Edinburgh's Vault City Brewing - the UK’s biggest-selling sour beer producer is celebrating International Sour Beer Day with the launch of a new low ABV beer.
Vault City - based in Portobello - has listings in more than 200 independent bars across the UK, as well as supermarket giants Morrisons and Tesco.
And with many people turning to sour beer as an 'easy drinking' option amid shifting consumer trends, they've just created the 2.5% ABV Tahiti Treat beer in response to a shift in consumer perception of sour beer, which many are turning to as an ‘easy drinking’ option.
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The mango, pineapple, lime, and rum flavoured sour beer was brewed in collaboration with Mash Gang, one of the UK’s premier ‘low & no’ alcohol beer specialists, and is one of four new flavours released to mark the international celebration of the growing category, which also includes Dark Fruits Cookie Dough Dreamcake (8.5%); Pineapple Habanero (7.5%); and Lychee & Ginger Session Sour with Lemongrass & Coconut (4.7%).
The brewer has already produced more than 45 new beers in 2022 alone, including Triple Fruited Mango and Blueberry Maple, which are the first and third best-selling lines in Tesco’s 440ml craft beer category; and Vault City also recently collaborated with comedian and broadcaster Ed Gamble to launch Canned Laughter, an Apple and Guava Session Sour with 20% of sales donated to Campaign Against Living Miserably.
Vault City, which recently doubled capacity at its Portobello brewery to meet surging demand, is also enjoying booming sales in overseas markets, and this year linked up with Amundsden in Norway for its first-ever international collaboration. Export opportunities have also continued to grow following the Covid-19 pandemic; with Vault City sold widely in the US, Nordics, Singapore, and Taiwan amongst others.
Steven Smith Hay, Vault City co-founder, said: “International Sour Beer Day is like Christmas at Vault City, and it’s even more exciting this year as we continue to grow in overseas markets with fans all over the world.
“Our first-ever international collaboration, with Amundsden in Oslo, is one of the highlights of the year for me, and we also won a year-long tender via Cask Norway, with Strawberry Sundae in 440ml cans. It’s one of many international markets that is performing very well for us and we’ve visited several times to see it for ourselves. It’s special.
“2022 is the year sour beer has truly hit the mainstream in the UK and overseas, and demand from consumers has never been higher from all sections of the market.
“Sour beer has traditionally had a reputation for being strong, and we certainly produce plenty of ‘high-Vaultage’ beer to satisfy that demand, but we’ve also adapted to cater for interest in lower ABV core range offerings, releasing several ‘session sours’, including Cloudy Lemonade (4.2%) and Strawberry Sundae (5%), as well as our supermarket ranges in Tesco and Morrisons. Such has been the shift in consumer behaviour that the new 2.5% ABV Tahiti Treat beer seemed a natural step. It still contains all the brilliant flavour you’d expect from a Vault City release, and means more of the market can enjoy Vault City.
“We have more international collaborations in the pipeline, and will also be looking at growing our taproom arm, which has been very successful this year following the launch of the Porty Vault. It’s a great time to be in sour beer and I can’t wait to see the message spread further.”
Vault City turned over £2.4million in the last financial year, and has grown to a team of 25 across its brewery, office, bar and taproom divisions.
The brewery unveils a trio of experimental beers every three weeks. Vault City also received national attention by becoming the first UK brewer to formally adopt a four-day working week in January this year.
To learn more about Vault City Brewing, and to explore their extensive range of modern sour beers, visit vaultcity.co.uk.
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