Will ‘visitor beer’ guidelines help small Scottish breweries ? | EUROtoday

“It’s fluctuating, and it’s been hard the last couple of years,” says Vinny Rosario, founding father of Moonwake Beer Co. in Leith.

He is a part of one of many roughly 150 small, impartial breweries in Scotland.

They’re all included in new guidelines that may see impartial breweries have their merchandise offered at “tenant pubs”, these owned by breweries however run by exterior folks.

So how are the “guest beer” guidelines working for breweries like his?

Since July 2025 after they have been launched, it has been a blended bag.

“There are a lot of breweries in Scotland, but there are also a lot of beer drinkers,” says Vinny.

“On an average week, we make 7,000 to 10,000 litres of beer.”

He believes there’s a place for the smaller gamers, however admits it’s onerous to compete with the largest manufacturers.

“They have more market access; they own pubs or lines.”

For Vinny, the brand new guidelines have not made an excessive amount of distinction.

“There was a lot of hope and hype, but pubs can be disincentivised by their landlords.

“There’s a variety of crimson tape, so they do not need any extra added to their backside line,” he says.

In essence, the “visitor beer” changes are meant to address this.

Introduced as part of the Scottish government’s Scottish Pubs Code, it allows pub tenants to request and sell at least one independent beer if the building’s owner agrees.

“The demand for attention-grabbing, high quality beers has by no means been greater,” says Stuart McMahon, Scottish Director for CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale).

He believes there has never been a better time for consumers in terms of the variety and choice on offer.

“The hope is that this scheme will permit pubs to introduce a wider vary of beers, ” says Stuart.

He believes many could stand to benefit from the rules.

“We have over 150 breweries in Scotland in the intervening time, lots of that are small, producing out of their storage. Some are larger with extra equipment.”

Many within the industry do think there is interest in providing “visitor beers” in bars and pubs, but don’t claim it’s an immediate fix.

“It’s positively making a distinction on the sting,” says Jamie Delap, managing director of Fyne Ales and Scotland representative of SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers and Associates).

Within the market area these rules apply to, he believes there have been some companies starting to benefit but it is too soon to tell what impact it will have in the longer term.

Jamie insists there are reasons to be positive about the next few years for breweries in Scotland.

“Making beer, promoting beer, it is good enjoyable. You must be optimistic.

“The market is going in the right direction, we are making beers consumers want to drink.”

Despite small, impartial breweries making up round 90% of the entire in Scotland, Jamie believes they solely produce round 10% of the product offered right here.

All of that, he believes, leads them to needing a transparent technique to realize a foothold.

“You’ve got to do three things right,” he says.

“You’ve got to make great beer. You’ve got to have a really good story to tell. And then finally, you’ve got to run a great business.

“If the enterprise would not work, you are not going to be doing it for a very long time.”

Telling a story and leaning into local identity is part of the “visitor beer” concept, something Vinny realises he and others can capitalise on.

“I feel one of many only a few positives that got here out of Covid is that folks began to turn into conscious of what was native. And that is not simply us. It’s butchers, bakeries, crafts.

“More people being aware of what is local can only be good,” he says.