Schiehallion gets Tesco Scotland listing

l Success story: Harviestoun Brewery's Schiehallion is a hit with beer lovers nationwide

February 1, 2007: Harviestoun Brewery's bottled version of its famous Schiehallion beer is now available in 80 Tesco stores across Scotland as part of the retailer’s ‘Enjoy the Taste of Scotland’ initiative.

Schiehallion is the second of the brewery's beers to be listed in Tesco. Its award-winning Bitter & Twisted has been in the stores since May 2004.

HARVIESTOUN HISTORY

Harviestoun Brewery was started in 1985 by two home brew enthusiasts with a passion for brewing beers with hop character. By 1990, a new purpose-built 10-barrel brew plant was required and in 1997 Harviestoun’s famous Bitter & Twisted beer was born. It was 2003 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain and in 2005 the bottled version won a gold medal at the International Brewing Awards. In January 2006 Harviestoun was bought by the Caledonian Brewing Company. The Alva Brewery remains in full production with plans to expand brewing at the site in the near future.

The brewery was essentially borne from a passionate hobby of the previous owner Ken Brooker and has steadily grown in reputation.

The Caledonian Brewing Company, brewers of Deuchars IPA, bought the company last year and plans to expand the brewing at the site, while retaining the unique characteristics of Harviestoun.

Chris Miller, national sales manager at Harviestoun, said: "We are exceptionally proud of our beers and are delighted that more people across Scotland will be able to experience them through Tesco’s listing.

"This is great news for the team at the brewery and it is a real testament to their passion and devotion."

Angus Bell, marketing manager for Tesco Scotland, added; “Scotland has a huge amount to offer in terms of the food and drink it produces.

"We know that our customers increasingly want to buy more locally produced Scottish products which is why we continue to do a tremendous amount of work to deliver an even better range in our Scottish stores.

“We spent a long time ensuring that we tracked down the very best beers of Scotland and Schiehallion was one of the beers identified.

"There are so many successful businesses in Scotland producing quality food and drink and we want to be able to share that with our customers — I’m sure the hand crafted beer from the Harviestoun Brewery will be a hit.”

Schiehallion is named after one of Scotland's best known and most popular mountains. Viewed from afar, the 'Fairy hill of the Caledonians' is a distinctive conical peak, often shrouded in cool, refreshing, misty swirls of early morning air.

The lager is crisp, dry and airy with a beautifully fresh, grapefruity taste. Delicately crafted using Hersbrucker lager hops, it is fermented at a very low temperature with lager yeast.