Innis & Gunn

Innis & Gunn

Innis & Gunn is a specialist independent brewing company based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Established in 2003, its beer has gone on to be the most popular British bottled beer sold in Canada, and second most popular in Sweden. It was part of the nominated drinks list for the G8 Summit 2005 at Gleneagles Hotel.

The business is, since 2008, family owned following a management buy-out from its original part-owners, William Grant and Sons.

Their Innis & Gunn Original beer is brewed in Dunbar, East Lothian before being matured in American white oak Bourbon barrels for 30 days and is then a further 47 days in a marrying tun, and so it is matured for 77 days in total. It is 6.6% alcohol by volume. At first only available as a bottled beer it is now marketed both in bottles and as draught.

According to Innis and Gunn's website, the process was discovered in an ironic accident: the intent was to create a scotch whisky with ale flavours. To do this, a special beer was created which would then be stored in the whisky barrels. After the beer had conditioned the barrels, it was to be discarded and replaced with the whisky. The brewers noted that the process had an agreeable effect on the beer, and thus aging the beer became an end in itself.