Jump Ship Brewing Review: Scotland's Dedicated Alcohol-Free Brewery
Published May 2026 · Updated September 2026 · 7-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
A lot of the alcohol-free beer sold in the UK is made either by big brewers alongside their full-strength brands, or under contract for brands that don’t own a brewery. Jump Ship is neither: it’s one of a small number of UK breweries that make nothing but alcohol-free beer in their own brewhouse, and it calls itself Scotland’s specialist alcohol-free brewery.
Who are Jump Ship?
Sonja Mitchell launched Jump Ship Brewing in December 2019. She wanted an alcohol-free beer as good as the Scottish craft beers she enjoyed. Its first beer, Yardarm, took nearly a year to perfect and is still the bestseller.
Until 2024 Jump Ship brewed on contract, using other breweries’ equipment. At the start of 2024 Jump Ship moved into its own 20-hectolitre brewery at Rosemains Steading in Pathhead, Midlothian. The team includes Pete Sharp, who joined in 2021 from Edinburgh’s historic Caledonian Brewery, and Iain Mooney, who joined in 2024.
Jump Ship has raised money through crowdfunding, most recently in December 2025, and has committed to giving at least 10% of its profits to charity. Causes it has supported include Autism on the Water, the Water of Leith Trust and relief for the war in Ukraine.
What makes Jump Ship different
Brewed low, not dealcoholised
A lot of alcohol-free beer is brewed to full strength and then has the alcohol stripped out. Jump Ship doesn’t do that. It manages the mash temperature so fewer fermentable sugars are produced, and uses specially selected yeasts and carefully controlled fermentation so the beer builds flavour without building alcohol. For the wider picture, see our guide to how alcohol-free beer is made.
Its own alcohol-free brewery
Jump Ship brews and packages every beer at its own site. That puts it in a small group of UK alcohol-free-only brewers that run their own brewhouse, alongside Nirvana in East London and Drop Bear in Swansea. Many other alcohol-free brands work with contract or partner breweries.
Vegan and gluten-free across the range
Every Jump Ship beer is vegan and gluten-free. The beers are brewed with barley and oats, and Jump Ship says every batch is independently tested by a UKAS-accredited lab to less than 10 parts per million, half the 20ppm limit for gluten-free labelling. See our gluten-free alcohol-free beer guide.
On draught in Scotland
Most alcohol-free beer is sold in cans. Jump Ship says Yardarm is now poured in bars across Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Jump Ship range: our picks
Stoker’s Stout
Named Best No Alcohol Beer at the Scottish Beer Awards 2024. Jump Ship’s notes: roasted coffee, dark chocolate and subtle vanilla, a smooth mouthfeel and a dry finish. 84 kcal per 330ml can. Jump Ship has also canned a nitrogen special batch, Stoker’s Extra Smooth, now sold out — our highest-scoring Jump Ship beer so far at 8.5.
Steamboat Hazy Pale Ale
A hazy pale with New Zealand, American and European hops, low bitterness and a touch of sweetness. It won Gold & Champion in the Keg Non-Alcoholic & Low ABV category at the Indie Beer Scotland Awards 2025, plus a bronze in the Overall Champion Keg Beer competition. 72 kcal per 330ml can.
Jackstaff IPA
A North American-style IPA with Mosaic and Centennial hops and Scottish oats and malt: pine, citrus and peach, with assertive bitterness. Gold for non-alcoholic IPA at the World Beer Awards 2025. 72 kcal per 330ml can.
Yardarm Lager
The flagship: clean and crisp with a little citrus, subtle malt sweetness and gentle bitterness. A World Beer Awards winner in 2021, and the Jump Ship beer you’re most likely to find on draught. 73 kcal per 330ml can.
Flying Colours Amber Ale
An amber ale with British hops and toffee and biscuit malts, balanced by a clean bitterness. It now comes in 440ml cans (97 kcal per can); some retailers still list an earlier 330ml version as a pale ale.
Jump Ship also brews rotating specials: the Haar New England IPA, the Dazzle Ship hop-showcase IPA series (starting with Galaxy, followed by Azacca, Harlequin and Motueka), the Vitamin Sea lemon radler, summer Ocean Drift fruited sours and collaborations such as Uncharted, a raspberry and vanilla sour made with Pilot Beer of Leith.
How Jump Ship compares to the wider UK alcohol-free category
Jump Ship sits among the UK’s alcohol-free specialists — brands like Big Drop, Nirvana, Drop Bear and Mash Gang — rather than the big brewers’ 0.0 lines. What sets it apart is the combination: its own dedicated brewhouse, no dealcoholisation, a fully vegan and gluten-free range and a real draught presence in Scotland. For wider context, see our UK craft alcohol-free breweries guide or browse the full Jump Ship range.
Jump Ship at Christmas. Stoker’s Stout is one of our alcohol-free Christmas beers, Flying Colours is in our one-order advent calendar, and the brewery’s seven-beer gift box with a glass was £29.99 when we checked.
Beers to explore
Jump Ship beers in our directory, with Jump Ship’s own can sizes and calorie figures:
Frequently asked questions
Facts checked against Jump Ship Brewing’s own website and published press coverage, September 2026.