Archipelago Brewery Explained

Archipelago Brewery
Hq Location Country:Singapore
Location:459 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim
Owner:Heineken Asia Pacific
Foundation:November 1933
24 July 2006 (re-commissioned) in Singapore
Production:400,000 litres per annum
Industry:Alcoholic beverage
Products:Beer

The Archipelago Brewery is a Singaporean brewery owned by Heineken Asia Pacific (formerly Asia Pacific Breweries). It labels itself as "Singapore's Craft Brewery".

History

In August 1931, with a capital of 5,250,000 guilders N.V. Archipel Brouwerij Compagnie (Archipelago Brewery Co.) was formed in Batavia (now known as Jakarta). The board was formed by the firm Geo Wehry & co. This company imported all by Beck brewery in Bremen to brew Koentji (key) beer. The first brewery was built in Batavia, it was made of steel framing, something in the Dutch Indies virtually not been done before. Wehry was a big trading company, started out in the tobacco. Wehry was later merged with Borsumij and then merged into the still existing Hagemeyer that time in the Dutch East Indies was established.

Archipelago opened a brewery in Singapore in November 1933, where it produced Anchor Beer.[1]

During World War II, the British deemed the brewery to be enemy territory due to its German ties and seized it in 1941. It was then bought by Malayan Breweries Ltd, which in 1990 was renamed Asia Pacific Breweries. In 2013, Asia Pacific Breweries merged to become Heineken Asia Pacific.

Archipelago Brewery is currently Heineken Asia Pacific's craft brewing arm. The old Archipelago Brewery was re-commissioned on 24 July 2006, with internationally acclaimed brewmaster, Fal Allen. Three variants of the Archipelago craft beers, namely Traveller's Wheat, Straits Pale and Traders Brown Ale were launched at Archipelago's flagship pub located on Circular Road in Singapore (now closed).[2]

The re-launch of Archipelago is consistent with Heineken Asia Pacific's objectives to add a new dimension to Singapore's beer industry; and to continue to grow its presence and stature locally.[3]

Archipelago Brewery produces boutique beers in small batches. In 2016, Archipelago Brewery brewed and sold 390,000 litres of beer. The Archipelago Brewery currently produces six permanent beers: Tropical Pale Ale, Singapore Blonde Ale, Belgian Wit, Summer IPA, Bohemian Lager and Irish Ale, in addition to limited edition or specialty beers.

Specialty Brews

Occasionally, the brewery creates speciality brews which are typically sold as limited-release products, produced in much smaller quantities than the regular brews. Previous speciality brews include:

Awards

YearOrganiser Winning VariantAwardCategory
2008 Brew NZSamuiFruit/Spiced/Herb/Flavoured Beer, Fruit and Vegetable
2008 Brew NZExplorerFrench and Belgian Style Ales, French-Belgian Style Saison
2010 Straits PaleInternational Pale Ale
2011 The Brewing Industry International Awards Belgian WitWheat Beer
2011 Belgian WitWitbier Style
2011 Irish AleBritish Style Pale Ale
2011 Summer AleBritish Style Pale Ale
2011 Hickory Smoked IPASpecialty
2011 Brew NZBohemian LagerInternational Lager Styles
2011 Brew NZIrish AleBritish Ale Styles
2011 NZSummer AleBritish Ale Styles
2011 Brew NZBelgian WitWheat & Other Grain Styles
2011 Japanese Beer AwardsIrish Ale Irish Ales category, only medal in the category
2011 Japanese Beer AwardsBohemian LagerInternational Lager Styles, only medal in the category
2011 Japanese Beer AwardsSummer Ale English Style Summer Ales, only medal in the category
2012 Summer AleEnglish Summer Ale
2012 Irish AleAmerican Styly Red Draught
2012 Belgian WitBelgian Wit Draught
2012 International Beer Challenge UKBohemian LagerLager
2012 International Beer Challenge UK Irish AleAles
2012 International Beer Challenge UK Sake SorachiSpecialty
2012 Brewers Guild Awards NZBelgian WitWheat & Other Grain Styles
2012 Japan International Beer AwardBohemian LagerInternational – Style Lager
2012 Japan International Beer AwardSummer AleEnglish Style – Summer Ale
2012 Japan International Beer AwardBelgian WitBelgian-Style Witbier
2014 Japan International Beer AwardEnglish BitterOrdinary Bitter
2014 Japan International Beer AwardBelgian WitBelgian-Style Witbier
2016 BeerFest Asia SingaporeBelgian WitBelgian-Style Witbier
2016 BeerFest Asia SingaporeBlemished Flemish SaisonSaison – Farmhouse

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Lewis, Mark. Rough Guide to Singapore. 25 April 2012. 1 December 2003. Rough Guides. 978-1-84353-075-6. 105.
  2. News: Circular Road makeover to gather pace soon. Asia One. 21 July 2015. 14 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141114030425/http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/circular-road-makeover-gather-pace-soon. dead.
  3. Web site: F&N Annual report 2006.