Vault City has ramped up production of its increasingly popular fruit beers, as customer demand for new flavours reaches record levels eight years after it launched.
The sour beer producer said it was on track for its biggest year yet in terms of fruit beer production. Volumes are projected to rise by 38% compared to 2023. Volumes were already up by 21% between 2023 and 2025, increasing from 11,900 to 14,424 hectolitres.
As part of its ambition to continuously intensify the flavour and overall quality of its beers, Vault City’s use of fruit is also expected to rise by 40% since 2023 by the end of the year. It was already up 36% between 2023 and 2025, from 150 to 204 tonnes.
The brewer releases at least three new flavours every two weeks. Recent launches have included its mango, mandarin, and passionfruit-flavoured Tropical Sour, TDH Hard Lemonade, and its 999 GL. The latter includes 999 grams of fruit per litre of beer — the legal maximum before it would be considered a cider.
The rise in production of its fruit beers follows another record year for Vault City, as it continues to buck the trend in the craft brewing sector. Earlier this year, the sour beer producer reported it was on track to reach £10 million turnover for the first time by the end of 2027. As of last week, it is the fourth most checked-in brewery in the world on Untappd.
Last year, Vault City sold 3.3 million cans of beer, the vast majority of which were fruit beers. The brewer processed 30,000 online orders, had 200,000 Untappd check-ins, and exported to 26 countries, off the back of releasing 118 different beers. NInety of those were fruited sours. It supplies more than 5,000 UK supermarkets, with listings at retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Waitrose.
The sour beer producer has also continued to pick up numerous accolades in its eighth year. Only this week it toasted a three-star award win at the Great Taste Awards for its fan-favourite Raspberry Sour.
What started out as a hobby for co-founder Steven Smith-Hay (pictured above) has become a multi-million-pound brewing business eight years later. A lover of sour beer, he started reading about fermentation while working in IT, and then began brewing his own batches in his two-bedroom flat in Edinburgh.
“We’ve seen a real shift in customers wanting more fruit flavours in their drinks, and that goes well beyond beer,” said Smith-Hay. “They increasingly want products made with real fruit because they value the authenticity behind those flavours, and that’s something we’ve doubled down on. We now use more than 200,000 kilograms of Scottish‑sourced strawberries, raspberries and other fruits each year, supported by a strong supplier network.
“We’ve also made a conscious effort to intensify flavour by increasing the amount of fruit in our beers, especially the more ‘smoothie‑like’ styles. But what matters most is that we’ve built a niche family of products and a dedicated community around them, and both have grown organically as we expand our range.”
He added: “A big part of that story has been reinvesting back into the brewery to strengthen how we operate and set ourselves up for the long term, and this feels like the right moment to consider our next steps.
“We want to be known not just for sour beers, but for flavour more broadly. It’s an exciting time for Vault City as we edge closer to a decade in business, and we’re committed to exploring new ideas while staying true to what brought us here in the first place.”
