Alltech purchases 2 craft breweries

In a major expansion of its international alcohol division, Alltech, producer of award-winning beers and spirits including Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and Town Branch Bourbon, has acquired a craft brewery in Northern Ireland and another in the UK.

Alltech’s acquisition of The Station Works Brewery in Newry, Co Down and Cumberland Breweries Ltd in Great Corby, Cumbria, England, represents the first major expansion outside the US for its brewing division.

The purchases represent a significant investment by Alltech Founder Dr Pearse Lyons in the future of the rapidly-expanding craft brewing sector in Europe.

With the capacity to produce 40,000 hectolitres, the two new breweries add several new brands including Finn Lager to Alltech’s portfolio.

“Since our first investment in the Alltech Craft Brews & Foods Fair in Dublin three years ago, the sector has mushroomed and our Fair is now the largest in Ireland, attracting more than 10,000 visitors annually,” said Pearse Lyons.

With three new breweries under construction in the US and a major investment in a new distillery in the heart of Dublin’s Liberties at the former St James Church (where his grandfather is buried), he wants Alltech “to be one of the top 50 craft brewers in the world”.