Beamish pulls plug on Miller products

BEAMISH and Crawford will no longer produce Miller products following a decision by SABMiller to end its contract with the Cork-based brewer.

SABMiller said the contract with Beamish will terminate at the end of April and industry sources said the Miller brand is likely to be brewed at the group’s closest brewery, which is in the Netherlands.

Heineken recently finalised its takeover of the British and Irish business of Scottish and Newcastle, which included Beamish. Last month it announced it was closing the Beamish site it gained from the takeover and moving production to its own Murphys site in Cork.

The contact that Beamish and Crawford had was for the production, distribution and marketing of Miller Genuine Draft beers in Ireland. Sales and distribution rights will now transfer to Richmond Marketing.

Richmond manages the distribution of SABMiller’s Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell brands in the Irish market. Managing director of Miller Brands Nick Miller said: “Richmond has an outstanding record of developing premium drinks brands and we are confident they will be the perfect partner for us in continuing to build on the excellent growth that MGD has experienced over recent years.

“We would like to thank Beamish and Crawford for the excellent work that they have done with MGD over many years.”