Keystone Brewing Group has announced it has won a tender to exclusively brew and sell alcohol-free beers from Big Drop.
The Breal-backed brewing group will produce Big Drop’s brews from its Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, Yorkshire. Keystone invested £1m to improve brewing facilities at Black Sheep earlier this year, having bought the brewery out of administration in 2023.
Big Drop will join a brewing portfolio that includes Black Sheep, Brick Brewery, Brew By Numbers and Purity Brewing.
It comes after In Good Company Brewing, the previous license holder for Big Drop, shuttered its Fourpure brewery in the summer.
Keystone had been interested in acquiring Fourpure in a joint deal with In Good Company. A deal could not be agreed, however, leading the brewer to be placed into administration.
“Big Drop is a well-established pureplay alcohol-free brand and the perfect fit for our portfolio, particularly with the alcohol-free beer category expected to continue growing,” said Keystone Brewing Group CEO Mark Williams. “We know its rate of sale is one of the best in the category and by bringing Big Drop’s exceptional range under our umbrella, we aim to maximise its potential, reaching more consumers across the UK.”
Rob Fink, founder of Big Drop, added: “Big Drop would like to thank everyone at In Good Company for their hard work on the Big Drop brand. The journey continues and we’re very excited to be joining Keystone.
“Not only is the Black Sheep Brewery a centre of excellence, but Keystone’s national sales team has in-depth market knowledge and a strong distribution network across the UK.”
Big Drop was established by Fink in 2016 as one of the UK’s first dedicated alcohol-free beer brands. It has since expanded into overseas markets in North America and Australia, operating an asset-light, contract brewing model.
Its beers are sold in Morrisons and Waitrose, as well as on Ocado.
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