The big surprise of a recent trip to Edinburgh was how much space the bottle shops were devoting to beer. It shouldn't have been: Edinburgh has always been a great beer city – it once had 40 breweries – and is undergoing a rejuvenation with bars such as the Hanging Bat and the Vintage in Leith providing exciting new venues to sample the best of a burgeoning craft beer scene.

Photograph: Michael Whitaker for the Guardian

One reason for this upsurge in interest is Heriot-Watt University, which offers a degree and master's in brewing that attract wannabe brewers from all over the world. Many students go on to do their own thing, such as Steve and Jo Stewart of Stewart Brewing in Edinburgh, who describe their delicious new Black IPA (£3.25 from the Bon Vivant's Companion, £26.50 a case from the brewery; 5% abv) – a cross between stout and IPA – as an oxymoronic ale.

Bigger breweries are also making some good new beers. I tried several from Fyne Ales of Cairndow in Argyll, whose light, citrussy Jarl (£27 a case from fyneales.com; 3.8% abv) makes perfect summer drinking, as does Williams Brothers' super-hoppy lager/IPA hybrid Caesar Augustus (£1.95 a 500ml bottle from selected Sainsbury's, £20.95 a case from williamsbrosbrew.com; 4.1% abv), a runner-up in the 2011 Sainsbury's British Beer Hunt.

Another good light beer – light in alcohol rather than flavour – is the Black Isle Cold Turkey breakfast beer from an organic Ross-shire brewery (£2.30 for 550ml from the brewery; £2.80 Royal Mile Whiskies, in store only), which is much bigger and toastier than its 2.8% abv suggests. Maybe for late weekend breakfasts rather than weekdays, though I can imagine it going well with a fry-up.

Photograph: Michael Whitaker/Michael Whitaker for the Guardian

At the opposite extreme, there are beers produced in tiny quantities such as "micro, micro-brewery" St Andrew's powerful, winey Red Rye (6.1% abv), of which only 750 bottles were made (£2.55, Royal Mile Whiskies, in store only). Or the Highland Brewing Company's Orkney Porter (£2.99 a 330ml bottle from alesela.co.uk; £3.95 Royal Mile Whiskies, in store only; 9% abv), a gloriously intense, dark, raisiny brew to stash away for cold winter nights.

Another four or five breweries are set to open in Scotland within the next six months, according to the Hanging Bat's Jamie Wightman. If you want to keep up with what's going on in Edinburgh – and the Scottish beer scene generally – there's a dedicated website, thebeercast.com, which has a weekly round-up. And the European Beer Bloggers Conference takes place in the city the weekend of 12 July.

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Photographs: Michael Whitaker for the Guardian