Burnside brews up retail success as it builds its brewery dream

Owners of an award-winning North-east brewery are toasting their latest success as they plan their next move.

Burnside Brewery has pipped other Scottish food & drink producers to the post in a national competition to get their alcohol-free beers stocked in Scotmid stores – just in time for Dry January.

Established in 2010, husband and wife team Steve Lewis and Margo Macnab took over the business five years ago and have blazed a successful trail in craft brewing.

The good news comes as the team passes the halfway point in their public funding campaign to build a new brewery a few miles from their current base in Laurencekirk.

Scottish Favourites

Voted Brewery of the Year for Grampian and Northern Isles in 2023 by CAMRA, the Burnside range of beers includes blondes, pale ales, IPAs, red ales and dark beers.

Their latest success in the Scotmid Scottish Favourites competition will see both their alcohol-free products - the Right to Roam IPA and Wayfinder lager - stocked in stores across Scotland.

The competition was run in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink, and highlights some of the best food and drink options that Scotland has to offer.

Burnside’s beers were pitted against 31 other Scottish food and drink suppliers across various product categories as they pitched to a taste panel of acknowledged food and drink experts.

Their first alcohol-free IPA Right to Roam lifted the Society of Independent Brewers’ (SIBA) gold award and won Best Brewed Product in the North-east Scotland Food & Drink Awards earlier this year. Along with the Wayfinder lager, it is now available on Scotmid shelves.

The five other winners are:

• Three Robins: Oat Milk/Chocolate Oat Drink/Smoothie Pouches
• Golden Casket: Millions American Sour Squishies
• Equi’s: Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
• Young Spirits: Blue Raspberry/Watermelon Vodka Shots
• Fierce Beer: Iron Brew Beer Cooler

Steven Addison, local sourcing manager at Scotmid, said: “Our competition has grown year-on-year and is now a recognised platform for showcasing Scotland’s outstanding food and drink.

“Selecting this year’s winners was a real challenge due to the level of innovation and quality displayed by the entrants.

“We are proud to support local producers and remain committed to helping Scottish suppliers thrive. The winning products demonstrate the very best of Scotland’s food and drink, and we’re excited to bring them to our stores for customers to enjoy.”

New brewery

While the Burnside team is enjoying that taste of success, public support is boosting their latest venture to develop a site a few miles outside the village to allow them to grow the business.

By offering a series of exclusive products and events to the general public, they’re hoping to raise £95,000 by the end of March and are already two-thirds of the way to their target.

Although improvements to their existing premises on Laurencekirk Business Park in 2021 doubled capacity, their ongoing success means they’ve outgrown the space. The new purpose-built brewery would offer them the potential to brew five times their current capacity, from 100,000 litres a year to 500,000 litres a year.

As well as increasing capacity, the brewery would incorporate new technologies, such as carbon recapture which would recover more than three tonnes of CO² a year and a new clarifying centrifuge that will increase yield while still letting them avoid the use of any additives or preservatives.

Options range from a tour and tasting ticket to the new brewery at only £25, right through to the opportunity for a private “Be The Brewer” event for £1,400, which lets the lucky buyer take over the brewery for a day.

Reaction

Margo said: “This recognition from Scotmid comes at a pivotal time for us with the new brewery becoming a reality.

“We've worked hard to create alcohol-free beer that looks and tastes like the real thing so it’s great that the distinctive and authentic beer styles in our alcohol-free range can now reach an even wider audience through Scotmid stores.

“Making refreshing delicious beer brewed the right way was always our aim and now we've got our sights set on making our brewery bigger and even more sustainable.

“From carbon capture technology to developing recipes with farmers growing the latest in UK ingredients, we've got big plans. Our new brewery is set to open later this year and we'd love the public to help us make it happen.”

Progress on the public funding campaign – and what’s on offer - can be seen at www.burnsidebrewery.co.uk/new-brewery-2025

The project is part of a joint development with construction firm FJB Scotland to build a wedding venue in a renovated steading on the site, located between Fordoun and Inverbervie, as well as the brand new brewery.