BrewDog pushes for new sour beer brewery

BrewDog plans to build a sour beer brewery in Scotland, just months after expanding into the spirits segment with a new distillery. 

The brewer submitted plans to Aberdeenshire Council detailing the proposed facility, which would include the brewery, production offices, a car park and a new visitors' centre.

In its proposal, BrewDog said: “The benefits of the state-of-the-art production facility are only now being realised and projections show that the demand is not waning by any means.

“The level of employment at the campus is now nearing 300 people – which does not take into account the bar divisions located across the UK and nationwide.”

Demand for sours

Over the course of exploring “alternative” products including the launch of BrewDog’s Lone Wolf spirits brand, the company had identified demand for sour beers, it said.

The proposal continues: “Staff and visitors alike will not be able to enter the existing brewery facility, after experiencing the sour environment, so as to avoid the risk of cross-contamination.

“It is anticipated that a team of around four people will operate the stand-alone facility and associated laboratories.

“The nature of the maturing process means the volumes of beers will be static for long periods of time, either in the feeders or in the whisky casks in smaller specialised batches.”

Spirits move

BrewDog made its first move into the spirits market earlier this year with the launch of Lone Wolf.

However, the anarchic company drew criticism from Wolves Football Club, who claimed Lone Wolf’s branding was too similar to the club’s badge and could “confuse” fans.

BrewDog co-founder James Watt declined to comment at the time.