Maclay History

Maclay has belonged to only three families throughout its proud 176-year history and Maclay continues to be under single family ownership to this day. The company was founded by James Maclay in Alloa in 1830. In 1870 he built the Thistle Brewery, which remained Maclay's headquarters until early 2001 when brewing ceased and the company refocused on its portfolio of pubs.

Production of Maclay ales in carried out by Belhaven Brewery in the UK and by Sleeman Brewery in Canada, with Maclay still retaining the rights to the recipes- just in case we ever feel the time is right to start brewing again!

Today, Maclay is proud to continue the traditions of quality and expertise, begun by James Maclay. Maclay is the proud owner of a great portfolio of pubs and hotels stretching from Balloch to St. Andrews and from country inns to traditional "locals".

Maclay Heritage - since 1830

The story of Maclay starts in 1830, seven years before Queen Victoria ascended to the throne, when James Maclay took over the lease of Mills’ brewery to establish Maclay of Alloa.

Little information is available about James Maclay. James was a native of Alloa. He was born in the early 1800’s and was employed as a clerk in the Devon ironworks as a young man. His first links with the brewing industry happened when he became an accountant at John Syme’s Brewery in Alloa.

In 1830 he became the lessee of Mills Brewery and Maclay was born. The company was originally known as James Maclay, Ale, Porter, Table and India Beer Brewer of Alloa. James Maclay established himself as a brewer of great repute over the next 39 years and in 1870, James built the Thistle Brewery, which is to this day, the home of the ales, which bear his name.

James Maclay died suddenly in 1875, leaving his two sons James and John to run the company. The Fraser family, licensed grocers and spirit merchants from Dunfermline took over Maclay in 1897. The company was registered as Limited Liability Company – Maclay & Company Limited in the same year.

1897 - 1910

Over the next few decades, Alexander Fraser developed his skills in brewing and selling techniques. Historians of brewing described Alexander Fraser as a man "who made a real science of the industry". So much so that Maclay gained an excellent brewing reputation by winning several brewing medals at Vienna in 1894, Newcastle in 1898 and two medals in Paris in 1900.

Maclay continued to expand and develop, taking premises in London and Aberdeen, as well as outlets in the North East of England. A fire in July 1910 unfortunately destroyed a lot of the brewery, and with it, many of Maclay’s archives were destroyed.

The wars, pre and post

The wars and post war meant great restrictions to brewing activities and Maclay was no exception. The numbers and types of beer brewed were restricted. At one point the Brewery produced an Oat Malt Pale Ale rather than its acclaimed Oat Malt Stout.

During the Second World War, the company’s London offices were destroyed during a bombing in 1941.

After the Second World War, restrictions in place meant that Maclay had difficulty in supplying their pubs in Northeast England. Maclay had to sell its pubs in the area to Hammond Brewery, who eventually became Bass Charrington Breweries. Bass acquired a share in Maclay too.

In recent years, the company has survived the many changes in the brewing industry and until 1999 was the largest independent brewery in Scotland. Maclay still remains under single family ownership to the present day, it has been owned by Matthews’s family since 1991.