People may have been temporarily drawn in by the ‘marketing mirage’ of foreign beer – but the future of premium lager will be homegrown.
So says Innis & Gunn founder Dougal Sharp, who reckons that the sun will soon set on continental lager as more consumers realise that the best quality beers are those with local provenance.
Sharp, who founded the Innis & Gunn business in 2003, having himself worked in the industry since 1987, believes much of the allure of some of the continental lagers has been generated by ‘pure marketing waffle’.
He said: “What this current wave of Spanish, Italian and other continental beer drinking does show me is that people are ready to drink better, premium lagers, moving away from the bland, gassy mega-lagers of the past. And that is good.
“People seem to be drawn in by the marketing mirage of foreign beer. But the good news is that there are superb premium lagers brewed right here. And don’t take my word for it – two homegrown lagers have just won gold at the Beer Olympics, beating the biggest names in beer from around the world.”
Sharp was referring to the recent wins for Innis & Gunn’s Lager Beer and Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Lager at the World Beer Awards, where both took gold against international competition, reinforcing the strength of UK-brewed lagers.
“These two homegrown lagers are contributing to local agriculture and the rural economy, to jobs and communities in the process,” said Gunn. “And they require far fewer road miles than driving a lorry from Spain or Italy, so far fewer carbons are harmed in the process. That is, of course, if they actually come from mainland Europe in the first place,” he added.
“It is great to see Jeremy Clarkson fighting the same fight with Hawkstone Lager in England. He is growing the barley, brewing the beer and showing the huge difficulties experienced by our farmers across the UK. I am glad he is getting behind farming because it’s important to us all.
“We buy all of our malting barley from British farmers, and we are a major supporter of the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland, through events like the Royal Highland Show, Scotland’s biggest outdoor event.
“It’s no surprise that when you pay that much attention to what goes into your beer, it wins prizes. Homegrown lager is a movement worth getting behind.”
Having already been listed as one of the top five premium lager brands in the Scottish on-trade sector (according to the CGA) Innis & Gunn’s lager is now ranked as the number six premium lager brand in the off trade in the latest Nielsen Data, making it the only homegrown premium lager in Scotland’s top ten.
Dougal continued: “We believe in our lager – there’s nothing else like it – so it’s amazing when that’s vindicated.
“Launching our bottled lager in supermarkets this year was a crucial milestone and we are incredibly proud that more people than ever before are choosing our zesty and aromatic lager. Ultimately, we want to be Scotland’s favourite premium lager. This is another step towards that goal.”
