Innis & Gunn to build brewery at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh

Scottish brewing company Innis & Gunn will build a brewery at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh to meet the growing demand for its beers.

Heriot-Watt University already houses the International Centre for Brewing & Distilling.

The brewery will be built with an investment of £20m on a two-hectare land area, comprising canning, bottling and kegging capabilities, helping the company to streamline several outsourced brewing and packaging sites in one location.

A £15m loan is also being progressed for the project and is subject to due diligence.

The facility will brew Innis & Gunn’s core range of Craft Lager-Beer, Original, Session IPA and other barrel-aged beers. It also a visitor centre, with plans for the addition of a Tap Room later.

Innis & Gunn founder and master brewer Dougal Gunn Sharp said: “Working with the International Centre of Brewing and Distilling opens up endless opportunities by combining our creative abilities and the talent pool at the university with our new world-class, modern brewery.

“We hope to be able to research new beers and brewing techniques, develop pioneering carbon and water-saving technologies and create new products that respond to changing demands from consumers, as well as facilitating in-work learning for students.”

Once operational in 2021, the brewery is expected to create 30 employment opportunities in the region.

Additionally, the brewery will help Heriot-Watt University’s International Centre for Brewing & Distilling students to gain hands-on experience across all aspects of brewing operations.

The partnership is said to be the UK’s first significant collaboration between a university and a full-scale brewery.

Once completed, the brewery will be the first in Edinburgh in 150 years.