Brewer; Born September 5, 1920; Died May 23, 2007. Representing the sixth generation of the Johnstone family who founded malting and brewing at Belhaven in 1719, Alexander Dudgeon Hunter was born in 1920 in Monkscroft house, which to this day remains the family home.

Monkscroft was built in 1814 at the same time as the brewery was being reinstated after a significant fire, and Sandy was brought up there along with his two sisters, Mary and Betty, the latter was later to make him the uncle of Rosemary and Richard.

Sandy was educated at Clifton Hall (primary school), Merchiston and Heriot Watt, where he studied brewing. During the war he was a captain in the Royal Engineers but, owing to asthma problems, he didn't serve abroad and spent a lot of his time stationed in Yorkshire.

He became a master brewer, learning the intricacies and finer points of his profession at Dryborough's in Craigmillar before coming under the watchful tutelage of his father, Ellis Hunter, who had taken command of the business at a very young age, following the death of Sandy's grandfather, also called Alexander Hunter. His grandfather died in tragic circumstances when he was struck by shrapnel from a flywheel at the West Barns maltings. Ellis, like Sandy, lived for 87 years until 1964, when Sandy took the helm.

In 1972 Sandy's mum, Eilidh, died and, to help pay death duties, the brewing and maltings business was sold along with seven local pubs for a price of just more than £80,000. Sandy stayed on for a further 10 years, working for the new owners, CCH, before retiring in 1982.

The love of Sandy's life was Iris Patricia Findlay, whom he met at Heriot Watt and who served in the WAAF during the war. They were married in 1944 when they were in their mid-20s. They had 46 happy years together, enjoying a rich tapestry of social events with friends from farming, brewing, the army, rugby, the church, the lifeboat and their many other activities. They were best friends as well as spouses and perhaps their only disappointment was that they were never to be blessed with a family.

While Monkscroft was, of course, a much lonelier place for Sandy when Pat died in 1990, he still had the great friendship and companionship of his housekeeper, Sheila Camplin, who has been such a caring and kind friend to him over a period of almost 40 years.

Sandy loved fast cars and one of his pride and joys was his Sunbeam Alpine which he used to show in the vintage car rallies. He put it to good use on many occasions, using it as an open-air carriage to ferry the young lifeboat queen on annual gala day, which was one of the many ways he supported his favourite charity, the RNLI.

He was a keen sportsman, a fast sprinter and he played his rugby on the wing at Dunbar in the halcyon days of Rupert Chalmers-Watson, Jackie Smeal and many of his other great friends. He was an animal lover, often holidaying with Pat in Africa on safari, and he was very proud of his two pet alsatian dogs.

At Belhaven, Sandy's primary interest was, of course, the art of brewing cask-conditioned ale and he was an absolute star, an icon in the eyes of the Campaign for Real Ale which did so much to put Belhaven on the map during Sandy's time in charge. Sandy's job as a master brewer was also his great passion and he loved nothing better than to hold court in the sample cellar at the close of business each day and share his views on the most recent ales with his trusted foreman and right-hand man, Jock McCallie. He had a three-word catchphrase often heard in the sample cellar: "Aye, I ken."

If the beer was in great nick he glowed with pride; if it was slightly awry in taste or nose or colour or clarity then if was, of course, always the fault of his head brewer, Alistair Mouat. But he was also a closet marketeer and is widely credited as the creator of the famous motif Belhaven Bill, who was a pot-bellied avuncular sailor with ample beard and even more ample girth whose profile was usually framed against Dunbar harbour.

Sandy used his interest and contacts to great effect when the then reigning Miss World visited Belhaven in 1980. Always a man with an eye for a pretty girl, Sandy whisked her down to the harbour in the Sunbeam and then out with the lifeboat, which was tracked by a helicopter.

Out of the helicopter one of the crew climbed down a rope ladder with a box of Wee Heavy tucked under his arm for the beauty queen. This was one of the great photo shoots of all time and it was, of course, all over the Scottish press the next day.

Sandy played a full part in promoting brewing in his native country. He was a past president of the Brewers Guild and for many years was a prominent member of the Institute of Brewing and the Brewers Association of Scotland.

Sandy was an avuncular man, very kind, very friendly and generous, a man who got considerable vicarious pleasure from the success and happiness of others. He possessed a keen sense of humour and was full of life and vitality.

All who knew him had great respect and affection for him, including all his employees at Belhaven.

He was a true gentleman brewer, perhaps the last of his kind.