Innis & Gunn is launching two new bottled products into retail this winter as permanent range additions, and has already secured national listings for the innovative brews.
Toasted Oak IPA will join the brewer’s core portfolio as Blonde bows out. Presented to the on-trade on draught earlier this year, Innis & Gunn Lager is the first release in Innis & Gunn’s new Craft-Brewed collection of unoaked beers.
Toasted Oak IPA (5.6%)
Packing a major hop punch, Toasted Oak IPA is a triple-hopped brew matured for 41 days over specially toasted American oak heartwood chips, giving it a rich, rounded quality much like an authentic IPA of the 1800s
Known for its innovation in oak maturation, the multi-award-winning independent Edinburgh brewer has developed a pioneering technique to age its beer over oak. In its Toasted Oak IPA, Innis & Gunn has added three charges of Styrian Goldings and Goldings hops to really build layer upon layer of zesty aroma and flavour and extract all the floral nuances from the hops.
Founder and master brewer of Innis & Gunn, Dougal Sharp, explained: “We add two separate batches of hops during the main brewing process and the third charge is added post fermentation. The process extracts the maximum flavour from the hops and gives it real depth. The beer is then finished over toasted oak which lends the rich vanilla tones that our beers are known for.”
Toasted Oak IPA will be available to buy in Asda stores nationwide from mid October for £1.54 (330ml bottle) and Tesco (RRP TBC).
Innis & Gunn Lager (4.6%)
Innis & Gunn Lager is an unoaked Helles-style lager that uses native British ingredients with some Innis & Gunn flourishes. The recipe uniquely features Naked Golden Oats* for a subtle nuttiness and rich mouthfeel, lager malt and large quantities of Super Styrian and Styrian Goldings hops for bitterness and aroma. The result is a well-balanced lager with a clean, crisp finish.
Dougal commented: “Innis & Gunn beers aren’t light sessionable beers so I wanted to give our consumers a refreshing but flavourful lager that would deliver a really rewarding taste experience in the same way they’ve grown to expect through our oak-aged beers.”
Innis & Gunn Lager (330ml bottle) will be sold in Tesco stores across the UK from November.
For the first time in the brewer’s history, Innis & Gunn will be bottling both beers in brown glass: Toasted Oak IPA, to preserve its intense hop character and Lager to create distinction from the core brand.
Dougal added: “Consumers are often bewildered when they see our beer in clear glass bottles but it wasn’t to go deliberately ‘against the grain’ that led us to that decision. We do regular product testing with leading experts, FlavorActiv, and they have proved conclusively that our beer doesn’t suffer light strike. With Toasted Oak IPA, however, because of the high hop content, brown glass is essential.”
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Notes to Editor:
* Naked oats are so called because the kernels thresh free of the hulls, have been grown for centuries by farmers who enjoy the advantages of an oat variety that can be fed to young stock and poultry without being milled or ground, as hulled oats must be, and can also be easily used as porridge or other food for humans. This malt lends a sweet berry-nut flavour.
About Innis & Gunn
Innis & Gunn was discovered by accident, and lucky for us that it was. The beer was conceived in 2002 – well not the beer that Innis & Gunn drinkers know and love, but the base beer. Dougal Sharp was asked by Grant’s Distillers to create a distinctive beer that would season whisky barrels for a Cask Ale Reserve whisky. The beer was developed and served its time in the barrel only to be thrown away as a by-product until canny distillery workers realised that it was a brew like no other and far too good to dispense with. Instead, they dispensed the beer into lemonade bottles for the occasional clandestine treat. Transformed by its time in oak, the beer assumed characteristics that were completely unknown in any other beer styles. Sweet toffee and vanilla notes complemented a backbone of mellow malt and fruity hop. This was a beer that was both complex and flavourful and the industry soon sat up to take note.
In 2003, Innis & Gunn (the middle names of CEO Dougal Sharp and his brother Neil) launched with this first and cornerstone beer, Original. Over time, Blonde and Rum Finish have joined the family and Limited Edition releases help Innis & Gunn continue to blaze a trail in oak maturation. Plaudits have abounded for both the beer and the company: Monde Selection medals, World Beer Awards and two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in International Trade have all signalled that, despite an accidental discovery, Innis & Gunn has a nose for beer and a head for business.
Now Scotland’s leading independent beer company, Innis & Gunn has built a loyal band of followers across the globe. Beyond the UK, where it is the fourth biggest specialty beer brand in the retail sector, Innis & Gunn is the best-selling British bottled beer in Canada and the top ale brand in Sweden.
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Steph Middleton Press Officer
The Innis & Gunn Brewing Company Ltd
6 Randolph Crescent Edinburgh EH3 7TH
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0131 220 7230
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07515 738605
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0131 226 6333
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