Two of the UK’s leading craft brewers, Fourpure Brewing Co. and Magic Rock Brewing are coming together under a new banner that will also include Australia’s Little Creatures, New Zealand’s Panhead and New Belgium Brewing out of the US.
Bermondsey-based Fourpure and Huddersfield-based Magic Rock will be part of Lion Australia’s new global craft arm, Little World Beverages. The newly created arm of the Australian brewing giant will be spearheaded by Lion’s Gordon Treanor.
The group stated that with more than 20 years’ experience in beer, most recently heading up Lion’s craft portfolio in Australia, Treanor will bring a wealth of knowledge from the Antipodean market that he hopes will translate well to the rapidly growing UK craft sector.
Both Magic Rock and Fourpure are coming off the back of strong performances in 2019, with national distribution through leading retailers and a growing portfolio of core and seasonal products.
Treanor said: “Little World Beverages offers a strong portfolio of global brands and we’re excited by the opportunity in the UK market. 2019 saw us launch some top quality beers and open new venues across Fourpure, Magic Rock and Little Creatures. The recent acquisition of New Belgium Brewing in the US has the whole team excited as to what potential learnings can be shared across our brewing estate.”
He added: “We have plans for growth in the pipeline outside of both Australia and New Zealand where we have been the number one craft brewer in both these markets for some time. Our significant investment in Fourpure, Magic Rock and now New Belgium Brewing demonstrates our commitment to craft for the long run and we are very excited about the road ahead here in the UK and Europe.”
The group revealed that a number developments were planned for 2020, including a brewery expansion for Magic Rock, two new core product releases for Fourpure, and “collaborative projects” with partners acros the UK, Europe and US.
