Refreshingly good beer!

As far as my first week at Small City goes, I think I can hold my hands up and say, I’ve been pretty lucky!

On Tuesday night, I was in attendance at the launch of the brand refresh of the local Inveralmond Brewery – with a host of craft beers just waiting to be tried. Not a bad first gig, huh?

The brewery was acquired by Edinburgh-based Innis & Gunn back in April 2016, and the purpose of this event was to re-engage with the community in Perth. There was a worry that the acquisition could spell an end to some of the most popular beers produced by Inveralmond, but Tuesday’s aim was to prove that this was not the case.

Held at the Green Room in Perth, a private party consisting of local pub landlords and representatives – and one lucky reporter – were treated to free pints of the Inveralmond Brewery’s finest craft beer.

It seemed to go down well with those in the pub trade, many of them reassured by the fact that the beers still tasted as good as ever.

Aly Bayne, the Brand Manager at the Inveralmond Brewery, was keen to make that point:

“We want to stress that this is just a brand refresh. The recipes, taste and the brewers are still exactly the same as before.”

The thirst for craft beer is there – many of the younger generations much prefer an Ossian or Lia Fail to a Tennent’s or Stella. This is something that Aly and his colleagues are very aware of.

“We were keen to give the brand some personality – a lot of the younger generations are now into craft beers and we need the brand to be appealing to a variety of different markets.

“We’ve kept all of the old elements (in the refresh) – but we’ve given it a more modern twist and the feedback from those in the trade has been very positive.”

Indeed, those in attendance were suitably impressed with the brand refresh. Representatives from the likes of the Abbotsford, Tavern and Wetherspoon’s were quick to the bar and were complimentary about the brand refresh.

The man behind the event was Daman Bush – regional Field Sales Executive for Innis & Gunn – and over a pint of EPA, he told me about the positive impact the acquisition will have on the Inveralmond Brewery.

“The takeover is beneficial for the brewery. As you can see, in terms of the people behind the beer nothing has changed. It’s the same brewers that are working day in day out, making the beer, using the same recipes. What the acquisition allows is for the current team to be even more creative. They can create new recipes and continue producing fantastic beer!”

The future looks bright for the Inveralmond Brewery. Another perk from the takeover is that it has increased the export potential. Innis & Gunn has recently signed a deal to take Ossian, one of the most popular beers produced by the brewery, to China and Taiwan. Inveralmond beers are also doing increasingly well in Edinburgh and Northern England.

To find out more about the brewery or to look into booking a tour, click here.

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If you haven’t tried one of the Inveralmond Brewery’s craft beers, then have a look at the list below with some of the places in Perth that you can give it a try.

Abbotsford

Green Room

Kirkside Bar

The Venue

The Tavern

Royal George Hotel

The Capital Asset

Greyfriars Bar

Willows

The Wheel Inn

Salutation Hotel