Jack - I thought Sandy Bells did do ale....I had a nice pint or two or three in there when I was last in Edinburgh....? perhaps I am remembering wrongly through the ether?
I was enjoying the music far to much to be pendantic and dissect the nuances and peculiarities of a pint of beer!

My session pub has a cracking beer fest on at the end of October - 50+ beers and ciders, it's a Banks & Taylor pub and they do mighty fine beer there as well as some good guests - a rake of Nethergate and Titanic are on at the mo. very nice.