Producer of Spanish lager chooses Britain

Producer of Spanish lager chooses Britain over locations on the Continent as it ventures outside the Iberian Peninsula.
Amid surging demand among British drinkers for Spanish lager, the family-owned Estrella Damm is investing €60 million (£50 million) in building a state-of-the-art brewery in Bedford.

It is the first time Estrella has been made outside the Iberian Peninsula in its 150-year history, with the firm picking the UK over rival locations on the Continent.

The Damm brewery in Barcelona can be traced back to 1876, when August Kuentzmann Damm left his native Alsace and, with his cousin Joseph Damm, began brewing and marketing Strasburger beer.

Most popular Spanish lagers sold in the UK are already brewed here rather than being shipped in. San Miguel is made by Carlsberg in Northampton, and Cruzcampo is brewed by Heineken in Manchester. Madri, which calls itself “the soul of Madrid”, was specifically designed by Carling-owner Molson Coors for UK and Irish drinkers. It is brewed in Yorkshire. Such is the success of Madri in Britain that the beer is now exported to Spain.

Damm produces 25 beer brands as well as cold drinks and coffee. In total, it sells 1.8 billion litres of drinks every year. The equivalent of 150 pints of Estrella Damm, its most popular lager, is sold every minute in the UK. The brewery remains in family control and is led by Demetrio Carceller Arce, a billionaire who inherited the business from his father.