It’s a tough day for Cornish brewing. Sharp’s Brewery in Rock is set to close by the end of the year, with the loss of around 50 jobs at the site and 200 redundancies across Molson Coors nationally. For a brewery that has become woven into the fabric of Cornwall’s identity, this news will land heavily.
US brewing giant Molson Coors, which acquired Sharp’s in 2011, said the Rock site was “no longer financially sustainable” as part of its national production network. Managing director Simon Kerry said the company had invested more than £20m into the brewery over the past 15 years to expand capacity, upgrade equipment and strengthen the Sharp’s portfolio, but ultimately the numbers no longer stacked up.
Kerry said it “has not been an easy decision” to make and described the Sharp’s team at Rock as “an exceptional and committed team who take such huge pride in their craft”. He added that the firm was exploring alternative production routes, including the possibility of producing Sharp’s brands in partnership, suggesting that while the brewery may close, the beers themselves may live on elsewhere.
John Brown, chief executive of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, expressed sympathy for those affected. “This isn’t something you ever want to see happen, especially with a brand that has been such a powerful part of the Cornish story,” he said. “It’s a great shame to hear that it’s being reviewed … albeit as part of what seems to be a more national review that’s being undertaken by the parent company.” While the brands may survive, Brown noted that would be “no comfort” to those whose livelihoods depend on the brewery, adding that rising energy, infrastructure and transport costs have created “a seriously unfortunate, awful situation”.
North Cornwall MP Ben Maguire was equally direct, calling the closure “a hammer blow for the local economy, and for the hospitality sector here in Cornwall that is already on its last legs.” He said Sharp’s and its famous ales like Doom Bar had become part of Cornwall’s identity and criticised what he described as an “American multinational move production out of Cornwall”. Maguire confirmed he is tabling an official parliamentary motion urging the government to rethink policies impacting the sector.
A government spokesperson said they recognised this would be a challenging time for workers and their families and that support would be available through the Department for Work and Pensions Rapid Response Service. For beer lovers and the wider Cornish community, however, the closure of Sharp’s Brewery feels about far more than balance sheets — it’s about heritage, identity and the uncertain future of regional brewing in a rapidly consolidating industry.
