OUR ORIGINS

MacLeod Ale Brewing was established in 2012 and following two years of planning and building, the original taproom was opened in Van Nuys in 2014. The original brewery was cobbled together with used dairy equipment and wine fermenters, and no money for brite tanks, carbonation equipment or filtration, so the taproom originally just offered cask beer.

From these humble beginnings, a neighborhood treasure emerged and grew into a San Fernando Valley hotspot. This lead to an expansion into a popular pizza kitchen and then a second location in Highland Park in 2022.

We are the Van Nuys Village Hall. We are the place people come to when they need a space for their book club, birthday party, art show, darts tournament, dog adoption rally...or the place they come to for reunions with old friends or to hang out with the kids or the dogs. The brewery is bigger than the ownership, or the employees, or the beer, or the patrons. We are all working together to build an amazing space that we all enjoy!

JENNIFER

IDEAS GIRL

ALASTAIR

DESIGNER/FIX-IT GUY

Alastair is the grandson of Roland MacLeod from the Isle of Skye. He was raised on a hill farm in the West Highlands of Scotland, amongst sheep and appaloosa horses.

The subconscious cask ale brewery seed was sown for Alastair at college in Edinburgh in 1980, where he was able to experience the genesis of the "Campaign for Real Ale,” its resulting exceptional ale and his own successful home brewing efforts.

At twenty five he traveled the world in search of adventure and a broader perspective of life. He settled in Los Angeles in 1988 and took employment in a landscape company, where he became adept in design, drafting, permits and building gardens.

At MacLeod Ale Brewing Company he now enjoys the social side of the craft beer industry, the reinvigoration of traditional brewing methods and the opportunity to entertain and mingle with Angelenos who seek the pleasure in experiencing fresh, naturally carbonated ale at its source. 

Jennifer was born in Pasadena and raised in Sierra Madre. Her family moved to England when she was five years old. She loved the climate and culture of the old country and returned to California at 11 with a priceless English accent, fond memories of coal smoke, fish and chips with malt vinegar, and the aroma of East Kent Goldings Hops.

She completed her schooling in Northridge with an emphasis on music, and is the founder and former Pipe Major of the Pasadena Scottish Pipes and Drums. She also sings in a women’s barbershop quartet called Gotta Sing!

Challenged with the need to financially support these musical endeavors and the desire for an adventurous new career, she applied her skills in advertising, social media, graphic design and management to the establishment of MacLeod Ale in 2012. The brewery took two years to plan and a year to build, and opened in June of 2014.

During her life, Jennifer has been exposed to the production of Artisan foods both at home and while working at LaBrea Bakery when it was an uproariously popular fledgling company, and at her Dadʼs own deli, Stottlemeyerʼs, of Pasadena. Her penchant for wholesome and traditional fare was well aligned with the tenets of the "Campaign for Real Ale" the organization that champions the beer that we produce.

So combining her fondness for all things British, her desire to produce a tangible artisan product and a way of supporting her pipe band, opening a brewery was the obvious solution!

In order to get the brewery built and help in running it, Jennifer solicited her husband, Alastair's help. She artfully lured him from his landscape career. (It actually didn't take much as he was ready for a change).