Molson Coors makes Sharp investment

By: Chris Mercer - 3 February 2011 15:29

Molson Coors' GBP20m buyout of Sharp's brewery is a vote of confidence for cask ale.

Molson Coors announced yesterday (2 February) that it has swooped on Cornwall-based Sharp's, which makes the award-winning Doom Bar ale - now widely available across much of the UK.

The move is significant because most of the UK's major brewers have been seeking to develop their super-duper-with-bells-on premium lager portfolios over the last couple of years - not to mention the odd foray into cider.

Molson is really only extending a strategy that its joint venture with SABMiller, MillerCoors, has started in the US. Namely, to capitalise on growing demand for relatively small-volume 'craft' beers.

With Doom Bar onboard, Molson could make significant inroads into the UK cask ale category. This could be a concern to middleweight brewers like Greene King, Marston's and Fuller's, as blogger Pete Brown points out in his succinct analysis of the deal.