Adnams toasts to hopping good year after record beers sales
ADNAMS sold a record number of pints last year thanks to Britain’s love affair with craft beer and the company selling its products to a bigger range of pubs.
The Suffolk brewer, which also has more than 50 pubs, 12 shops and three hotels dotted around East Anglia, said operating profits rose 14.7 per cent to £3.8m in 2014 compared with the previous year.
Sales increased by 9.1 per cent to £66m thanks to demand for its own-branded beer, which reached their highest ever sales levels at over 95,000 barrels – or 27m pints.
The company produces a range of about 34 beers, including Adnams Wild Hop Amber, a new beer made with hops gathered from customers’ gardens, and Ghost Ship, its gold medal-winning pale ale.
Overall beer volumes grew by 10 per cent on the previous year.
Adnams spent three years rebuilding its Victorian Sole Bay Brewery in Southwold in 2007 and will this year invest a further £7m to be able to do its own filtration and kegging on site.
It also aims to double the size of its Copper House distillery thanks to booming demand since it began producing spirits – including vodka and gin – four years ago.
It reported a 37 per cent rise in spirits volumes during the year.