Organics and Sustainability: What It Means to Black Isle Brewery

Located on the Black Isle peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, Black Isle Brewery is known not only as a producer of exceptional beers but also as a champion of organic farming methods and sustainable business practices. For over a quarter of a century, our mission has extended beyond brewing to creating space for nature and building meaningful links with our local community while we do it.

Our Organic Journey

The brewery’s founder, David Gladwin, envisaged a brewery that intertwined with the environment. This vision wasn’t born out of a trend; it was something that genuinely mattered in the brewery’s foundational ethos. For us, organic status consists of more than just a label—it embodies a deep commitment to nature, balance and true sustainability.

Despite initial challenges, such as a scarcity of organic hops and elevated costs of organic ingredients (up to 3x the price non-organic ingredients), we have remained committed to these values. Today, there is far greater awareness of the importance of looking after our environment and the crucial role that organic methods play within that process.

Pioneering Purpose Beyond Profits

Earning our B Corp certification in March 2023 was an important milestone on our sustainability journey. B Corp certification is awarded to companies that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. We believe that businesses have a responsibility to operate in a way that balances profits with their broader responsibilities to employees, customers, communities and the planet. Black Isle also collaborates with Ecosia, the search engine which has planted over 180 million trees worldwide. Half of profits from sales of our “Treehouse Pale Ale” supports community-led biodiversity projects in 33 countries worldwide.

Biodiversity Beyond Brewing

We are fortunate to be surrounded by our beautiful 130-acre organic brewery farm. Here, we have planted thousands of native broadleaf trees, created ponds, wetlands and wildflower meadows. We have a small flock of Hebridean sheep which provide lamb to our bars – the rest is left to nature.

The Garden: Black Isle Brewery's Green Heartbeat

Adjacent to the brewery is our vibrant five-acre SOPA-accredited market garden, where we grow organic vegetables, fruits and herbs using regenerative methods. Much more than just a garden, it's a hub for community connections. We run horticulture courses and welcome adult volunteers as well as groups of schoolchildren each week. This provides a wonderful share experiences, exchange insights and simply benefit from time spent in nature. Much of the produce from the garden makes its way onto our wood-fired pizzas and fresh salads in our brewery bars in Inverness and Fort William.

Crafting a Sustainable Future

There are many ways in which we are seeking to improve our business practices, our environmental impact and the contribution that we make as part of the local community.

We believe that the loyalty shown to the brewery by so many customers over the past 25 years is testament to this ethos as well as our wonderful range of core and seasonal beers. There is greater need than ever for consumers to prioritize nature-friendly production and we thank everyone that has supported us so far – we couldn’t do it without you.

Save The Planet, Drink Organic. 🍻