Edinburgh sour beer brewery Vault City has launched a four-beer Bake Off Series, each can built around a dessert and brewed alongside a different partner brewery from around the world, timed to land just ahead of The Great British Bake Off’s return to screens next month.
The four beers
Each can pairs a dessert with a guest brewery:
Bake-Off: Sago Pudding, 5.8% ABV
A Thai-inspired Mango, Lychee, Coconut and Sago Pearl Smoothie Sour brewed with Samata Brewing in Thailand, using sago pearls in a Vault City beer for the first time, alongside tropical fruit and spirulina.
Bake-Off: NY Cheesecake, 5.3% ABV
A Berry and Rhubarb Cheesecake Smoothie Sour made with Evil Twin Brewing in New York, built around juicy berries and a sharp rhubarb edge against creamy cheesecake flavor.
Bake-Off: Matcha Mochi, 7.4% ABV
A Tropical Fruit and Green Tea Ice Cream Sour brewed with Japan’s Uchu Brewing, using around 500kg of rice to recreate the soft, pillowy texture of mochi. It is also the strongest can in the series.
Bake-Off: Cranachan, 5.0% ABV
A Whisky Barrel-Aged Raspberry, Honey and Cream Smoothie Sour made with Scottish brewery Azvex Brewing, using fruit and heather honey from Scottish Bee Co, with a portion aged in Speyside whisky barrels. Vault City calls this its first-ever Barrel-Aged Smoothie Sour.
Cans are priced individually from £7.90 to £8.10, or the full set of four is available as a bundle at £28.62 with a 10% discount.
The story behind it
Vault City founder Steven Smith-Hay said: “We love a good dessert and we love experimenting with beer, so this felt like the perfect opportunity to bring the two together. Each collaboration gave us the chance to try something we’ve never done before, from using half a tonne of rice and experimenting with sago pearls to ageing a beer in whisky barrels for the first time. We’ve definitely taken a few liberties with the idea of a bake, but that’s part of the fun.”
The cans themselves carry artwork from Edinburgh illustrator Heather Fletcher, who designed four separate labels inspired by vintage travel postcards to give each collaboration its own sense of place.
Where to buy it
The Bake Off Series is available now direct from vaultcity.co.uk, sold as individual cans or as the discounted four-pack bundle. This is a limited-edition run, so it is worth grabbing a set before it disappears rather than waiting.
More on the site
This is our first Vault City piece on Beer Is My Life. Given how often the brewery is turning up in UK sour beer news lately, we will be keeping an eye on what it does next.
