Edinburgh 'mega brewery' opens making experimental drinks from 'mad scientists'

A new mega brewery has opened up in Edinburgh, with the ability to produce 10 million litres of beer a year.

Vault City, who previously operated from a unit in Portobello, have opened up the site thanks to "diehard" fans who raised £330,000 through crowdfunding.

The new brewery means the "mad scientists" behind the experimental drinks can now increase their output.

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Their products include beers flavours including strawberry banana milkshake, raspberry blueberry bubblegum, jaffa cakes and irn bru.

There's also a possibility to expand the new facility again, with its current site spreading over 34,000 square foot.

Vault City’s co-founder Steven Smith-Hay said: "Our ambition is to be the biggest dedicated sour beer producer in the world. This new site will be instrumental in achieving that.

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"Building a business without external investment is challenging, while the volatility of rental units and lease terms can make the future uncertain.

"It’s a big gamble wanting to grow a business in the current economy, but our amazing community reduced that risk by supporting our crowdfunder sale, helping raise the capital needed to buy the new site outright.

"This is our forever home and it allows us to plan Vault City’s growth more strategically and effectively; we can expand our product output and grow our team while retaining our independence.

"Vault City is unlike most other breweries as we make mixed fermentation beers, with a live house culture. The condition and viability of this needs assessed on a daily basis in order to maintain the signature Vault City flavour profile.

"We also need to monitor and test all the parameters of the liquid to uphold strict quality standards. This is currently outsourced to a lab off site – bringing this on site into one place will be transformative."

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The new site will allow Vault City to expand its global reach, exporting more beer to existing customers in Norway, France, Denmark and Singapore, as well as new ones, with US and Canada identified as growth areas.

Growth has also been driven by the big four UK supermarkets, with Asda soon to be the latest to join Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s as stockists.

Its brewery, lab, external storage site and fulfilment site will now be consolidated on the BioCampus site, which will also host a barrel store.