Feeling frustrated with the lack of craft beer shops in Dundee, Sam McMahon took matters into his own hands and created Discovery Beers.
Along with two business partners, the 32-year-old who works at video game developer firm Ninja Kiwi secured the leasehold of a former Costcutters on Nethergate last year.
Working with a local joinery and interior designer, the old fittings were ripped out and a fresh, Dundee-inspired design came to life.
The beer shop and tasting room is now ready to open on Friday 20.
Sam says: “When we saw the Costcutters was up for sale, my business partner came in to ask about it. We ended up buying the leasehold a couple weeks later.
“I told the interior designer I wanted a mixture of modern and rustic – which I know are two contrasting ideas – but she came up with a concept I really liked.
“We wanted to tie it into Dundee, obviously with a name like Discovery, so our light hangings are jute.”
Wide range at Discovery Beers
As Sam works full time, he needed someone to manage Discovery Beers. The perfect candidate revealed himself on the shop’s newly created Instagram profile.
Matthew Gaughan sent over a message, met with Sam and the rest is history. Since the shop interiors were finished in November, the 26-year-old manager has been patiently waiting for the opening day.
In between ordering and stocking beer he’s kept himself busy at his second job as a drummer in a few wedding bands.
Now the brewing and distilling graduate can’t wait to get Dundonians through the doors.
“We want it to be chill and friendly, a place where you can sit down with a beer instead of a coffee,” says Matthew.
“I got to choose all the stock and I’ve got quite a spread. There’s new beers from cans of IPA to time tested beers like German lagers and Belgian beers, even some aged lambics you wouldn’t buy on a whim.
“What we eventually end up with might be completely different, we want to mould it to Dundee and the customers we end up having.”
Relaxed atmosphere
Sam and Matthew’s goal is to offer beers you won’t find in the supermarket. While they know some Dundee shops – like Fraser’s Fruit and Veg – have a craft beer fridge, there’s no dedicated beer shops.
With their wide range of Scottish, English and foreign beer they hope to get customers both at the start and far into their beer journey. From Dundee’s 71 Brewing to Fierce Beer, Magic Rock and 3 Fonteinen there’s something for everyone.
The manager says: “We don’t want people to feel patronised when they come in. I want people who have only Tennent’s, right up to people who are extreme beer geeks.
“Even if someone just drinks Tennent’s, I’ll be able to find a similar beer and start them on their path.”
Sam added: “We want people to feel like they can wander about. There’s a lot of beer to look at on the shelves, so if they want to spend half an hour picking cans up and having a read, that’s absolutely fine.
“You can come in and sit with a laptop or a book and some beer, that’s what we want. We don’t want anyone to feel rushed when they’re here.”
Discovery Beer will also offer subway sandwiches in the shop. It will be open noon to 7pm Tuesday to Saturday and noon to 4pm on Sundays. The beer costs from around £3 to upwards of £49.
Discovery Beers’ plans
For now, the pair is thrilled to be opening the doors this week. But they have plans and ideas for the tasting room in the future.
As dry January could put a damper on the opening, they hope to host a celebration at the end of February instead.
There is also a possibility of running ticketed events like beer tastings after hours.
“The footfall is good here, we’re close to the students and this is a great location,” says Sam.
“If we can get this shop looking and stocked how we want it, it could be successful. That’s the hope anyway.”
Matthew adds: “There’s never really been a craft beer shop here, whereas Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Inverness have theirs.
“It’s time for Dundee to get their shop.”
See inside Discovery Beers…
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