BEERS from the UK’s first gluten-free brewery have secured listings with some of the Scottish drinks industry’s biggest wholesalers and distributors.
Bellfield Brewery has been listed by more than 100 pubs, bars and listings in its native Edinburgh and across the Central Belt since being launched by founder Marie Brown and friends in March.
Now its first two beers, Lawless Village IPA and Bohemian Pilsner, are poised to reach a significantly wider audience across Scotland and the UK thanks to distribution deals with Craft Beer Clan Scotland, Gordon & MacPhail, Inverarity Morton, Food and Drink Hub for Scotland and Green City. The deals could also lead the brewer to break into the export market.
Brewery manager Kieran Middleton, who as a consultant brewer worked closely with the founders on recipe development, said: “We had a tremendous response to our first two beers. People have really embraced the fact that we were founded by coeliacs and that we’re committed to producing only gluten-free beers.
“We’re not interested in producing gluten-free versions of brand lagers and beers at industrial scale. Our beers are small batch, hand crafted and gluten-free without the need to add anything.”
Bellfield, whose beers have all been certified by Coeliac UK and carry the “crossed grain” symbol, counts Edinburgh’s five-star Balmoral Hotel among its stockists. It is listed by Valvona & Crolla, the Italian wine merchant and delicatessen, specialist bottle shops such as the Cave in Glasgow and Howie’s restaurant in Perth, as well as other outlets throughout the Highlands, Aberdeen, Ayrshire and St Andrews.
Mr Middleton added: “We are continuing to see momentum building in the demand for gluten-free food and drink, both in the UK and internationally, and our new distribution partners will help us to fulfil this demand.
“The brewery is investing heavily in research and development and we’re hoping to bring new beers to the market in the coming months.”
Bellfield unveiled plans in March to move into a purpose built 2,500 sq ft premises in Abbeyhill. It said then that it expects to create between five and seven sustainable, full-time equivalent jobs in the next three years.
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