(Courtesy Innis & Gunn)

Once a shining star of Scotland’s craft beer revolution, Innis & Gunn has gone from innovative pioneer to a cautionary tale of industry pressures in just over two decades. Founded in 2003, the brewery built a global following with its signature oak-aged ales before entering administration earlier this month — only to be rescued by Irish drinks powerhouse C&C Group in a £4.5 million ($6.04 million US) deal that has preserved the name but claimed more than 100 jobs.

Dougal Gunn Sharp, a third-generation brewer who honed his craft at Edinburgh’s Caledonian Brewery, launched Innis & Gunn after a fire at his father’s site inspired him to reinvent traditional recipes. The flagship The Original — a 6.6% golden ale matured in single-malt whisky casks — quickly became a multi-award winner, delivering smooth notes of toffee, vanilla and oak. Success followed rapidly: exports reached more than 35 countries, with 2.5 million cases sold by 2017 and turnover approaching £12 million, much of it from overseas.

A bold crowdfunding campaign in 2016 raised over £3 million in days, enabling the purchase of Perth’s Inveralmond Brewery. The firm opened stylish taprooms in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, launched Scotland’s top-selling craft lager, and secured a high-profile distribution deal in China. By 2021 it had sold an 8% stake to C&C Group — already its contract-brewing partner at Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery — and continued winning dozens of taste and design awards.

Innis & Gunn founder Douglas Gunn Sharp

Yet, just as in the U.S., the UK’s craft beer boom proved fragile. Rising costs, squeezed consumer spending and operational challenges took their toll. Turnover slipped from £24.1 million in 2024 to £23.6 million, and the company reported a £747,000 loss for the year to March 2025. On March 6, 2026, administrators were appointed; hours later C&C completed a same-day pre-pack acquisition of the brand and global intellectual property for £4.5 million, funded from existing facilities.

All 105 employees — including those at the Perth brewery and three taprooms — were made redundant as the physical sites shuttered. Founder Sharp expressed deep regret: “I’m deeply sorry to everyone affected — particularly my colleagues who have lost their jobs and the shareholders who believed in what we were building… I’m immensely proud of everything our team achieved together.” He added that he was “glad the brand has found a home with C&C Group,” noting their long partnership.

C&C CEO Roger White called the move “a compelling and highly synergistic opportunity to save a well-loved brand,” promising seamless integration into a portfolio that already includes Tennent’s, Magners and Bulmers. The deal is expected to deliver a small positive contribution to C&C’s results in FY27 with “very low execution risk.”

Innis & Gunn’s distinctive beers will now live on under new ownership, but the independent Scottish brewer that once embodied craft ambition has fallen silent. For Sharp and his team, the oak-aged dream ends not with a bang, but with a quiet handover — a bittersweet reminder of how quickly tides can turn in the increasingly unforgiving world of beer.

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