Scottish brewer to launch playful spoof lager in Edinburgh and Glasgow taprooms this weekend

Innis & Gunn’s Edinburgh and Glasgow taprooms will stock new beer “Iññez & Gunn”, a playful spoof of Spanish-branded beer, available this weekend only. The beer is inspired by a popular “Spanish” beer that's actually brewed right here in the UK.

Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn are hoping to get “in on the action” as Brits seek out continental lagers - even if they aren’t quite what they seem.

Innis & Gunn founder and master brewer Dougal Sharp, who earned his pocket money in his early teens by washing casks and rolling barrels at Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, and went on to win Champion Beer of Britain, said: “We’ve been inspired by our dear friends at Madri. We saw how easy it was to convince British drinkers that a beer with a Spanish-sounding name and a fancy label is from somewhere exotic. So, we thought, why not get in on the action?

“Credit where credit is due, the marketing works like a charm. Brits love a foreign-sounding lager — even when it’s brewed right here on home turf.

“It’s a bit of fun, but hopefully it also reminds drinkers that Scotland’s own premium lager rivals anything from across the continent.” 

The cheeky stunt comes as data shows the opaqueness around how beer is marketed and perceived across the UK.

According to a survey by Opinion Matters, 90% of Brits have been misled by beer branding, with only 8% actually aware that Madrí Excepcional, dubbed “Madrid’s Modern Lager,” is brewed in Yorkshire.

Across the UK, half of Millennials (and 38% of all Brits) are willing to pay more for continental beer.  

The limited-batch brew, Iññez & Gunn — which the company cheekily claims is “completely and entirely different” from their award-winning lager — will be available in Innis & Gunn’s taprooms in Ashton Lane, Glasgow’s city centre, and on Edinburgh’s Lothian Road until Sunday night.