The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Firm toasts Dundee for part in its story
Arapidly growing sour beer firm leaving Dundee said it will look upon its time in the city with sweetness.
Va u l t City Brewing moved its business from Edinburgh to set up within 71 Brewing’s premises in September 2019.
It gave the producer the space to ramp up production by 20 times its previous capacity.
Vault City has become one of the most revered names in the UK craft beer scene.
Last year it produced more than 50 beers, including drinks that tasted like Irn-bru, cherry Bakewell tarts and a pina colada.
Despite the huge success the business has gained while in Dundee, the company has now relocated back to Edinburgh.
Co-founder Steven Smith-hay said: “We looked at Dundee as Vault City’s permanent home.
“But being an Edinburghestablished business we always have seen Edinburgh as our true home.
“We’d been successfully brewing from our house for about 12 months when the chance came up to set up in 71 Brewing’s warehouse.
“Duncan Alexander, the owner at 71, is a family friend and had just expanded into the warehouse next door.
“It meant there was a 500sq ft spot there that allowed us to put in two 4,000-litre fermenters and grow beyond our then current 200-litre set-up.
“Dundee gave us an incredible opportunity to take Vault City to the next level – but I won’t miss the commutes.
“That’s not to say we’re done with Dundee all together, craft beer is a growing movement, sour beer even more so – who’s to say we won’t be back in one form or another?”
Vault City started after Mr Smith-hay was introduced to Jo h n n y Horn, another passionate home brewer.
They realised their combined knowledge of the craft would give them more chance in a competitive marketplace.
Sour beer is a growing market, with Vault City using a traditional method of mixed fermentation with a unique house culture.
Such was the company’s popularity last year that its initial website collapsed under the demand.
“During Covid we had a small part-time army of furloughed bar workers who eagerly left Tiger King behind on the couch to help us package and get our online shop up and running,” Mr Smith-hay added.
“We managed to keep the shop open for three weeks before demand proved too much when we received over 700 orders over a weekend.
“We had the website redone and took on some extra staff and opened back up.
“We sit in a very strange position having grown the business during Covid
– while everyone is trying to adjust to the new normal we’re accustomed to having to adapt and change the business plan overnight.
“We’ve worked hard to get our beer far and wide, now sending S c o tt i s h Modern Sour beer to over 30 countries – as far as Australia and China.”
The bittersweet move to Portobello was completed just before Christmas.
At 5,000sq ft, the premises are 10 times the size of the Dundee site.
The company has five full-time staff but this is likely to double once it opens a taproom.
“We’ ve stretched the limit of what we can finance and went for a property that was a bit beyond our current budget and r e q u i r e m e n t ,” Mr Smith-hay said.
“This year we’re working towards a four-day working week, which has some enormous challenges, but we’re committed to being an exceptional employer.”