The brewing firm, based in Leith, Scotland, is now finalising plans to upgrade their existing brew kit, aiming to quadruple their beer output to meet rising demand throughout the UK and abroad.

Founder of Campervan Brewery, Paul Gibson, explained the motivation behind the popular beer. What began as exploratory research into nitro beers, propelled by the desire to accommodate beer enthusiasts unable to consume Guinness due to its gluten content, has culminated in Extra Black – a unique, gluten-free version of the beloved porter style beer. Mr Gibson highlighted the overwhelmingly positive customer feedback.

Extra Black, an unfiltered and unfined Scottish porter, presents a sophisticated blend of milk chocolate and cold press coffee flavours, complemented by a smooth bitterness. The beer’s vegan-friendly, gluten-free nature widens its appeal, notably among the UK’s coeliac population, which is estimated to be around 1%. This development offers thousands of gluten-intolerant adults another high-quality beer option to enjoy.

Mr Gibson said: “ It’s an incredibly exciting time in the brewery just now. We bounced out of lockdown and our feet have barely touched the ground since.

“We have almost reached our production capacity, so it’s time to expand. We are striving to make beer much more efficiently and are working on a number of projects to reduce our carbon footprint.”

The brewery, born out of Gibson’s travels around festivals in his 1973 classic VW campervan, initially operated from a portable brew kit. In 2017, the firm established a permanent home in Leith, featuring a community taproom that has since become a crowd favourite. Campervan Brewery further extended its Leith footprint in 2020 with the inauguration of its bar and fermentaria, Lost in Leith.

This venue, located on Commercial Street, serves not only a diverse range of craft beers but also hosts an array of events, from live music and poetry to dance evenings and quiz nights.