Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Got a taste for beer business Veterans go from strength to strength
Coatbridge-based enterprise Veterans Brewing is going from strength to strength as its products feature at a range of beer festivals.
The company’s flagship product, Our Scottish Heroes golden ale, is again on the shelves at 75 Aldi branches across Scotland as part of the supermarket’s current craft beer promotion – in which it also featured earlier in the year.
It was also showcased at the recent Motherwell beer festival and at a similar event aboard the Tall Ship; and is also on sale at home town pub The Vulcan.
Alex McDivitt, who co- founded the brewery with long- standing forces friend Tommy Watt, told the Advertiser: “It’s great to be included in the Aldi festival again as one of the chosen craft beers.
“We’re in the process of moving our plant to Dundyvan enterprise park and hope to have everything installed and be up and running there by later this month.
“Our head office has been based at Atrium business centre for years and it’s been great – we feel at home there and Coatbridge is an ideal location for us, with easy access to the M8 and the north for distribution.”
Veterans Brewing is one of 35 breweries from across Scotland to have been included in the current supermarket beer festival – which is expected to generate total sales of £ 127,000 for the participating companies.
Aldi group buying director Graham Nicolson said: “Scotland’s beer industry has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years, and we’re proud to work with so many of Scotland’s best breweries to help introduce craft beer to a new and wider audience.”
Having served together for 22 years, Alex and Tommy established their brewery with the aim of creating jobs for fellow veterans to help them adjust to life after service, as well as benefiting charities linked to the military.
Speaking about Our Scottish Heroes – named after the charity it supports – Tommy told the Advertiser last year: “We spent a long time planning, brewing, tasting and refining our beer.
“We came up with what we believe is an exceptional recipe; it taste like a malty caramel biscuit with a spicy citrus hop and a lingering crisp apple aftertaste.”