Sharp's celebrate 30 years of world class brewing in Rock
Monday 26th August marks 30 years since Bill Sharp, the founder of Sharp’s Brewery and creator of the UK’s number one cask ale, Doom Bar, dispatched the first brew the from Rock’s Pityme Industrial Estate, and started what is now Sharp’s Brewing Co in earnest. Almost on the eve of that anniversary, Bill returned to the brewery to join members of the current team to reflect on, and celebrate, what 30 years of Sharp’s brewing success means for the business and the team in creating its world class beer and drinks portfolio.
Pityme Industrial Estate sits in the St Minver Lowlands, on the edge of picturesque Rock and in 1994, Bill Sharp took over the unit, which had previously been a store for speedboats. Prior to the move, he had trialled ‘home brewing’ in his garage, also in Rock, and had been pleased with the taste and quality of the results.
Believing he was onto something, and determined to service the local summer holiday trade, meanwhile making an income for himself and family, he took on a four year lease on the 1,000 sq ft unit. He then set up a microbrewery next to the local milkman and set about producing his first small scale commercial brews, selling and delivering the results to local Cornish pubs and bars.
The first Sharp’s beers were Sharp’s Own, a rich malty best bitter, and Cornish Coaster, a light and hoppy pale ale. In 1995 the inspiration for what was set to become a legendary ‘new style’ UK amber ale struck. Bill says, “This new style of beer and ale was a growing trend in the UK, and I realised no one was making beer like this in Cornwall. The main challenge at the time was to achieve good quality and consistency. This needed attention to detail, and not leaving anything to chance, with good cleanliness and good management of the product. That’s what I set out to do.”
Bill continues, “So Doom Bar came about by sheer chance. My Dad and I used to sit in The Maltsters pub, of a Friday, seeing if anyone would dare come in and order a pint of our brew – summing up what the chances were, and taking bets on what we thought they were going to order. Dad used to always have a pint of our Sharp’s Coaster and Sharp’s Own. And if he fancied another pint, he’d put what he had left of both together in one glass. So, he could be blamed for giving me the idea of Doom Bar.”
Back at the brewery, Bill experimented with this new ‘blend’ of the two already popular Sharp’s beers and christened the new cask ale brew ‘Doom Bar’ after the treacherous sandbar which sits nearby in the Camel Estuary. And from there, the rest is history. Doom Bar became exceedingly popular in the county, and then Bill and the team began to find and untap the demand for the amber ale in bars and pubs further up the West Country, and it then became clear that there was a demand for this incredible brew far beyond the region.
With Doom Bar growing so quickly, alongside other popular Sharp’s beers, Bill took the decision to sell the brewery so that even more investment in bigger facilities could be made. It was acquired in 2003 by Nick Baker and Joe Keohane who set about bringing Sharp’s beers to a younger audience across the UK. As a result, volumes rose from 25,000 brewers barrels a year in 1993 to 75,000 in 2010.
We acquired Sharp’s from the two entrepreneurs in 2011, and have continued to invest in the brands, people and brewery site in Rock. Since our involvement, over £20 million has been invested into the Pityme Industrial site to unlock its growth potential. All the Sharp’s beers are now available to pubs, bars and restaurants right across the country, and many of the brews are also available in can and bottle options through the our networks.
As a result of this investment, Doom Bar became the UK’s number 1 selling cask ale in 2013* and the number one premium bottled ale in 2015**. Today Doom Bar is the UK’s #1 selling amber ale *** In April 2024 we announced yet further investment in Sharp’s, to support new and existing cask ale brands such as Doom Bar, Solar Wave Hazy and Twin Coast.
In the dynamic landscape of the beer industry, Sharp's excels by staying ahead of trends and continuously adapting to consumer preferences. This involves considering trend and marketing opportunities, including going beyond beer. In 2021, Sharp’s released its cider, Cold River Cider, which is doing extraordinarily well, already having won International Cider Challenge medals in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Doom Bar Zero was born to meet changing consumer habits and the rise in the popularity of no and low alcohol drinks brands. In 2016, the dedicated small scale pilot plant was built into the brewing facilities in Rock. Alongside the production capacity of over one million pints per week in the main brewhouse, it’s the pilot plant that enables the Sharp’s team the opportunity to collectively develop and test new ideas, concepts and flavour combinations.
Just last week, Sharp’s learned that it had again won several medals at the prestigious World Beer Awards. In the pale beer category Doom Bar was named as the best Amber Ale in the UK taking the Gold medal and Country winner awards, and Chalky’s Bite best Belgian Blonde won both the Gold medal and Country winner.
Donna Breakspear is Head of Supply Chain at Sharp’s and is responsible for a diverse and talented team of 72 people who are the beating heart of the brewery, delivering operational excellence to support the Sharp’s brand, all in line with our World Class Supply Chain philosophy.
Donna says, “I’ve worked with Sharp’s and Molson Coors teams for almost a decade in different capacities, and I can safely say there is a certain energy and passion that runs through our core that is unique, and unlike anything I have experienced previously, and I am thrilled to be part of this. It’s been great to see Bill return for our 30th anniversary and to hear how things were when he first set up the brewery. Much has changed with over £20m of ongoing investment from our parent company Molson Coors and we have majorly grown our volume as a direct result. However, Bill’s utter commitment to the highest of quality, and consistency remains unchanged to this day. “We are only as good as our last pint” is still our mantra on the walls of our Packaging Hall. We are proud of our achievement in the last 30 years’ and looking forward to the next thirty.”
James Nicholls and Chris Winn both started with Sharp’s Brewery as summer jobs whilst they studied or worked elsewhere in the winters - James in 1995 and Chris in 1997. Bill Sharp saw the talent and passion in both of them, and persuaded them to join as full-time team members, meaning they have both been through each of the evolutions and all the growth cycles.
Chris Winn is now Sharp’s Racking Leader and he says, “When I started here, it was one small unit and there were six of us working here. We each took it in turn to do every job, and over the last 27 years, I’ve pretty much followed that pattern as I’ve loved the ongoing opportunity for progression and personal development and have had the chance to learn about so many aspects of the production side of the business. I’ve been a senior brewer, I’ve done the dray, I’ve driven the forklifts and I’ve been known as the ‘racking guru’.”
Chris continues, “But ultimately for me, it’s always been about the people here. I get on with everyone here and it’s like hanging out with friends every day, whilst trusting myself to run my department. The brewery is just five minutes away from where I live which makes me super proud of being part of something successful my local community. It’s been so great to see Bill come back in after all this time and just be amazed at the size and scale of it all now. Having that history with us, yet continuing to see it grow even now is just amazing for all of us who work here. I want to work at Sharp’s until I’m ready to retire. There’s nowhere better.”
Across the 30 year history, Sharp’s has provided jobs and careers for many local people, and many of those team members now go onto national, and international, roles within Molson Coors as a whole. One of the most longstanding members of the team is James Nicholls who is now part of the Senior Leadership Team as Sharp’s Marketing Controller.
James was born and brought up at nearby Chapel Amble and initially worked at Sharp’s from 1995 as a summer job whilst studying for a place at university. He then joined fulltime and since then, James has risen through the ranks of the sales, brands and marketing teams. Masterminding significant national advertising and experiential brand campaigns, portfolio development and commercial strategy to drive the brands national success, James continues to lead the talented Rock-based team who are all committed to ensuring all the Sharp’s brands remain authentic and true to the brewery’s Cornish coastal roots.
James says, “It is phenomenal to stand back for a moment and think about the major work we have done since those early days, and how far the brewery and its beers – particularly Doom Bar – have come. Standout moments for me include winning Grocer Drinks Brand of the Year in 2017, sponsoring the Oxbridge Boat Race and then as a passionate rugby fan, working with former English Rugby Union captain, Phil Vickery MBE, on our British and Irish Lions sponsorship. The relentless focus on the quality of our beer gives me much pride as do the medal tallies, given we’ve now won over 170 international brewing awards and accolades. As a passionate surfer, it’s also been a privilege to work with renowned musicians like Nick Mulvey to make tracks that provide funding for Surfers Against Sewage with every stream and download, and also to have provided financial backing for the utterly vital Surf Lifesaving Clubs around the Cornish coastline during and after the COVID crisis.”
James continues, “For me, Sharp’s has never just been a job. It’s a way of life and we’ve always all shared an infectious energy and a passion for what we do, and where we do it, here at the brewery. I love to think that the work we all do puts a ‘pint of Cornwall’ into hands all over the country, time and time again. And the brand campaigning, sponsorship and communications work, as well as the beer and food matching educational work that we’ve done with the most talented Cornish chefs, continues to inspire and inform our in-house teams and our much-valued customers every single day.”
In 1994, Sharp’s Brewery could brew 40 casks of ale per day. Thirty years later, all Sharp’s cask beer is still brewed and produced onsite with the capacity to create over 2,500 casks per day, with over 72 people in employment and countless World Beer and brewing awards and accolades.
Bill joined the team at Rock to reflect on what these 30 years mean to him and to those who work at the brewery now. Along with Sharp’s Technical Brewing Optimisation Manager Jon Wide and James Nicholls, Bill got involved in the brewing of a Limited Edition of Sharp’s Own, the original beer that was dispatched to those local pubs 30 years ago. The team enjoyed a sample of the beer with a multi-layered 30th birthday cake made with both ***Doom Bar*** and ***Atlantic*** by Eddy Rains, the Chef at the renowned Halfway House pub near Wadebridge.
Bill Sharp says, “The novelty of knowing how well the Sharp’s beers are doing will never wear off. It does make me very proud. I do get emotional - wobbly bottom lip. Even with all the technical know-how and jargon that comes into it now, the same philosophy that was always at the heart of our work back then still applies – don’t cut any corners! I used to say all the time, “We are only as good as our last pint” - and I was very pleased to see this emblazoned on the brewery walls, powering the work of Sharp’s Brewing Co today.”
Bill continued, “It has been very rewarding and nostalgic to come back today. And to see faces that I took on nearly 30 years ago, still here. It’s very special, and it’s incredibly pleasing. So, I’m very proud, very impressed and technically I’m completely lost about what’s going on here today! It’s a great team, and it’s so brilliant to see the pride that’s attached to working at Sharp’s, and to know what making and selling our beers has done for the county and lots of other businesses. It’s been great to see how everyone’s really settled at Sharp’s, and to see that it’s still the case that it’s not just a job, it’s a way of life. And Sharp’s is going to go even further. It’s special, very special.”
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* CGA data Vol MAT 2013
** Neilson data Vol MAT 2015
*** CGA and IRI 52 week Vol MAT to 24th Feb 2024