Why firm behind 'iron brew' sour beer is proposing an Edinburgh Living Wage

A Scottish beer-maker is to pay its workers the London living wage, raising the prospect of having a similar pay pledge for Edinburgh businesses.

Vault City Brewing is based in the Scottish capital and has become famous for creating modern sour beers with flavours including iron brew, cloudy lemonade and rhubarb and custard. It is now offering staff a minimum pay of £13.15 per hour, which is £1.15 more than the real living wage across the rest of the UK.

The London living wage was introduced in 2008 and is calculated independently to reflect the higher cost of living in the UK capital, giving a worker in the city and their family enough to afford the essentials and to save. It is currently set at £13.15 per hour.

Steven Smith-Hay is a co-founder of Edinburgh's Vault City, which has become famous for its line-up of modern sour beers. Picture: Gavin Hill

Steven Smith-Hay, one of Vault City’s founders, said the company’s pledge “ensures that every team member feels valued and adequately compensated for their hard work”.

Smith-Hay, who started brewing beers in his kitchen in 2018, said: “We recognised that the cost of living in Edinburgh has continued to increase over the last few years, and that this is a critical factor in our team’s wellbeing. Our strong community of customers want to enjoy beer made by people who were paid fairly.

“Matching the London living wage is a reaffirmation of our core values, to reflect the world we’re living in now. Our team has been and always will be our greatest asset, so we feel it’s important for us as a business to continue building on that ethos and commitment.”

Edinburgh has been ranked as the UK’s priciest city for university students, over London and Glasgow. It sits 53rd in the Cost of Living City Ranking, ahead of Sydney and just ten places behind Abu Dhabi. It is estimated that one in seven Edinburgh children is living in poverty.

The commitment to paying the higher London living wage comes two years after Vault City became the first commercial brewery in the UK to adopt a four-day working week.

Smith-Hay added: “We’ve always strived to set a high standard within and out with our industry, promoting fair wages and fair working policies. Alongside improved employee wellbeing and work-life balance, the biggest benefit we’ve seen has been a reduction in recruitment costs and challenges. We’ve been able to attract some incredible talent when hiring because of our fair working policies and benefits packages.”

The firm’s recent move to a new brewery with the capacity to produce more than ten million litres of beer annually saw the recruitment of two industry experts to help the Edinburgh brand become a household name. Luca Lorenzoni and Martin Monro have been involved with brands such as Camden Town Brewery, Northern Monk and Rekorderlig. Monro said: “Vault City has established itself as a leader within its space.”

The brewer already exports to more than 20 countries and is stocked in some 250 bars. Its beers are currently available in Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.

Vault City Brewing to adopt a permanent four-day working week in UK first