery date from the 16th century.

In 1815 it changed its name to Dudgeon & Co. At this time, the “shilling” terminology was widely used to categorize beers in Scotland. The shilling term was originally an invoice price but was later useful as an indicator of ascending beer strengths. In 1846, with the arrival of railways, Dudgeons focused on producing malt for sale, while still producing small quantities of beer, particularly for the local and military trade. The malting portion of the company closed in 1970 and in 1972 the company changed its name to the Belhaven Brewery, with a brewery and seven tied public houses. See tied house system. This company was then sold to Clydesdale Commonwealth Hotels Ltd. There have been further owners; in 2005, with 275 tied public houses, it was sold to Greene King, based in Bury St Edmunds, England. See greene king.

As of 2010, the company still produced traditional cask ales and bottled beers at Dunbar within the Greene King Group including 80/- (Eighty Shilling Ale), which is one of its oldest and most traditional brands. The bottle beers are now packaged at the groups’ Bury St Edmunds site.

See also scotland.