Fourpure Brewing Co. has this week concluded its £2.5m expansion with new kegging and canning lines. The brewery, which is part of the Lion Little World Beverages quartet of craft beer brands, has switched to an automated keg operation to improve safety, quality and productivity at its site in Bermondsey, London as well as upgrading its existing canning line to give the brewery more flexibility and optimise performance. This new upgrade and expansion will help the brewery to keep up with the consumer demand for craft beer that has doubled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the increase of people drinking at home.
Fourpure’s upgraded kegging system now has advanced cleaning equipment that sterilises kegs using pressurised steam at 130oC. The state-of-the-art technology – which is not always seen in craft breweries where it is more usual to see sanitising chemicals used – will increase the efficiency of Fourpure’s production and improve flavor retention in keg. This is also a big plus for low and no alcohol beers where the self-protection that alcohol normally provides is much reduced and even with the slightest compromise on keg sterility can be found out. With the Low & No sector booming, this update allows scope for experimentation in this space. The new system guarantees an exceptional degree of consistency in results, while the switch from a manual operation to automated also reduces the need for hard labour by assisting staff in the heavy lifting of kegs, allowing an impressive 60 kegs to be filled every hour, easily and safely.
Meanwhile, Fourpure’s new optimised canning line will increase speed and performance, providing more flexibility for in-line labelling of cans. To complete this upgrade in equipment, the brewer took on new units on the industrial site in Bermondsey where it is based, allowing the creation of a purpose-built packaging area. This new space has been outfitted to custom specifications to deliver exceptional hygiene and safety standards, with an easy-clean set up, customised hygienic flooring and specially designed layout, right down to the placement of drainage.
Steve Morris, Head of Operations at Fourpure, commented: “We’ve always had a state-of-the-art canning line but previously it was a little like a racehorse on a grey hound track… this latest suite of updates makes us Ascot-ready. The new, completely bespoke designed kegging and canning facilities will form a crucial part of our continued expansion and future success. The demand for our canned beer has doubled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the improved facilities mean we can fulfil this increase in sales, while still meeting world-class hygiene and safety standards.
He continued: “Carrying out this update in current times has obviously brought its own challenges and I am incredibly proud of the excellent safety standards our team met throughout. We were also really happy to be able to support a number of contractors during this process, many of them smaller businesses and many brewing specific.”
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About Little World Beverages:
Launched in 2020, Little World Beverages is Lion Australia’s global craft arm and represents a strong portfolio of craft beer brands in the UK market, including Fourpure, Magic Rock, Australia’s Little Creatures, New Zealand’s Panhead and more recently US brand New Belgium Brewing.
This UK-based arm of Lion’s Australian brewing business is spearheaded by Managing Director of Lion Little World Beverages Europe, Gordon Treanor. With more than 20 years’ experience in beer, most recently heading up Lion’s craft portfolio in Australia, Treanor brings a wealth of knowledge from the dynamic Antipodean market that he hopes to translate into the rapidly growing UK craft sector.
London’s Bermondsey-based Fourpure and Huddersfield-based Magic Rock lead the charge with national distribution through leading retailers and a strong portfolio of core and seasonal products. The pair have been at the forefront of the craft beer scene since 2011 and 2013 respectively.
Press release from Storm Communications on behalf of Little World Beverages
For more information, contact: llwb@stormcom.co.uk