The brewery will collaborate with the university

Innis & Gunn has chosen Heriot-Watt University’s Research Park as the site of its new brewery.

The park on the western fringe of Edinburgh is home to the world-renowned International Centre for Brewing & Distilling and the new brewery will be the largest to be built in the capital for 150 years.

A number of micro-breweries such as the Edinburgh Beer Factory at nearby Hermiston have also sprung up in recent years.

The tie-up is the UK’s first major collaboration of this type between a full-scale brewery and a university and will create a centre for brewing studies and applied learning on the world stage.

The collaboration will be on a par with other famed brewery universities like Weinstephan in Germany, and Heriot-Watt and Innis & Gunn anticipate a wealth of benefits to arise as a result.

Dougal Sharp: completing a journey

Innis & Gunn’s £3m ‘Beer Money’ crowdfunding campaign through the Seedrs platform will help fund the new brewery which the brewer plans to build on a two hectare site at Riccarton. It hopes to be operational in 2021.

The company aims to raise £3m through the crowdfund campaign which has been extended until 31 January. The brewery will also be part financed via a £15m loan.

The brewery will also house a visitor centre and offer tours. A Tap Room will be added at a later date. Up to 30 jobs will be added to the 45 office staff relocating from its offices in Edinburgh’s Randolph Crescent. 

Innis & Gunn and Heriot Watt University will announce details of academic collaborations,.

Company founder and master brewer, Dougal Sharp, said: “Building this brewery is a big step for Innis & Gunn in delivering our ambitious growth plan.