Following what it says is its most successful year to date, craft brewer Harviestoun, is to begin marketing two of its top beer brands in cans.
Lager Schiehallion (4.8% ABV) and golden ale Bitter and Twisted (4.2% ABV) are the first of the core range to use the new pack, retailing in four 330ml can packs with an RRP of £6. The range has secured Scottish listings in 80 Tesco stores and 95 Sainsbury’s stores and is expected to roll-out UK-wide in the coming months.
Managing director of Harviestoun Brewery Toby Knowles said the move had been prompted by a desire to move into new markets and reflected changing perceptions among consumers.
“It’s definitely a growing phenomenon that people are now looking for craft beer in cans,” he said. “Part of that is down to its convenience. If you’re in your local shop and you want to grab four beers do you want to wrestle four 500ml bottles back to the car or do you want to take a four-pack of cans?
“On top of that, after years of very cheap beer being traded hard in can, I think people are now recognising that canned beer can be of equal quality to bottled and contain high-quality craft beer as opposed to cheap mass-market beer.
“In the on-trade, especially in the casual dining sector, cans are now a very acceptable form of serve whereas in the off-trade I think cans are just beginning to be recognised as a quality option.”
• Glasgow-based brewery Drygate has launched four new cans designed by their former van driver.
The studio range – Chimera India Pale Lager, Crossing the Rubicon India Pale Ale, Orinoco Breakfast Stout and Disco Forklift Truck – features psychedelic character-based artwork by former Drygate van driver turned freelance artist, John Felix, and is being launched to independent retailers with an RRP of £2.25 per can.
