Vault City toasts first ever supermarket listings for stout with major UK name

Jingle Brew: Edinburgh-based independent beer firm Vault City now has its Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout stocked by Tesco in time for festive season.

Article Source: Vault City
Last Updated: 19 December 2024 10:26

SCOTTISH craft beer innovator Vault City has secured its first-ever supermarket listings for one of its stout products after inking pivotal deals with sector giant Tesco.

The Edinburgh-based independent craft brewer now has its Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout stocked nationwide by the retailer just in time for the festive season, further expanding the reach of its boundary-pushing flavour combinations.

The firm, which specialises in heavily fruited, modern sour beers in flavours such as Passion Fruit Lemon Sorbet, Chocolate Strawberry Dutch Pancakes, and “Iron Brew” - has already proved popular with customers of Tesco, becoming its biggest sour beer seller.

The supermarket giant already stocks Vault City flavours such as Triple Fruited Mango Sour Beer, and Blackcurrant Kir Royale. They complement listings in fellow supermarkets Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s.

Vault City – the UK’s largest sour beer producer – is now looking to gain market share with the Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout that features chocolate malt, oats and creamy vanilla for a velvety mouthfeel, and with an ABV of 11%. Additions of brown sugar creates delicate sweetness while subtle coffee notes meld with cosy, warming spices of cinnamon and ginger rounding out each sip.

The firm also recently debuted a Last Christmas Sour Beer, taking its name from iconic ‘80s pop band Wham!, and its flavour from boiling and infusing 500 Wham chew bars into the brew.

Expanding production to meet the requirements of the new listings is being enabled by the company (which in 2022 became the first commercial brewery in the UK to adopt a four-day week) having started plans for relocation to a new brewery.

It’s set to move into a new state-of-the-art facility seven times the size of its previous premises, funded by a £330,000 crowdfunder.

The 34,000 sq ft site, at BioCampus, Scotland's first dedicated national bio-manufacturing campus located within the Midlothian Science Zone in Edinburgh, means Vault City can produce more than 10 million litres of beer a year, an increase of more than eight million. There’s also scope to expand the new facility by 20 times its current size.

Furthermore, the firm securing its first stout listings come as demand for the drink - which originated in the early 18th century and is characterised as a malty, full-bodied, dark beer with a creamy head - increases at pace.

Tesco said in April this year it had seen sales of the stout grow by 35 per cent. It added that the drink was the fastest-growing beer variety in the UK, driven not just by incumbents such as Guinness, but also a growing number of craft producers.

The supermarket said it was stocking 15 different stouts - “which would have been unthinkable about five years ago” - including a non-alcoholic variety. Sector leader Guinness has been enjoying a revival, buoyed by its Nitrosurge device that replicates a pub-drawn pint of the black stuff, and by its alcohol-free version.

Vault City’s co-founder Steven Smith-Hay said: “These new supermarket listings are yet another major milestone for us as we seek to reach as many people as possible with our beers in a wide range of mind-blowing seasonal flavour combinations.

“Our Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout has proved highly popular since it was launched. It tastes really festive, with the lightness of the vanilla, spiciness of the ginger, and the sweetness of the brown sugar balancing well with the rich and deep flavour of the stout. We firmly believe it stands out among more established rivals.”

The entrepreneur, who began his craft beer journey brewing beers in his kitchen, added: “We have always wanted to be the biggest dedicated sour beer producer in the world - and now securing our first supermarket listing for stout means we can make major in-roads into this growing market too. Our plans are being accelerated by our upcoming move to a much larger manufacturing site.

“We’re looking at other inventive ways we could expand our range in the stout sector - as well as gain further traction in the supermarket sector overall as demand for sour beers also continues to gain momentum.”

Vault City was founded in January 2018, and has grown revenues from just shy of £94,000 in December 2019 to £5.1m in latest financial year. It makes more than a third of sour beers consumed in the UK, exports to more than 20 countries including Norway, France, Denmark, and Singapore, with China a key growth area. Furthermore, it is stocked in 250-plus bars across the UK.

Recent senior hires include signing up Martin Monro as Commercial Director. Joining from Northern Monk, Monro helped grow revenues to c£18m from £3m, launching the brand into supermarkets and on-trade national retailers for the first time.

For more information on Vault City, see vaultcity.co.uk

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