Where it all began

I tasted my first beer moments after my first rugby match.

I’d made a try-saving tackle that helped win us the game and the team captain brought in a jug of ale to celebrate. There and then I decided that not even the finest champagne could beat the flavour of a freshly-pulled pint.

But as the years passed and life got busier - enter three children, dog and busy job - I found that although I still wanted to relax with a beer, I no longer wanted the alcohol or fuzzy head next day. None of the low alcohol beers I tasted matched up to the amazing Scottish beers I enjoyed, so I took a deep breath, jumped ship from my day job and set off on a voyage of discovery to brew my own.

It took nearly a year to perfect our first beer, Yardarm, and I wept into more than one failed brew. So imagine my delight when Yardarm was awarded best no and low alcohol lager in the World Beer Awards 2021, beating global brands in the process.

Not bad for a wee start-up from Edinburgh!

Where we are now

Since those humble beginnings in 2019 we've gone from strength to strength, building an incredible crew of likeminded folk and moving into our own brewery at the start of 2024.

We're now brewing more beer than ever before with a core range of four beers available year-round, complimented with a number of special releases throughout the year. We've also launched our beers into keg, with bars across Edinburgh and Glasgow stocking Yardarm so you can enjoy proper pints of alcohol free lager.

Meet the team

  • Sonja Mitchell profile

    Sonja Mitchell

    Managing Director
    Beer Admiral

    Sonja launched Jump Ship Brewing in December 2019 and has gathered a crew of awesome shipmates on a mission to brew world-class alcohol-free beer in Scotland. Her love of the sea and sailing is the inspiration behind our nautical brand.

  • Pete Sharp profile

    Pete Sharp

    Head Brewer
    First Mate

    Pete joined us in June 2021 from the historic Caledonian brewery. He carefully nurtures each of our complex brews and is always tinkering with the next recipe. Pete’s also an international standard piper, a bonus for Burns Night!

  • Colin Squair profile

    Colin Squair

    Head of Sales
    Chief Stoker

    Colin has made his mark on the Scottish sales scene with experience including brands such as Famous Grouse before joining us as Head of Sales in June 2023. Most recently at Harviestoun, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the team.

  • Paddy Fowler profile

    Paddy Fowler

    Marketing & Operations
    Signals Officer

    Paddy joined the crew in October 2023. An award-winning home brewer and keen runner, he is making sure you're always in the know about what's happening at the brewery while keeping all the cogs turning in the background.

  • Alex Earle profile

    Alex Earle

    Brewer
    Second Mate

    Alex jumped ship and joined as Brewer in November of 2023, bringing experience from brewing and distilling and a love of hearty, rich stouts, he'll be working closely with First Mate Pete to bring you incredible beer from our new brewery.

  • Iain Mooney

    Brewer
    Second mate

    Iain became a member of the Jump Ship crew in October of 2024, earning his stripes at breweries in Ireland and Scotland previously. He's already been busy in the development of new beers and our first ever nitro stout!
A mash tun full of malt to make alcohol free beer

Our promise

We want to do great things as well as brew great beers.

At Jump Ship, we want to make life a little better for our shipmates, and the planet we share.

We’ve committed to give at least 10% of our profits to charity. So far we’ve supported charities including Autism on the Water, the Water of Leith Trust and relief efforts for the war in Ukraine. We're also continuously improving our processes to be less impactful on the environment, from lightweight cans to renewable energy sources - we're doing our bit to conserve energy and leave a smaller footprint behind.

This is just a start, and we’re learning all the time. If there’s more you think we should be doing, give us a shout.