Vault City Instant Spark Imp Stout

Edinburgh has produced a lot of good beer over the years. Vault City arrived and decided the city probably needed considerably more sour beer.

Founded in 2018, the brewery quickly became one of the UK's most recognisable names in modern sour brewing. Fruit-heavy kettle sours, pastry-inspired releases and heavily fruited beers sit at the centre of the range, often carrying flavours that sound slightly ridiculous until somebody hands you a glass and it somehow works.

The beers are unapologetically bold. Massive fruit additions, thick texture and bright acidity feature heavily throughout the lineup. Raspberry, mango, guava, cherry and countless other ingredients regularly find their way into releases that often blur the line between beer, smoothie and dessert.

Despite the playful side, there is a lot of technical brewing underneath everything. Balancing acidity, sweetness and fruit character without turning the beer into complete chaos is harder than it looks.

Modern sour beer has become one of the fastest-growing parts of British craft brewing. Vault City helped push that movement from niche curiosity into something much more mainstream.