Brooklyn Brewery, in collaboration with D. Carnegie & Co. and Carlsberg Sweden, today announced a new brewery and restaurant project that will be located in central Stockholm.
The Brooklyn-New Carnegie Brewery will be built in the landmark Luma Factory in Hammarby Sj├Âstad, a residential and commercial complex that fronts on Stockholm harbor. The project is expected to be complete before the end of the year.
Brooklyn COO Eric Ottaway told Brewbound.com that the current site will be capable of brewing 8,000 barrels annually and that the brewery would need to acquire new space in order to increase production.
Brooklyn Brewery already sells a substantial amount of beer in Sweden. In fact, it is the craft brewer’s number two market behind New York City.
Ottaway said that discussions to launch the brewery began over a year ago, but that the pieces only started to fall into place in the second half of 2012.
Ottaway said the move made ‘synergistic’ sense.
“This is a project that takes us deeper into the Swedish market with a local brewing presence and allows us to get into the fabric of the Swedish brewing culture,” he said. “It will give us the flexibility to do small, locally produced batches where we collaborate with local brewers and chefs in a way we can’t currently.”
The new operation will be managed and operated through a wholly-owned Swedish subsidiary, but Ottaway confirmed that Brooklyn executives will oversee various elements of the business and brewing operations. Joakim Losin, who presently manages the Carnegie and Brooklyn brands for Carlsberg, will be appointed as CEO of The Brooklyn-New Carnegie Brewery.
“Joakim has been working with both brands for several years and is a large part of our success in Sweden,” said Ottaway.
Ottaway said the entire project will cost around $5 million and that Brooklyn will own a “double-digit” share of the business, but will not be the majority stakeholder. Other investors will include Carlsberg, who currently owns the rights to the Carnegie brand, and investors from D. Carnegie & Co. Ottoway also said that Brooklyn’s current export business in Sweden will continue to operate as is.
The complete press release from Brooklyn Brewery is below.
BROOKLYN, NY—Brooklyn Brewery, D. Carnegie & Co., and Carlsberg Sweden today announced the launch of a new brewery and restaurant in central Stockholm.
The Brooklyn- New Carnegie Brewery will be built in the landmarked Luma Factory buildings in Hammarby Sj├Âstad , a residential and commercial complex that fronts on Stockholm harbor. The waterfront brewery will have brewing capacity for 8,000 BBL’s and restaurant capacity for 100 visitors inside and another 150 visitors outside.
The Brooklyn Brewery will manage and operate the project through a wholly owned Swedish subsidiary, and Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and his team will be brewing special Brooklyn beers and developing new beers for the New Carnegie brand.
“We love Stockholm, and the whole Brooklyn brewing team is looking forward to their stints at Brooklyn-New Carnegie. We’re going to have a lot of fun brewing and creating beers with our Swedish team,” said Oliver.
In 2011, the Brooklyn Brewery collaborated with Carnegie to produce a bourbon barrel-aged version of the world classic beer Carnegie Porter to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Carnegie Brewery.
“We distributed Carnegie Porter years ago in New York,” said Brooklyn Brewery Chief Operating Officer Eric Ottaway, who is spearheading the project for the Brooklyn Brewery. “We have great respect for the tradition that Carnegie represents, and we look forward to developing the portfolio of beers.”
Joakim Losin, CEO of New Carnegie, said the brewery and restaurant would be a meeting place for Sweden’s craft brewers and their followers, and a school for Swedish beer lovers to learn more about craft beer. The new brewery/restaurant will be open for tours and regular lunches and dinners. It also will host special events in a demonstration kitchen.
Carnegie is the oldest trademark in Sweden. The company was purchased by Carlsberg when it bought the Pripps Brewery in 2001, and Carlsberg Sweden was established.
Brooklyn Brewery brands have been imported by Carlsberg Sweden since 2006. Sweden is the largest export market for the Brooklyn Brewery.
Brooklyn ships many of its bottled beers to Sweden, including its flagship Brooklyn Lager and its 750-ml bottle-conditioned beers like Brooklyn Local 1 and Brooklyn Sorachi Ace. It also ships tankers of beer to
Sweden which are kegged in Falkenberg. Brooklyn Lager and Brooklyn East India Pale Ale are available on draft all over Sweden.
Brooklyn Brewery is America’s leading craft beer exporter. Brooklyn also has a joint venture partnership with the Amarcord Brewery in Apecchio, Italy. Brooklyn imports Amarcord’s Ama Bionda and Ama Bruna beers to the United States.