Ethical Scots brewer looks for summer sales lift with hangover-free sour beer

A venture touted as Scotland’s first non-alcoholic brewer is looking for a summer sales lift with the launch of its latest tipple.

Jump Ship Brewing’s Chuckleberry Sour combines chuckleberries and blackcurrants with wild fermentation to create a low alcohol below-0.5 per cent beer “without the hangover”. Sonja Mitchell founded the brewery in 2019 and has since picked up several awards for a range of core and special release non-alcoholic beers.

Mitchell, a keen sailor, beer-lover and mother of three, said: “Creating this sour alcohol-free beer has been one of our trickiest beers to brew to date. A classic sour beer is created with wild fermentation, creating really complex tangy flavours. We let the lactobacillus go wild with our berries for a couple of weeks, creating a crazy, sherbety mix which we added into the main brew. All berries used in the fruity mix have been grown on UK farms and meddled to create a gluten-free and vegan summer serve. Chuckleberries are a hybrid of jostaberry, gooseberry and redcurrant, which is sweet and juicy with a tartness from the blackcurrants for a refreshing beer.”

Jump Ship Brewing has a core line-up of four beers. In 2021, the firm’s Yardarm lager won best alcohol-free lager in the world at the World Beer Awards. The brewer has also highlighted its strong charitable focus with a commitment from the outset to donate at least 10 per cent of profits to a variety of charities, which are nominated by Jump Ship’s customers or “ship mates” as they are referred to.

Chuckleberry Sour in its distinctive orange can is the latest product from Jump Ship Brewing. Picture: Chris Watt Photography