Sporting a collection of 19 beers from 13 leading Scottish independent breweries, including lagers, a variety of ales and IPAs, the event will give Scottish beer fans a better glimpse of the country's growing brewing scene.
Scotland’s brewing tradition dates back over 5,000 years, with the country now having over 90 craft breweries who utilise everything from seaweed to heather to create new and unique brews.
Picture: Lidl
Lidl’s in-store festival offers a true flavour of the country including Six Degrees Belgian style beers, Fyne Ales Maverick copper ale, Orkney Brewery Dragonhead black stout, and Fierce Café Racer ‘Beer of the Year’ winner at the recent 2017 Scottish Beer Awards.
the festival is part of Lidl's drive to increase it's Scottish produce offering, with products sourced from Scotland increasing by 25 per cent in 2017.
Lidl's head of buying for Scotland, Paul McQuade, said: “Sales of speciality beer at Lidl Scotland have grown by 25 per cent in the last year, and we are proud to unveil the line-up for our third Isle of Ale Festival.
"In store from Thursday 24th May, we are bringing a collection from new and established breweries located across the length and breadth of Scotland, giving our customers the opportunity to try a variety of quality local beers at great value prices.”
Caroline Wengel, business development manager for Scotland Food & Drink and The Brewers Association of Scotland commented: “We are delighted that Lidl will be holding its craft beer festival again for the third time. The retailer continues to show great support and commitment to the local craft beer industry in Scotland and we welcome the great variety and spread across Scotland of the beers chosen.”
The news follows the announcement of a new Scottish craft beer in partnership between the supermarket chain and Edinburgh based husband and wife team Stewart Brewing, in a deal worth £100,000.
Bright Lights, a citrusy, punchy, American hop-forward IPA (India Pale Ale) which will be available exclusively to Lidl customers, is the grocer’s first own label collaboration with the Scottish independent brewer and is now available across all 95 Scottish stores.
Stewart’s Brewing and Lidl have been working for the last six months on the perfect brew, and have created using the finest malted barley, available to customers at just £1.19 per bottle.
