Singapore: Heineken’s Archipelago Brewery to close down

Singapore’s Archipelago Brewery is closing down brewing operations, the Asia Brewers Network reported on March 30.

The brewery, owned by Heineken subsidiary Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Singapore, will continue to operate until June 30.

In a statement sighted by ABN, the brewery shared the closure is due to “evolving craft beer market realities and high operational costs” and that APB’s new strategy is to “streamline our portfolio, maximize value and re-invest in growing our core business”.

APB has undergone recent leadership changes, including appointing a new managing director, Reinoud Ottervanger, in August last year.

Singapore’s second oldest commercial brewery, Archipelago opened its doors in 1933 after German investors expanded brewing operations from the then-Dutch Indies to Singapore.

The brewery continued to operate during World War II. The Allies first seized it as an enemy asset, and production continued during the Japanese occupation.

After the war, regular brewing operations resumed, and Archipleago’s stable of beer brands—Anchor and ABC Stout among them—became popular and widely distributed in Singapore.

After the brand was retired in 1990 in favour of Asia Pacific Breweries, Archipelago was revitalised as APB’s craft brewing arm in 2006 by then-Anderson Valley brewmaster Fal Allen and experienced several years of growth in Singapore’s then-nascent craft beer market.

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