Sonja Mitchell is the founder of one of our member organisations, Jump Ship Brewing Ltd. 🍻 Find out more about their fantastic business journey below 👇
Sonja Mitchell is the founder of Jump Ship Brewing Ltd, a company that brews world-class alcohol-free beer in Scotland. We asked her why she became a brewer and why she chose Scotland… “I came up with the idea for Jump Ship because no one else was producing the beer that I wanted to drink! I decided it was up to me to have a go. I spent a lot of time trying to talk myself out of it... was it crazy to launch a business when I had three children and a busy life to juggle? But then I thought if people like me didn't have a go at launching a business, then who would? I made Scotland my home 14 years ago and fell in love with the food and drink scene here. I ended up drinking German lager when I first switched to alcohol-free beer as that was the best I could find. It felt wrong that I was being forced to make a different choice when I was so used to drinking amazing locally brewed craft beer. My mission when I launched Jump Ship was to brew world-class alcohol-free beer, right here in Scotland, and that hasn't changed. It took nearly a year to perfect our first beer, Yardarm, and I wept into more than one failed brew. Finding the right brewing partner was tricky, and then replicating the quality of my trial recipe took several unsuccessful attempts before we finally cracked both flavour and fermentation. So, imagine my delight when Yardarm was awarded best no and low alcohol lager in the World Beer Awards 2021, beating global brands in the process. Not bad for a wee start-up from Edinburgh! 🎉 The reason I kept going was because I loved the beer we'd developed so much, and I knew that it deserved to reach a bigger audience. In January this year, we opened the doors of our new purpose-designed brewery in Midlothian. I have to pinch myself every day when I come into work, seeing that row of shiny tanks and realising how my dream to brew my own world-class alcohol-free beer in Scotland has become a reality.” #ScotlandBeer #ScotlandFoodAndDrink #ScotlandZeroBeer #ZeroBeer #NonAlcoholicBeer Scotland Food & Drink