Spain & UK: Damm launches its first brewery in the UK

Spanish brewer Damm has opened its first production facility outside of the Iberian Peninsula, following a GBP70m (US$94m) investment in its Eagle Brewery site in the UK, Global Drinks Intel reported on October 9.

The renovated site, acquired from Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co in 2022 and located 60 miles north of London in Bedford, features a renewed canning line and “additional brewstream”, doubling capacity to 1.8m hectolitres a year with a target of 2m by 2027. The facility also allows for soft drinks and “beyond beer” production, while Damm’s UK headcount has tripled since the acquisition, from 56 to 180 employees.

Production of the group’s Estrella Damm brand commenced at the facility in the spring of last year. with the beer’s packaging having been handled there since 2010 by CMBC. The brewer also plans to launch a UK accelerator programme to support drinks start-ups, positioning the site as a hub for product innovation.

In July, Damm launched Estrella Damm 0.0%, a non-alcoholic version of its flagship lager, across the UK’s on- and off-premise channels.