Waitrose has added a slew of new and exclusive SKUs to its craft beer lineup.
The upmarket retailer said the range optimisation – which rolled out across its stores from this week – was aimed at making its beer range “as shopper-friendly as possible”.
Breweries to have secured a Waitrose debut as part of the review include Reading’s Double Barrelled and lower-calorie beer brand Lowrise.
Double Barrelled’s 4.5% Parka Pale Ale (rsp: £3/440ml), and new 5.8% Kitchen Disco (£3.50/440ml), Hazy IPA have hit 67 stores, while Lowrise’s Lager (£2.20/330ml) has rolled out across 173 stores.
Other Waitrose exclusive listings include Lost & Grounded Iced Coffee Pale Ale (£3.50/440ml), Small Beer Stout (£2.25/350ml) and Brlo Helles (£2.50/330ml).
In total, 44 new SKUs have landed, with seven of these – including Thornbridge Jaipur DDH and Cocoa Wonderland, as well as three SKUs from Birmingham’s Attic Brew Co – available on a regional basis only.
Other beers previously listed by Waitrose, including Vault City Rhubarb & Custard (£3/440ml) and Wiper & True’s Kaleidoscope Pale Ale and 5.6% Sundance IPA (both £3.30/440ml) have also seen an increase in distribution.
The full list – Waitrose’s new craft beer range
- Beavertown Bloody ’Ell 440ml
- Beavertown Satellite 4x330ml
- BrewDog Post Punk 4x330ml
- BrewDog Wingman 4x330ml
- BrewDog Lucky Break 440ml
- BrewDog King Crush 440ml
- Northern Monk Fruit Twist Lolly 440ml
- Camden Lager Top 4x330ml
- Camden Stout 4x440ml
- And Union Saturday Lager 330ml
- Brixton 4x330ml
- Lost & Grounded x Caravan Coffee Pale Ale 440ml
- Wild Beer Co Pogo 440ml
- Small Beer Stout 350ml
- Small Beer Pale 6x350ml
- Greene King Hazy Days 4x330ml
- Brewgooder Fonio 4x330ml
- Outland West Coast IPA 440ml
- Vault City Peach Iced Tea 440ml
- Wiper & True Espresso Martini 440ml
- Northern Monk Heathen Club 4x330ml
- Vocation Crush Hour 4x330ml
- Vocation Aoraki DDH 440ml
- Mad Squirrel Aztec 440ml
- Brooklyn Stonewall IPA 4x330ml
- Northern Monk Faith In Futures x Amy Hastings 440ml
- Tiny Rebel Clwb Tropica 440ml
- Toast Session IPA 330ml
- BRLO Helles 330ml
- BRLO Pale Ale 330ml
- Lowrise Lager 330ml
- Jubel Grapefruit 330ml
- Double Barrelled Parka 440ml
- Double Barrelled Kitchen Disco Hazy IPA 440ml
- Magic Rock Botanicalist 440ml
- Fourpure Juiced Mango & Raspberry 440ml
- Fourpure Juiced Passionfruit & Lime 440ml
- Wye Valley Fandango 4x330ml *
- Thornbridge Jaipur DDH 440ml *
- Thornbridge Cocoa Wonderland 440ml *
- Stewart Brewing Radical Road *
- Attic Brew Co Rollin’ Waves 440ml *
- Attic Brew Co Orders 440ml *
- Attic Brew Co Intuition 440ml *
- Vault City Rhubarb & Custard 440ml *
* Regional listing only
“Rotation is a really important part of any craft beer range and we know our customers are always on the lookout for new and exciting products,” said Jourdan Gabbini, beer and cider buyer at Waitrose.
A key focus of the range review, Gabbini said, was ensuring the retailer’s offer reflected changes in demand over the summer months.
“There’s a massive breadth of styles when it comes to craft beer, so it’s really important for brands to try and reflect this from a seasonal perspective,” he said, adding this would mean “more summery, fruity beers during the warmer months and more wintery styles in colder months such as big stouts and porters”.
“From ensuring better availability to optimising the range as well as consistency, you’ll see that the current offering is very different to what we had pre-October 2023 and this is certainly for the better,” he added.
If you’ve got a fantastic new product or packaging innovation, we want to hear about it! The deadline for The Grocer New Product & Packaging Awards is 17 June, so get your entries in. Visit thegrocernewproductawards.co.uk to enter, buy tickets or to enquire about sponsorship opportunities.
No comments yet