Bellfield Brewery and Edinburgh Tradfest have got together to brew a beer to mark the start of the Tradefest music festival today (2 May).
Called 2025 Edinburgh Tradfest, the classic Czech pilsner lager will be available on draft in the Traverse Bar and various other venues across Edinburgh during the 11 days of the music festival.
The beer went into production at the start of March when Edinburgh Tradfest launched this year’s programme at the Bellfield Brewery Taproom and when award-winning musicians Beth Malcolm and Heather Cartwright sang a few songs in the brewery to get the fermentation process underway.
The Brewery explain the reason for the music, saying that “research published by the US National Library of Medicine suggests that playing music to beer during the fermentation process can influence the final product, as the living organisms in the yeast used in the production, are thought to respond to sound, making it grow faster, produce more alcohol and enhance the aromas”
Alistair Brown of Bellfield Brewery said, “The Tradfest launch event at the Bellfield Taproom provided a wonderful preview of what is to come in the full programme. We are delighted to be working with Soundhouse on Edinburgh Tradfest 2025 and the Bellfield team is looking forward to tasting the ‘tunes infused’ beer at the Traverse.”
Douglas Robertson, co-producer of Edinburgh Tradfest said: “Our friends at the Bellfield Brewery have been very supportive of Soundhouse for the past three years, but this is the first time we’ve actually been able to get involved in the brewing process. I’m especially fond of their Bohemian Pilsner, so it was a treat for me to actually be able to have an input in the creation of the Edinburgh Tradfest Lager. Great music meets great beer. What more could you ask for?”
Edinburgh Tradfest 2025 is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, and the William Grant Foundation.