Producing some of the finest-quality beers in Scotland and creating long-term careers for local people – all while keeping its native Cairngorms National Park at the heart of its identity – were the founding principles of Cairngorm Brewery.
Established in Aviemore in 2001 through the merging of the Aviemore and Tomintoul breweries, the company now produces an award-winning range of craft beers in kegs and bottles as well as real ales in cask.
These include the top-selling Cairngorm Gold, Trade Winds, Black Gold and Cairngorm IPA beers.
In 2016 the portfolio was expanded further when Cairngorm acquired the brands formerly produced by Loch Ness Brewery.
This breadth of range has allowed the brewery to appeal to a wide range of beer drinkers, according to managing director Samantha Faircliff.
She explained: “Our customer profile varies depending on their preferred format, whether it be cask conditioned, craft keg or bottle.
“Over the past 18 months stout has been and continues to be the fastest growing sector in the UK beer market.
“Younger consumers are looking for more flavourful and authentic beers – such as Black Gold – with much of this increase in demand coming from female customers.
“And not forgetting visitors here in the Highlands.”
Recent years have seen the business invest in its production facilities in order to improve efficiency, capacity and carbon footprint, with additions including solar panels, an electric-powered keg washer, CO2 recovery system and the doubling of the brewery’s fermentation capacity.
And it’s just as well, as Faircliff reckons the recent introduction of the Guest Beer Agreement could lead to further growth in the Scottish on-trade.
Faircliff said the company sees the legislation “as a great opportunity to present our quality award winning beers to a wider clientele, which was previously closed/very difficult for us”.
“We see this as a major growth area particularly in tourist areas where our quality award winning beers are seen as synonymous with Scotland and what visitors are looking for.”
