Pucker Up: Brewery Offers Dream Job as ‘Sourmellier’ to Taste-Test All Sour Beers

An Edinburgh-based brewery is on the hunt for the perfect candidate to fill the dream role of ‘Sourmellier’: a beer aficionado tasked with tasting and testing all its sour creations before they hit the shelves.

Vault City, known as the ‘mad scientists of craft beer’, is launching a crowdfunding campaign to help fund a new brewery fit-out, and aspiring Sourmelliers can follow their dreams by contributing to the crowdfunder sale.

The initiative allows beer lovers to get their hands on beers and merch with at least 33% off and has special reward tiers, with one lucky fan set to land the coveted role of ‘Sourmellier’, responsible for taste-testing all new sour beer releases in 2025.

From Wham!-inspired sours to deep-fried Mars Bar-flavoured stouts, the chosen beer fan will receive a selection of beers each month to taste before they go to market and will have the chance to meet with and provide feedback to the Vault City team.

“This role isn’t for the fainthearted - we’re looking for a sour beer fan like no other,” says co-founder Steven Smith-Hay.

“It will involve a lot of sour beer drinking so we’re looking for a very refined palette. Someone with a real understanding of the sour scale, who can present facts with no fluff and isn’t afraid to deliver raw honesty for the sake of the sour beer community.”

With demand soaring for Vault City’s weird and wonderful brews, the campaign aims to raise over £1 million to bring the new brewery to life.

The fundraiser sale launches at vaultcity.co.uk on 15 April and will run for up to four weeks, offering all customers – in retail and on trade – the chance to grab a bargain. 

Perks range from a complimentary t-shirt to a bespoke beer collaboration. A £750 spend offers the investor an opportunity to co-create a beer, have their name etched into Vault City’s ‘forever home’, and receive ten cases of their own exclusive brew.

Each investment will also enter fans into a draw to be crowned the Vault City Sourmellier.

Vault City’s new 34,000-square-foot site is located at BioCampus, Scotland’s first dedicated national bio-manufacturing campus within the Midlothian Science Zone.

The new facility will allow Vault City to produce over 10 million litres of beer a year, increasing capacity by more than eight million litres. There is also scope for expansion up to 20 times its current size, with the crowdfunding campaign supporting its official launch and doors expected to open in October 2025.

Funders will receive a 33% discount on all beer and merchandise online, alongside reductions for trade, wholesale, and export customers to help reach the £1 million target.

Vault City, which started in a Dundee kitchen in 2018, now turns over more than £6.8 million and is stocked in over 250 bars. Stockists include Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose, and the brewery produces more than a third of the UK’s sour beers, exporting to more than 20 countries.

Co-founder Steven Smith-Hay said: “I think this would be my dream job – the chance to just taste and feedback on beers, really putting my palate to the test.  We always welcome feedback, from the ‘not sour enoughs’ to the ‘who on earth would drink this?’. Every opinion helps us improve. 

“We’re grateful to every person who has helped us get where we are – we’re asking for more help to make our brewery one of the sour beer world’s best. But we’re not doing so without offering something in return: discounts, limited edition specials and of course, the chance to be our first ‘sourmellier’. We look forward to seeing who puts their hat in the ring to be the first to experience Vault City’s creations.