Underground Rubble, Scottish Tales & a Tasty Pils: Beer #4980 in Edinburgh

From the Desk of JT, the Beer Logger (B-Logger)

Mission: 50 Beers to 5000
Beer #: 4980
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Beer: CoDE Pilsner
Brewery: Bellfield Brewery
Vibe: Underground history lesson meets casual beer tasting
Mood: Curious, amused, and happily subterranean

🍺 Beer #4980: Bellfield CoDE Pilsner (3.5)

Some beers you drink at a bar.
Some beers you drink on a patio.
And then there are beers you drink underground, surrounded by 200-year-old fire rubble, while a Scottish guide spins tales of ghosts, taverns, and vanished streets.

That’s how Beer #4980 entered the log.

The first draft pour of the night was Bellfield CoDE Pilsner, enjoyed while we waited for the rest of the group to assemble. Clean, crisp, and easygoing, this one felt right at home in a space built on history, stone, and mystery.

JT tasting thoughts (non-pretentious edition):

Drinkability level: High — very “one more while listening” friendly
Vibe check: Calm, balanced, quietly confident
Setting synergy: Shockingly perfect for an underground vault
JT rating: 3.5 (solid, reliable, and exactly what the moment called for)

This wasn’t a beer screaming for attention. It was a beer politely saying, “I’ll be here while you learn something cool.” And honestly? Respect. A solid effort from Bellfield Brewery.

🏛️ The Great Edinburgh Fire: History on Tap

Before we even cracked open cans, we cracked open history.

The Great Edinburgh Fire began on 15 November 1824 and burned for five straight days. By the time it was extinguished, most of Parliament Square and everything below it was gone. Entire closes, taverns, homes, and businesses were reduced to rubble — and then, very Edinburgh-style, quietly buried and built over.

During renovation works in 2019, a surprise waited beneath CoDE Hostel – The CoURT:
👉 a hidden basement, sealed off and forgotten for nearly 200 years.

Instead of ignoring it, Edinburgh did what Edinburgh does best — turned it into an experience.

So yes, we were drinking beer among the rubble of the Great Fire, and yes, that sounds like a JT party.

🧱 Lost Closes & Vanished Streets

Old maps don’t lie — they just sometimes disappear.

Before 1824, maps show:

Steil’s Close
Royal Bank Close
Hangman’s Close

After the fire? Gone.

All of these once fed into Old Fishmarket Close, which still exists today. The space we stood in had all the hallmarks of a true Edinburgh Close:

Gradual stone steps downward
Solid foundation stone
A clear archway guiding foot traffic toward Old Fishmarket Close

Can we say exactly which Close we were standing in?
No.

Can we say it was definitely a Close?
Absolutely.

Sometimes history doesn’t need labels — it just needs solid stone and good stories.

🧑‍🏫 Enter Mark: Our Guide to the Underground

Every great experience needs a great storyteller, and Mark delivered in full Scottish form.

Picture this:

Friendly Scottish accent ✔️
Plaid shirt ✔️
Proper beer belly ✔️
A CV that reads like the Edinburgh tourism hall of fame ✔️

Mark has been a tour guide longer than he can remember. When he’s not working at The Lost Close, he’s leading ghost tours — meaning he spends most of his life underground with spirits of one description or another.

And when he does surface into daylight?
Apparently it’s only long enough to scuttle down the street into a dark pub.

Honestly, relatable. I like this guy.

🍻 The Tasting Session: Scottish Cans, No Pressure

During the session, we sampled four Scottish canned beers, all of them solid, all of them enjoyable — and all of them intentionally unrated by JT.

Why?

Because sometimes it’s not about scores.
Sometimes it’s about listening, laughing, and letting the stories breathe.

The lineup included:

Campervan – Leith Juice (Session IPA)
Moonwake – Eighty Schilling
Vault City – Iron Brew
Campervan – Extra Black (Gluten-Free Nitro Porter)

Every beer added something different to the night, but the focus stayed where it belonged:
👉 history, atmosphere, and Scottish storytelling.

🛢️ Fire, Rubble & James Braidwood

A quick nod to the man who tried to save it all.

The fire was tackled by the newly formed fire brigade under James Braidwood, Edinburgh’s fire master at the time. It still took five days to control. Everything east of Parliament Square toward the Tron Kirk was destroyed.

The remains?
Quickly cleared to prevent further danger — and that clearing allowed Parliament Square to expand, while layers of history stayed hidden beneath.

Until beer found it again.

🍺 JT Final Thoughts

This wasn’t just Beer #4980.
It was a history lesson, a tasting session, and a reminder that context matters.

Drinking a pilsner in a bar is fine.
Drinking a pilsner underground, on top of centuries of forgotten Edinburgh, while a ghost-tour-guide-turned-beer-host spins tales?

That’s peak Having a blast, with beer!

Fun night. Cheers! 🍻