Stewart Brewing – Demand for Award Winning Beer Brews Up Expansion

Edinburgh, 03 November 2010: Stewart Brewing, Edinburgh’s local independent brewery, has signed a 10 year deal on a new building as part of a £650K investment in new brewing plant and equipment.

The brewer, based near IKEA in Bilston Glen Industrial Estate, Loanhead produces award winning beers including “Edinburgh Gold” and “Hollyrood” and has seen a steady rise to success over the last 6 years as its beers have become more widely distributed across Edinburgh and central Scotland.

The company was launched in 2004 by Steve Stewart, a graduate of the Brewing School at Heriot Watt University and his wife Jo after brewing a set of trial recipes in a garage in Edinburgh.

The expansion will involve relocation to a new building of 5500 sq ft only 250 yards away from the current site and the installation of a custom built 30 Barrel brewery, currently being fabricated in Europe by Bavarian Brewing Systems, along with new tanks and a keg line. This will give Stewarts’ the capacity to produce 12,000 barrels of beer a year, (3.5 Million pints), almost 4 times the current volume.

“This year has been fantastic in terms of growth, with volumes approaching 50% up on last year. Since starting, we have stuck to our values of brewing great beer, offering great service, and having fun in the process. We launched our range of bottled beer less than a year ago, and with Hollyrood winning the Worlds Best Blonde / Golden Pale Ale at the World Beer Awards this year, our volumes have really been given a boost. We’re working 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, and we’re spilling out of our current brewery!”

“We’ve got loads of ideas on what to do when we get more space to work with, mostly developing more recipes, but also launching a range of soft drinks, and starting Scotland’s only “Brew-it-yourself” facility where customers can visit the brewery, develop their own recipes and brew it themselves on a small pilot plant, returning 2 weeks later to bottle and test out on their friends. It’s like home brewing but with better quality beer and without all the mess – and no nagging about cleaning up the kitchen!”

We have a range of export beers that are lined up and ready to produce which we will be distributing with a partner brewery in the United States.

The company, which employs 9 staff, expects to see that rise to 16 as part of the move.

“We’re passionate about brewing great beer. We have a team of dedicated brewers who can’t wait to get their hands on all the new equipment and test out their ideas for new beers. We’ll be hosting “brew off” challenges between the guys to see who comes up with the tastiest brew. The winning beers will be available to the local pubs!”

For more information and distribution details please call 0131 440 2442 or visit www.stewartbrewing.co.uk

About Stewart Brewing

• Stewart Brewing partnered with Heart of Midlothian FC at the end of September 2010 to create Tynecastle 125 – a bespoke beer for the Edinburgh based club season long celebrations of 125 years at Tynecastle Stadium.

• Stewart Brewing’s range features five permanent cask beers: Pentland IPA, Copper Cascade, Edinburgh No.3, Stewart’s 80/- and Edinburgh Gold. There is also limited edition, seasonal beers throughout the year.

• Stewart Brewing’s bottled beer range, launched at the end of 2009 features four permanent beers: Edinburgh Gold, Embra, Hollyrood and St. Giles. There is also a premium range, currently stocking Stewart’s Dopplebock, Stewart’s Pilsen and soon to be released on 16 November, Stewart’s Hefeweizen

• Stewart Brewing Ltd of Edinburgh, an independent brewery established in 2004, is dedicated to perfecting hand crafted premium beer.

• Stewart Brewing aim to uphold the tradition and reputation of Edinburgh’s great brewing history in a modern and innovative way.

• Stewart’s brew contemporary beers to unique recipes in small batches and are passionate about their beers and use only the finest ingredients.