Climbing and brewing - there's nothing better in life for the chaps behind Top Out. But how do these two disparate ideas coexist in the business: is Hefeweizen served in harnesses, and blonde ale brewed in backpacks? It's time for The Indie Breweries to find out.

Climbing eh? I climbed a mountain once. It was 2005 and the only kit I took was the Kat variety, plus a gin and tonic in a tin.  

That's dangerous, you know. Michael Hopert, head brewer at Top Out, takes it much more seriously than that. So much so that the brewery's branding reflects his love of steep things in the form of the illustrative topography which forms the background of the label designs. And very smart they look too.

Knew that label was familiar - wasn't it voted one of the best 20 beer labels by your Indie Brewery scribe in an article last year?

Correct. The same article that received scathing complaints from design companies who weren't included...

That's the one! Only our opinions, chaps. Anyway. Persuade me that climbing isn't just the preserve of do-gooders who like to spend their weekends being productive rather than lazing around in a hungover fug.

Well, German-born Hopert has been brewing pretty nifty craft beers for the last 10 years, so it makes sense that he's sampled a few in order to refine his repertoire. Plus, don't know if you've noticed but the word 'hop' comprises half his surname, proving beyond reasonable doubt that he must be a professional steamer, if not beer champion of the world. It seems you can be outdoorsy andenjoy drinking heavily - a winning combination.

So if Hopert is Top Out's maverick genius brewer, creating delicious Frankenbeers by experimenting in his secret Bavarian apartment (Bavaria, Loanhead, whatever), then who's making sure the business runs smoothly?

That'd be Philip 'Moo' Birch.

Philip 'Who' Birch?

Birch, a biology and physics grad, has a background in construction and has used his practical skills to run the brewery's operational side since its birth. Not just content with keeping everything running in a tickety-boo style, Birch also propagates yeast for some of Top Out's specialist beers, which he does thanks to his knowledge of chemicals and test tubes and that.  

Technical analysis there. How did the pair get the beery party started?

A combination of savings - redundancy payments, shares in the stock market and Hopert's whisky collection. That guy's got booze running through his veins.

Birch and Hopert have only been doing their thing since July 2013, so what exactly has been going on at Young Pups HQ?

Top Out's premises in Loanhead has been a hive of activity for the last year-and-a-half, with the brews made there supplying craft beer pubs all over the country as well as off licenses in Scotland and down south. In the core range, Staple pale ale is a smooth session ale with a label showing Ben Macdui in the Caringorms; The Cone is an American IPA featuring a double dry hopping stage in its creation; Schmankerl, a wheat beer with a nifty label portraying An Teallach and Smoked Porter, showing Liathach in Torridon on its bottle. If you're the type to keep nice bottles after you've drunk them, then these are the ones to make some sort of amazing light installation with.

 Stellar beer labels, beautiful brews - is there anything Top Out isn't so hot at?

Hopert admits himself that the brewery isn't exactly a paragon of virtue when it comes to social media:  "We're working on a proper website at the moment and use Twitter and Facebook, although we don't seem to find much time for that between brewing and selling our beer," he says.  

And all that mountaineering, of course. Hey - maybe a certain beer series could take the reins for a guest slot? A day of tweets solely on walking and beer puns. It could be mega.

Top Out Brewery, over to you.

Top Out Brewery is located at unit 3, 6b Dryden Road, Bilston Glen Industrial Estate, Loanhead, Edinburgh, EH20 9LZ. For more information visit www.topoutbrewery.com