Edinburgh brewer sees beer fly off supermarket shelves despite Dry January

Scottish craft brewer Innis & Gunn saw sales of its beer rocket by 39 per cent in major supermarkets during January, despite it being the month many drinkers cut back.

Innis & Gunn founder Dougal Gunn Sharp says that during times of lockdown, drinkers 'wanted to treat themselves to better beer'.

Latest sales data from the UK’s largest supermarket chains showed a significant increase across its core range of ales and lager compared to the same month in 2019 before Covid-19 hit.

The January sales figures, compiled by SKUTrak, came on the back of a strong 2020 for Innis & Gunn with UK off-trade beer sales growing 29 per cent.

The latest figures show the firm’s lager, Scotland’s most popular craft beer, saw sales increasing by an average of 51 per cent across each of the five big retailers over January. It now accounts for almost three-quarters of all craft lager volume in Scotland’s off-trade.

Sales of its Original flagship beer delivered a 13 per cent boost and its Inveralmond Ossian ale, which it brews in Perth, increased by 53 per cent.

Dougal Gunn Sharp, founder of Innis & Gunn said: “Throughout this challenging time, we’ve worked hard to ensure our supply chain keeps our customers and fans fully supplied with the beer we know they want - and we recognise how important this is for people stuck at home.

“We’ve seen that during times of lockdown, consumers have wanted to treat themselves to better beer."

The brewer has backed a number of initiatives to support the on-trade in recent months including donating its Christmas party budget to the Hospitality Action scheme.

It also produced created 24,000 bottles of “Scrubs Lager”, a limited-edition beer with all profits going to The Care Workers’ Charity.

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