It wasn't that long ago people were bemoaning the lack of choice on the Scottish brewing scene. And who can blame them! Once home to literally hundreds of small breweries and with a hop heritage dating all the way back to 543AD, only a handful of companies had survived the rationalisation and closures of the 1960s. Today, thanks to that familiar combination of Scottish enterprise and innovation, brewery numbers are once again on the increase and beer drinkers are enjoying unprecedented variety.

Ironically, it's the smallest sector that's making the biggest splash – microbreweries. Though relative newcomers to the industry, they've been quick to find their feet. And those that have been around the longest haven't just attracted a local audience; they have built up a national and sometimes international reputation.

Relative veterans of the Scottish microbrewing scene, Harviestoun Brewery, boasts an award-winning portfolio of beers. Schiehallion, its cask-conditioned lager, named after the misty mountain near Pitlochry, has won more Gold awards than any other Scottish cask ale, including three at the Great British Beer Festival. Brooker's Bitter 'n' Twisted, another of its ales, won Champion Beer of Scotland in 1999 and its first venture into bottle beer came as a result of winning the Tesco Beer Challenge in 1999 with an ale called Liberation. Having already tasted international success, Harviestoun plans to expand in the United States and make inroads into Canada and Italy.

Set such a precedent, it's perhaps not surprising that so many other microbreweries are springing up, albeit in the most diverse of locations, from the centre of Glasgow to our northernmost islands. The latest additions to this swelling sector – which already includes Broughton Ales (Greenmantle), the Arran (Blonde, Dark and Light), Aviemore (Sheepshagger Gold), Bridge of Allan and Orkney (Dark Island) breweries, Houston (Teuchter) and Sulwath Brewers – are the Kelburn Brewing Company in Barrhead and the Western Islands and Highlands trio of Atlas, Fyne Ales and Hebridean.

From the newest and smallest kids on the block to the oldest and largest, Scotland's volume sales continue to be dominated by the big three – Scottish Courage (the UK's leading brewer and the name behind McEwan's and Younger's), Tennent Caledonian (of Tennents Lager and T in the Park fame) and Caledonian Brewing.

By far the oldest of these is Tennent Caledonian, which has been involved in the brewing business since 1556. Its flagship brand, Tennents Lager, has been brewed at the Wellpark Brewery in central Glasgow since 1885, making it the UK's original lager. Other notable Tennents firsts include: first draught lager in 1924, first canned lager in 1935 and first keg lager in 1963 – there's that famous Scottish innovation again!

Lest the east should feel left out, Caledonian Brewing in Edinburgh is one of only two surviving breweries in a city that once supported over 40. Established in 1869, it's the only brewery to still use direct-fired open coppers – a unique feature to which Caledonian attributes its remarkable success. Having won Champion Beer of Scotland several years in a row, Caledonian (or Caley) 80/- sets the standard by which other Scottish Heavies are measured. Its stable mate, Caledonian Deuchars IPA, went one better last year – becoming the first ever Scottish-brewed Champion Beer of Britain.

Somewhere between the Atlases and Scottish Courages of this world lie Scotland's regional brewers, amongst them Belhaven and Traquair House. Established in 1719, the Belhaven Brewery in the coastal town of Dunbar, 30 miles east of Edinburgh, is one of the country's oldest and at the same time most forward looking of breweries. Alongside its time-honoured favourites, Best, St Andrew's Ale and 80 Shilling sits Best Extra Cold – the UK's first (non-stout) extra cold dark beer.

For more than a century-and-a-half of Belhaven's illustrious career, Traquair House Brewery in the Borders hid its light under a bushel. Sometime after 1800 the original domestic brewery on the site, which like so many others produced beer for the house and estate workers, fell into disuse. It wasn't until 1965 that it was rediscovered by Peter Maxwell Stuart, the 20th Laird of Traquair – vessels and equipment still intact. Today, Traquair produces around 600 – 700 barrels of beer a year, all of it fermented in oak for seven days to ensure – in true brewers tradition – that it's 'blessed by the Sabbath'. An auspicious start indeed for Scotland's other national drink!