Craft beer trend continues
- Contract value totals £850k between the 13 breweries
- Asda stores across Scotland will now stock over 75 Scottish beers, ales and ciders
- New supermarket relationship with Craft Beer Clan
LEEDS, England, 2016-Apr-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — The trend for craft beer continues, and no more so than in Scotland, with 100 plus breweries, it’s clear the demand for Scottish real ale and craft beer is still bubbling away. Particularly for 13 Scottish breweries who are all celebrating after securing new deals with Asda to stock a variety of beers in stores across Scotland, with a contract value of £850k between them.
With a total of 25 new lines launching on shelves from the 13 suppliers, Asda aims to lead the way in supporting the Scottish brewing industry as the demand for craft beer continues in Scotland.
The new deal means that Asda stores across Scotland will now stock over 75 Scottish beers, ales and ciders, as customers look for more premium drinking experiences from local brands.
As well as working with Isle of Arran, Isle of Skye, Loch Ness and Kelburn breweries, the supermarket has also built a relationship with Craft Beer Clan to recruit the additional nine craft beer lines from; Deeside Brewery, Eden Mill Brewery, Jaw Brewery, Knops Brewery, Lerwick Brewery, Stewart Brewing, Loch Lomond Brewing, Wooha Brewing and WEST Brewery.
Asda has worked closely with the Craft Beer Clan, utilising their expertise in the market and Scottish brewery contacts to secure a range of flavoursome unique beers that offer customers drink experiences with authenticity. The final selection of beers was also made to ensure a strong geographical spread from all regions across Scotland.
For the following seven breweries; Isle of Skye, Jaw Brewery, Knops Brewery, Lerwick Brewery, Stewart Brewing, Loch Lomond Brewing and Wooha Brewing, this will be their first major supermarket retail listing.
More than half of the 13 breweries are also run by or in partnership with a woman, supporting recent industry figures that the number of professional women brewers is on the rise in the UK and they are becoming increasingly influential.
The majority of the new lines will also be available in 33cl format, as the smaller single serve bottles and cans soar in popularity. It’s not as simple as transferring existing brands into smaller packaging; it’s about creating new, exciting and innovative products, which can be seen by the new variants being stocked on Asda shelves.
Brian O’Shea, Asda’s regional buying manager for Scotland, said: “The craft beer culture continues to grow, and it’s clear customers are trading up to more premium beers, particularly ones which come from local brands.
“The new lines we have launched are all premium quality and will give customers a new more local choice, with a variety of flavours to suit every palate and occasion.”
Heather McDonald, head brewster and owner of WooHa Brewing Company, commented: “We are delighted to have secured our first major supermarket listing with Asda thanks to our relationship with Craft Beer Clan. Although we’re currently one of the youngest microbreweries in Scotland having just celebrated our first anniversary, this new deal is a great example of the supermarkets commitment to supporting Scottish suppliers no matter how big or small the brand.
“Scottish provenance and taste is important, but what makes our lager and ales stand out from the rest is that we put a modern twist on traditional brewing by using scientific knowledge of microbiology to create modern hop strains, alongside state-of-the-art equipment.”
Chris Miller, director at the Craft Beer Clan of Scotland, said: “The Craft Beer Clan works hard to promote Scottish craft beer at home and abroad, and it’s fantastic we’ve been able to work with a major retailer such as Asda.
“The craft brewing sector is renowned for its collaborations, so to be able to bring so many new brand listings to the supermarket stores across Scotland has been a great opportunity as we continue to build on Scotland’s reputation as a world-class producer of drink.”
The new deal will see the following 25 beer lines stocked in almost all stores across Scotland from this month:
Deeside Brewery – Macbeth Scott Pale (500ml, 4.1%) and Laf Califor Steam (500ml, 4.1%). Based in Banchory, the independent craft brewery is run by husband and wife Mike and Annabel Bain.
Eden Mill Brewery – 19th Brew (330ml, 3.9%) and St Andrews Blonde (330ml, 3.8%). Based on the outskirts of St Andrews, and run by Scott Gowans – who creates his own recipes, the brewery specialises in using locally sourced products and people.
Jaw Brew – Brewery Glide (330ml, 4.6%) and Brewery Reef (330ml, 4.2%). The independent, Glasgow based real ale craft brewery is run by husband and wife Mark and Alison Hazell. This will be the first major supermarket listing for the couples’ ales.
Knops Beer Company – India Pale Ale (330ml, 5%) and California Common (330ml, 4.6%). This will be the first supermarket listing for the independent brewery based in East Lothian which specialises in beers which are full of flavour and refreshment.
Lerwick Brewery – 60 Degrees North Lager (330ml, 4.8%) and Skippers Ticket Shetland (330ml, 4%). Based in Shetland and run by Rhanna Turberville, who is part of an all-female team.
Stewart Brewing – Hollyrood (330ml, 5%) and Edinburgh Gold (330ml, 4.8%). Based in Edinburgh, the brewery is run by husband and wife team Steve and Jo Stewart, who have grown from a team of two to 25 since launching in 2004. This will be the award winning beers first supermarket listing.
Loch Lomond Brewing – West Highland Way (500ml, 3.7%), Bonnie n’Blond (500ml, 4%) and Ale of Leven (500ml, 4.5%). The family run business, comprising of brother and sister Fiona and Euan MacEachern, has its very own strain of yeast and uses water from Glen Finlas as the base for its beers. This is also the breweries first supermarket listing.
Wooha Brewing – Porter (330ml, 5%) and Wheat (330ml, 6.4%). Based in Nairn and led by an all-female management team, the micro-brewery has only been going for a year and is excited to celebrate their first supermarket retail listing.
WEST Brewery – St Mungo (330ml, 4/9%). Run by Bavarian-born and Glaswegian-adopted, Petra Wetzel, WEST is the only brewery in the UK to produce all of our beers in strict accordance with the Reinheitsgebot, the German Purity Law of 1516, using simple raw ingredients of the highest quality.
Isle of Skye Brewing Co. Ltd. Skye Red (500ml, 4.2%) and Skye Gold (500ml, 4.3%). Skye Red – originally named Red Cuillin was the brewery’s first ale, Skye Gold- originally named Hebridean Gold is brewed using porridge oats, one of the first brewers to use this as an ingredient. This is also the brewery’s first major supermarket listing.
Isle of Arran – Brewery Dug (500ml, 5.5%),Red Squirrel (500ml, 3.9%) and Arran Guid Ale (500ml, 3.8%. The Arran Brewery has been brewing award winning craft beer for over a decade.
Loch Ness Brewery – LightNESS (500ml, 3.9%) and HoppyNESS (500ml, 5.0%). The beers are made using pure Highland water, our exclusive ‘Nessie’ yeast, malted barley and a secret blend of hops.
Kelburn – Cart Blanche (500ml, 5%). The small family run business is managed by Derek Moore, his son Ross and daughter Karen. The brewery exists solely to produce quality ales and is excited to secure its first permanent supermarket listing with a major retailer.
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