Caledonian Brewery, Slateford Road, Edinburgh

The Caledonian Brewery complex, located on Slateford Road in Edinburgh, was developed in phases from the late 19th century into the early 20th century. It represents a very complete example of a medium-sized brewery, encompassing offices, maltings with a double kiln and a double barley kiln, a brewhouse, a chimney, and various ancillary buildings. The main ranges are constructed of red brick with white brick dressings, and some areas are whitewashed.

The office block is a two-story structure facing the road, extending to three stories at the rear. The road-facing elevation has three bays, built with squared and stugged cream ashlar sandstone. A panelled door is centrally positioned, featuring a rectangular plate glass fanlight, flanked by bipartite windows, all beneath projecting eaves. Blank, gabled end elevations also have projecting eaves.

The maltings consist of a single-story-and-attic, seven-bay front facing the road. The construction is in bright red brick, topped with a cornice and parapet. A central architraved door is accompanied by flanking narrow rectangular lights, and a semi-circular window is situated in the gable above. Blind arcades with oculi are positioned above the piers, and three-light corniced dormers are set behind the parapet. The end elevations are single bayed, each featuring a semi-circular window in the gable. The maltings bridge over a service road below and adjoin an earlier, mostly four-story, eight-bay malting range to the rear, which incorporates a kiln to the north. The rear range features regular, graduated fenestration, with leading bays in the fifth and eighth bays from the left.

Internally, the maltings contain cast-iron columns supporting wooden floors, although some alterations have been made, including widening and strengthening.

The barley kiln is connected to the malting kiln via a three-story linking block. The brewhouse range comprises a four-story block with a three-bay gable facing the railway. A two-story, three-bay range connects to a five-story, two-bay water tower with a gabled hip roof. A tall, circular-sectioned chimney is attached to the boiler house.

Ancillary buildings include a single-story bottling and despatch store located to the north of a bowling green, in addition to an altered stable range. Several interesting pieces of original equipment remain, including three coppers and a boiler. The offices feature timber sash and case plate glass windows, while other buildings have timber casement windows. The roofs are covered in grey slate, and moulded brick skews are present.

Boundary walls comprise dwarf rubble walls with ashlar coping and cast-iron railings that front the road, and are linked by full-height rubble walls with semi-circular coping.