UK: Heineken rumoured to be in talks for a stake in craft brewer Beavertown
Beer and cider giant Heineken is rumoured to be in talks to take a stake in craft brewer Beavertown, the Morning Advertiser reported on May 29.
According to sources, the Dutch brewer is set to buy into the brand, which was founded in 2012 by Logan Plant.
If true, the deal could be similar to the beer behemoths in Brixton Brewery last year.
Beavertown did not respond to a Morning Advertiser request for comment, however, a Heineken spokeswoman said: Its our policy not to comment on rumour and speculation in the marketplace.
Earlier this month, Beavertown announced plans to move the brewing of some of its flagship beers to Belgium, ahead of a move to a new large-scale production facility in 2019.
Gamma Ray and Neck Oil will be brewed at Brouwerij De Brabandere, Belgium, and exported to the UK in kegs.
The move was announced in a post on Beavertowns website, which read: Over the past four years we havent always been able to be immediately forthcoming with beer due to not growing beyond our production means and capacity constraints on site.
Its been update after update, new FVs after new FVs, hop cannons, centrifuges and brewing at Redchurch to help provide temporary respite from a lack of beer.
We knew a few years back that we needed more space to brew and to grow so that we could keep pushing the boundaries of where craft beer is seen and drunk. After all, there is no good reason to drink bad beer any more in the UK!
Beavertown hopes to create a new large-scale production facility and visitor experience at the new site, which is being designed from scratch by the brewer.
Over the course of the next 18 months, brewing with Brouwerij De Brabandere will allow us to organically grow the amount of beer available to the trade, the post continued.
But also, very importantly, it will mean that when Beaverworld is fully operational we will have spent serious time learning how to brew on a kit the same size and specification as we are investing in, helping us to transition seamlessly into our new home and hit the ground running.
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