Take note, independent craft brewers: Here’s a marketing idea worth copying.

BrewDog, Scotland’s largest independent brewery, marked the opening of its newest brewpub in Manchester, England, by offering “crap beer amnesty.”

Customers who brought in a can of mass-produced mainstream lager to the Manchester bar’s opening last week were allowed to swap it for one of BrewDog’s beers.

“We promise to recycle the cans of mainstream lager or maybe just blow them up,” the brewery’s blog says.

BrewDog now has seven beer bars in the U.K. The brewery has made a name for itself with its big, bold beers in the style of U.S. craft beers, and also for bottling a 55 percent alcohol beer in dead stouts.

Taken from:  jacksonville.com

Plough-to-pint microbrewery, the Scottish Borders Brewery has scooped two top regional business awards. Established in January 2011, the brewery was named Best New Business and Best Green Business at the Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards.

Owner John Henderson commented: ”When we started up just over a year ago we set a target to supply 20 outlets. We now sell in over 250 pubs and bars and have just brewed our 100th gyle. It is an amazing achievement and it is great that this has been recognized with the Best New Business trophy. It has given a real boost to our small team.“

The Scottish Borders Brewery has a portfolio of five real ales, Game Bird, a 4% amber ale, Foxy Blond, a 3.8% classic pale ale, Dark Horse 4.5% and recent additions Holy Cow a 4.2% best bitter and Wee Beastie a 3.6% lower alcohol ale.

Only available in the cask, the beers sell through bars in the Scottish Borders, central Scotland and the North of England. Each ale is created at the Scottish Borders Brewery near Jedburgh and is made using the brewery’s own home grown barley and artesian spring water.

John Henderson continued: “Our plough to pint mantra and local provenance also helped us to win the Borders Best Green Business title and has proved popular with consumers and the trade. The real key to our success however has been how good our beers taste. We have attracted a loyal following of real ale enthusiasts and our products’ easy drinking style is also appealing to a wider audience including lager and cider drinkers.”

For more information on the Scottish Borders Brewery visit its Facebook page or call 01835 830387

Inveralmond Brewhouse News for Nov & Dec 2011 Click here

Yesterday, a group of Scottish micro-breweries raised a glass to their new distribution deal with UK supermarket chain Morrisons. In the terms of the new supply contract, Williams Brothers, the brewer behind brands Birds & Bees, Midnight Sun and Seven Giraffes, will act as the supermarket’s beer-buyer in Scotland.

Williams will supply Morrisons’ 60 stores in Scotland with tipples produced by other small brewers as well as its own. Initially, the new deal will only encompass Fyne Ales, Traditional Scottish Ales, Inveralmond and the Isle of Skye Brewery, but Williams is hoping that the contract could extend to other producers.

Eleven new beers are set to be listed in Morrisons next week, with plans to extend the range during next year. Richard McLelland, director of sales at Williams Brothers and a member of the “brotherhood”, an informal alliance of Scottish brewers, said: “Morrisons already stocks a large range of beers but many of them are English and some of them don’t sell so well in Scotland. So the supermarket was talking to the industry and I jumped in and volunteered to run this scheme.

“The first orders will be for two pallets from each brewery and, with 96 cases on a pallet, that’s a big order.If this builds up into regular work then it can act as a firm foundation for breweries to expand. Supermarkets are sometimes painted as big and bad and evil but in fact they pay their bills on time and they can give you predictions for what they need in terms of stock, which can help you to build your business and take on extra staff during busy periods. The cash coming in from a deal like this can also help you to expand into different ranges and try doing different things.”

Tuggy Delap, chair of the Scottish branch of the Society of Independent Brewers, whose family also runs Fyne Ales, said: “One of my hopes from this deal is that customers will drink the bottled beers at home and then try them in pubs too the next time they see them on draft. We have avoided supermarket contracts in the past because we have to be realistic about our costs. But I think Williams Brothers has done us all proud with this deal.”

Colin Valentine, the Edinburgh-based chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale, added: “It’s pleasing to see so many real ale brewers getting wider exposure.”

Article taken from International supermarket news

Loanhead’s independent brewery is on top of the world – again!

Stewart Brewing’s pale ale, Hollyrood, has been declared the world’s best blond/golden pale ale at the World Beer Awards 2011. It is the second year in a row the firm, based at Bilston Glen Industrial Estate, has won the top award.

The accolade will now go alongside Hollyrood’s further five awards – SIBA Regional Gold, SIBA National Silver, Europe’s Best Beer Gold 2010, World’s Best Beer Gold 2010 and the International Beer Challenge Gold.

Stewart Brewing’s Hollyrood beat off strong competition including multi-award winning Fin de la Monde to win the world title after being awarded Europe’s best blond/golden pale ale earlier in the competition.

The awards involve a taste-off against more than 500 entries from around the world. Judges described Hollyrood as “light and hazy”, “lovely nose, apricot aroma, elderflower coming through”, “refreshing” and “good example of its style”.

Steve Stewart, brewery founder, said: “This is a fabulous achievement. The fact that we have won this great award for the second year running is all thanks to the hard work and dedication for all the staff here at Stewart Brewing.”

Bottled Beers

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To view the full set of results go to www.siba.co.uk/events

Scottish Borders Brewery’s Plough to Pint Ales to Feature on Landward

The Scottish Borders Brewery is set to feature in popular BBC Scotland farming and countryside TV series, Landward on Friday November 4^th at 7.30pm.

 A film crew for the programme spent two days at the Ancrum based brewery recording the production of its unique beers. 

 Made using the brewery’s own home-grown barley and spring water the Scottish Borders Brewery creates the only plough to pint real ales in 21^st Century Scotland.

Brewery owner, John Henderson commented: ”We are really proud of the beers that we are making and hope this comes across in the programme. It was great to have the Landward team visit and presenter Euan McIlwraith seemed really interested in finding out about what we do.” 

As well as filming at the Brewery the programme will also feature the Fox and Hounds in Denholm which stocks the Scottish Borders Brewery products.

John continued: “During the course of the filming Euan and the Landward team sampled three of our beers, Foxy Blonde, Dark Horse and Game Bird and seemed to enjoy them all. My hope is that viewers will enjoy discovering more about process behind the making of our real ales and be tempted to try them.”

 The episode of Landward featuring the Scottish Borders Brewery will air at 7.30pm on Friday November 4^th.

 Since its launch in January 2011 the Scottish Borders Brewery has enjoyed considerable success and now supplies over 160 outlets across the Scottish Borders, Fife, Central Scotland and North of England.  The Brewery recently released a limited edition real ale called Hop Scotch that features its own home-grown hops as well as its home-grown barley. The brewery also has a Facebook page featuring all the latest information on its products and plans.