WAITROSE shoppers around Scotland are displaying a growing thirst for craft beer produced north of the Border.

The upmarket retailer has reported that sales of Scottish craft beer in its seven supermarkets in Scotland doubled in the three months to the end of August.

And sales of Scottish craft beers grew six times faster than comparable, premium bottled ales sold in supermarkets in the rest of the UK, Waitrose said. That meant it was the first time that the growth of Scottish brews in its range has outstripped the growth of other premium beers.

The figures demonstrate that there remains significant potential for Scottish brewers to grow sales of craft beer in the UK, as well as in markets overseas.

Toby Knowles, managing director of Clackmannanshire-based Harviestoun Brewery, said last week that craft beer still only accounts for 3.2 per cent of overall beer sales in Scotland.

Waitrose, which has stores in Newton Mearns, Edinburgh, Milngavie and Glasgow’s west end, has recognised that potential by ramping up its range of Scottish beers in its UK stores.

In May it expanded the number of Scottish breweries it works with to 24, which means in now retails more than 90 beers, lagers and ales made in Scotland in its stores.

Stirlingshire’s Fallen Brewery, has seen sales of its unfiltered beer rise by 35 per cent in Waitrose stores in recent weeks, while Tempest Brewing Company, based in Tweedbank, reported a 17 per cent uplift from July to August.

Williams Brothers’ Caesar Augustus remains the biggest-selling Scottish beer in the retailer’s, and saw a 46 per cent rise in sales in the three months to the end of August.

Sales of beer from Aviemore’s Cairngorm Brewing Company, which has supplied Waitrose, since it opened its first Scottish stores 10 years ago, saw a 30 per cent increase in sales over the same period.

Waitrose local and regional buyer Oliver O’Mara said: “There are no guarantees that by doubling the number of products available you will simply double sales, but that is exactly what has happened - the demand has been phenomenal.

“Our partnership with Food and Drink Hub Scotland and the continued support of Scotland Food and Drink has enabled us to put together one of the biggest selections of craft beer and ales of any supermarket.”

“Scottish breweries are making some of the best craft beers in the UK and continue to push the boundaries of innovative new styles.”