Yardarm from Jump Ship Brewing, a Scottish alcohol-free brewing company, has been named the best alcohol-free lager in the world at the World Beer Awards.
Yardarm is a crisp, lively lager with a good balance of malt and hops, and was the first beer released from Jump Ship Brewing.
Making small batches, Jump Ship Brewing uses natural brewing techniques, combining barley, hops, and yeast with soft Scottish water, to create as much flavour as possible, with minimal alcohol.
It is brewed with Citra and Styrian Bobek hops for a full flavour finish, creating a zesty, biscuity, and discretely bitter lager. The beer is gluten-free, vegan and lower in calories than standard beers.
Founder of Jump Ship Brewing, Sonja Mitchell, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Yardarm has been selected as the best alcohol-free lager in the world at the World Beer Awards. We were up against giants like Stella Artois 0.0 and legendary US-based Athletic Brewing: not bad for a tiny wee start-up brewing company from Edinburgh! We’re on a mission to brew world-class alcohol-free in Scotland and this award shows we’re bang on target!”
Sonja, a keen sailor, beer-lover and mother of three, decided to ‘jump ship’ from her marketing job to launch the business. The idea behind Jump Ship was born in December 2018 out of a love of beer but a horror of hangovers. Keen to enable more people to enjoy great beer without the booze, Sonja set out to discover if she could produce a world-class alcohol-free beer in Scotland.
Yardarm was launched in December 2019 after a successful crowdfunding campaign that saw Sonja raise £15,000 in just six days. In June, Pete Sharp joined Jump Ship Brewing as head brewer. Pete joined from the Caledonian Brewery, making the leap from Edinburgh’s oldest and largest brewery to one of its smallest and newest.
Yardarm takes its name from the edge of the spar (or yard) on a mast where sails are set. It was once a tradition in the navy that sailors were given their first ration of rum when the sun reached over the yardarm (about 11am in summer in the North Atlantic). ‘Sun’s over the Yardarm’ is a common call out for the first drink of the day, and at less than 0.5% ABV, Yardarm lager could even be served at breakfast.
Available in 330ml cans, Yardarm contains 40 calories per can with roughly a third of the calories found in an equivalent can of 4% ABV beer. At less than 0.5% ABV, it contains roughly the same level of alcohol as a large ripe banana.
Jump Ship Brewing also brews Flying Colours, a distinctive pale ale, with a rich amber colour and deliciously fruity flavour, and Goosewing IPA, a hazy IPA brimming with Galaxy and Azzacca hops for tantalising hints of mandarin and mango.
Jump Ship Brewing donates at least 10% of the profits to a variety of charities, which are nominated by Jump Ship’s customers or ‘ship mates’ as they are aptly called. The beers are also stocked at a number of independent retailers as well as some of Scotland’s best bars and restaurants: from Edinburgh’s Aizle, Noto and Bonnie & Wild, to the new Johnnie Walker Experience.
