Aberdeen’s Fierce Beer has brewed up a major win with a new supermarket deal.
The company’s new Iron Brew beer cooler, a fizzy, fruity creation, has scored a deal with retailer Scotmid.
The quirky concoction—part beer, part nostalgic soft drink—is the latest innovation from the city’s only brewery.
It’s a departure for the Dyce brewer, known for its award-winning craft beer, but one it hopes will be a hit with Scottish punters and their famous sweet tooth.
Founded by Dave Grant, an explosives expert turned craft beer entrepreneur, and his business partner Dave McHardy, Fierce Beer is the product of two men who swapped careers in oil and gas to drive change in the beer scene.
Like many Scots, they’d grown up with a few familiar brews—mostly mass-market lagers like Tennent’s—but their tastes began to evolve as they spent time in BrewDog bars and explored the vibrant home brewing scene in Aberdeen.
“We always felt there was room for something different in the market, and we were confident we could go up against the big names,” says Dave.
“The big driver for us was the fact that there wasn’t a brewery in the city of Aberdeen itself. It’s quite sad that we’re still the only city brewery.”
The two entrepreneurs used their offshore experience in oil and gas to help shape Fierce Beer’s operations. From health and safety protocols to financial management, their training gave them an edge in the competitive brewing world.
“Running a brewery isn’t just about making great beer. We’ve always treated it as a business, not a hobby,” says Dave.
This approach has paid off, with Fierce Beer now achieving a £5 million turnover.
Fierce Iron Brew beer cooler deal with Scotmid
Fierce Beer has bars in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, which make great spots for Dave to see how his latest brews are going down – including this latest Fierce Iron Brew beer cooler.
Dave says sweeter, fruitier products are trending around the world.
“It’s a really good, growing market,” he explains. “We spent a bit of time on the West Coast in the States last year, and we saw that a lot of iced tea was getting sold, hard (alcoholic) iced tea, and a lot of hard lemonades.
“People wanted a bit more of a sweet product, a fruity product, than something that was bitter and hoppy.”
Dyce brewery gets back to roots
Meanwhile, Fierce Beer is turning its focus back to Aberdeen with a revised business strategy.
“We’ve moved away from wanting to conquer the UK because it’s very difficult to do, and we’ll concentrate on the Scottish market, particularly the local market,” Dave says.
“I would still say that the majority of people don’t know we exist. When they do come out to visit us, they’re quite surprised that we’re a large production facility. ”
The Fierce Beer founder says Aberdeen is supportive of local businesses.
Good examples of this are its recent collaboration with Aberdeen Football Club and Aberdeen hospitality chain McGinty’s Group.
“We want to be on as many taps in the local area as we can,” he said.
“Then we’ll start really concentrating a bit more on having Scotland as our turf.”
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