Scotland’s first non-alcoholic brewing company, Jump Ship Brewing, has opened a new purpose-built 20 hectolitre brewery in Midlothian.
Founded by Sonja Mitchell who ‘jumped ship’ from her marketing job to brew non-alcoholic beers, the brewery has already gained awards for its small-batch releases and looked to secure a site which could quadruple production to meet the growing demand using 100% renewable energy.
Recent research released by YouGov showed that almost half (44%) of Britain’s youngest drinkers (18-25 year olds) are opting for low and no-alcohol alternatives, up from 31% in 2022.
Sonja launched a crowdfunding campaign last year which exceeded its target of £300,000 in days with investors from across the UK, demonstrating the rising popularity of the no and low alcohol movement.
Sonja Mitchell, Managing Director of Jump Ship, said:
“As an independent brewery, I dreamed that we might be able to dock ship and open our brewery someday and this feels like such a huge achievement for our team.
“Many people might have tried non-alcoholic beer, but few people know how we make our beers naturally without alcohol, so we’re looking forward to rolling up the shutters and welcoming people in.
“The funding bid has allowed us to expand and explore new contracts in new territories and get our cans to customers on new shores and close to home with on and off trade sales. We start brewing this week in our new home, with our first cans from the new brewery available from next month.”
The move also means that Jump Ship are offering brewery tours for the first time, priced from £20 per person and available to book on their website. Each tour lasts between 60 – 90 minutes and includes a tour of the brewery space, plenty of samples during a guided tasting and a branded tote bag with a can or two to enjoy at home.
Jump Ship Brewing has a strong charitable focus at its heart with a commitment from the outset to donate at least 10% of their profits to a variety of charities, which are nominated by Jump Ship’s customers or ‘ship mates’ as they are described. All beers are also gluten free, suitable for vegans and contain the same amount of alcohol per can as a ripe banana.