One of the UK’s largest brewers has announced long-term ambitions to turn a Burton upon Trent site into a national centre for craft beer and traditional ale brewing.
Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is to invest more than £6 million into Marston’s Brewery across a range of “significant” projects expected to mostly be complete by the end of next year.
Work will include the refurbishment of its cask ale line to brew traditional British ales, as well developing the brewery’s capabilities for brewing innovative, contemporary craft ale.
The news comes as CMBC confirmed its proposals to close Banks’s Brewery, in Wolverhampton, in autumn next year, as part of a restructuring of its brewery network.
A CMBC spokesperson said: “With the more than £6 million investments we are making in Marston’s Brewery in Burton, we will be significantly upgrading the brewery as part of our long-term ambition to establish the brewery as our national hub for British ale and craft beers.
“One of the key projects is the refurbishment of the cask ale line at Marston’s Brewery, which we use to brew traditional British cask ales in Burton.
“CMBC is incredibly proud to be a leading brewer of cask ale, a key part of the UK’s brewing heritage, and we continue to support and strengthen our ale portfolio which includes leading UK brands like Hobgoblin, Wainwright, and Marston’s Pedigree.
“As part of our plans, we will also be investing in the brewery so that it can brew dry-hopped and late-hopped ales. This will allow contemporary, popular ales to be brewed at Marston’s Brewery, as well as opening up new and exciting possibilities for our other ale brands to launch new hop-forward and hazy beers there.”
The proposed restructuring comes in response to the decision by Spanish beer company Mahou San Miguel not to renew its long-term exclusive licence partnership from 2025 and the decline of cask ale volumes over several years.
CMBC has said it will be supporting colleagues across its wider network impacted by these proposals, including the 97 employed at Banks’s Brewery, and will be working with trade union and colleague representatives throughout the consultation process.
As well as the plans for Marston’s Brewery, the company plans to invest in its brewery in Northampton as part of the network restructuring.
A significant investment will also be made in a new logistics depot in the Black Country region as part of CMBC’s long-term logistics strategy.
