Some Swede dreams brewing for Innis & Gunn

Sales of the firm's rum cask ale, which was only fully rolled out in September, are said to have "blown the doors off", according to Swedish distributor Bernston.

In October, it became the third best-selling imported ale from a standing start.

While overall sales in Sweden have been particularly strong - up 62 per cent to the end of November, compared with a year earlier - the company yesterday flagged a "record year" in all export markets. Total export business is 39 per cent up on 2009.

Innis & Gunn was launched in 2003 as a joint venture with William Grant & Sons to develop a beer to finish a "cask ale reserve" whisky. The beer tasted good enough to sell, and in 2008 the brewer's managing director, Dougal Sharp, led a management buy-out.

Annual accounts released in March showed revenues grew by 31 per cent to 4.4 million in 2009.

The firm began exports to Sweden in 2004 and its products can also now be found in stores in Canada, Finland, Ireland, Norway and the United States.

Providing the update on 2010 trading, Sharp yesterday said: "The Swedes have a connoisseur-like interest in the beers they drink - they're interested in how they're made, the flavours and the stories.

"The accidental discovery of Innis & Gunn combined with its unique production process have really struck a chord with drinkers there."

He singled out the US for the next big push. Sales there are up four-fold on 2009.

Sharp said that following a recent keynote address at the Culinary Institute of America, he was met by a couple who had travelled over 100 miles after discovering his beer while honeymooning in Scotland.

"They felt so strongly about our beer that they felt compelled to drive for hours to tell me directly. It was a really humbling experience," noted Sharp.