With the news that Canadian-American beer giant Molson Coors has announced plans to close Sharp’s Brewery at the end of 2026, which will result in the loss of 50 jobs, we take a look back at the rise and fall or one of Cornwall’s biggest breweries and home to Doom Bar.
Sharp’s Brewery was founded by Bill Sharp on the Pityme Industrial Estate in Rock, near Padstow, in August 1994.
It is there that what would become one of the UK’s most recognisable and best selling beers was born – “by sheer chance” and indeed becoming the biggest-selling cask ale in the country.
Bill Sharp took over the unit on the small industrial estate in St Minver Lowlands and turned what had previously been a store for speedboats into a fully functioning brewery.
Prior to the move, the brewery founder had done some home brewing in his garage, also in Rock, and, being pleased with the taste and quality of the results, thought he could make a living out of it for himself and his family.
Bill Sharp, returned to the brewery he founded in Rock in 1994 for its 30th anniversary. Sharp’s Own was his first ever beer before launching Doom Bar (Image: Sharp’s Brewery)
Believing he was onto something, and determined to service the local summer holiday trade, he took on a four-year lease of 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. During a visit in August 2024 to the brewery he founded, to celebrate Sharp’s 30th anniversary, he said Doom Bar was born by sheer chance at a time when a new style of beer was becoming a growing trend in the UK.
Bill Sharp (green shirt) returned to the brewery he founded in 1994 for its 30th anniversary and found that his slogan about quality is still a mantra staff abide by (Image: Sharp’ Brewery )
He said: “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.
“Doom Bar came about by sheer chance. My dad and I used to sit in The Maltsters pub, on 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 can 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.
Demand for the new amber ale grew so much that it soon sold beyond Cornwall’s borders.
King Charles (then Prince Charles) and Queen Camilla enjoying the Cornish ale Doom Bar during a visit to a ‘Cornwall In The City’ day at Leadenhall Market in London in June 2006(Image: PA)
With Doom Bar growing so quickly, alongside other popular Sharp’s beers, Bill decided to sell the brewery as a way to bring the investment it needed to grow and meet that extra demand.
Sharp’s Brewery was acquired in 2003 by Nick Baker and Joe Keohane with a view to taking its beers to a younger audience across the UK. As a result, volumes rose from 25,000 brewers barrels a year in 1993 (that’s 8.2 million pints) to 75,000 brewers barrels in 2010 (or 24.6m pints).
In 2011, the two entrepreneurs sold the business to Canadian-American brewing giant Molson Coors Beverage Company.
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Since taking Sharp’s Brewery over Molson Coors, which is based in Montreal, Quebec, in Canada, and Chicago, Illinois, has invested £20m, including on new equipment and staff.
Doom Bar became the UK’s number one selling cask ale in 2013 and the number one premium bottled ale in 2015. It remains the country’s number one selling amber ale and can be found in pubs and supermarkets from Penzance to Inverness.
A line up of some of Sharp Brewery’s beers
Over the years Sharp’s Brewery has racked up dozens and dozens of national and international awards. In 2020 it won the International Beer Challenge 2020, three awards at the European Beer Star Awards and a gold for its flagship amber ale Doom Bar at the Brussels Beer Challenge.
More recently, in 2024, mere weeks before its 30th anniversary, it 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.
Over the years Sharp’s has come out with new beers and even a cider. Doom Bar 0.0 was created to tap into the growing alcohol-free beer market, while Sea Fury, Offshore pilsner, Atlantic pale ale or Solar Wave Hazy and Twin Coast have all left their mark on the market.
Donna Breakspear, the head of supply chain at Sharp’s, said then that much has changed since Bill first set up the business. As the brewery celebrated 30 years, she said: “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.”
Sharp’s Brewery owners Molson Coors acquired the business in 2011 but have announced plans to shut it down by the end of 2026(Image: DCM)
In announcing this week its plan to close it, Molson Coors said shutting down Sharp’s Brewery will not mean the end of its flagship beers. Instead Doom Bar could now be entirely produced at its other breweries in the UK such as Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire where the bottled version of the famous beer has been produced for years already.
Whether beers like Chalky’s Bite, which was created in collaboration with Padstow TV chef Rick Stein – and named after his dog – to marry up with food, or its craft-style beers like Solar Wave or Twin Coast will continue to be brewed at all at any other brewery remains to be seen.
One of the most longstanding members of the team at Sharp’s is James Nicholls, who joined in 1995 as a summer job and rose to become part of the senior leadership team as Sharp’s marketing controller.
Over the years he helped mastermind national advertising and brand campaigns, which have helped sale volumes increase and saw Sharp’s collect more than 170 international awards.
Back in 2024 he said: “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 on our British and Irish Lions sponsorship.
A line up of some of Sharp’s Brewery’s beers (Image: Sharp’s Brewery )
“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.”
Sponsoring rugby clubs in Cornwall and beyond, supporting the RNLI and Surfers Against Sewage and partnering with festivals and events in Cornwall, including Boardmasters and Rock Oyster Festival, and working in partnerships with local chefs is something Sharp’s has been involved in for many years.
In 2019, we met Aaron McClure shortly after he was appointed head brewer at Sharp’s brewery at the tender age of 30.
Aaron, from Newquay, joined the business in 2011 after a stint at home grown Ann’s Cottage surf and clothing brand. Over the years he worked under Joe Keohane and Nick Baker after they bought Sharp’s Brewery and under Molson Coors. They enrolled him on a course to become a brewer and he spent a six-month secondment in Burton Upon Trent at their large brewery.
After becoming team leader he rose through the ranks and became head brewer seven years ago.
Some of the beers produced by Sharp’s Brewery in Cornwall
When we met Aaron he told us about how Molson Coors let the team at Sharp’s Brewery spend some cash on a research and development brewery inside the brewery for the staff to experiment with new brews and tastes.
At the time he said: “Molson Coors have been very good to us. They brought in a lot of investment including a £100,000 lab, improved health and safety processes, brought in full automation, increased capacity and shared their expertise and procurement and distribution power as a group.
“Molson Coors has real fire power when it comes to having first dibs in sourcing the best ingredients we need. Doom Bar may be a best seller but it doesn’t brew itself.
“Before Molson Coors bought Sharp’s, Doom Bar was number five in the UK now it is number one. It is something we are incredibly proud to brew. To be part of a workforce that achieves such success is incredibly rewarding and a positive environment to be in.”
(Image: dDCM)
During his 2024 visit to the brewery, Bill Sharp said: “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.”
But this week, on Wednesday (February 25), Molson Coors announced consultation plans to close Sharp’s Brewery in Rock, a move which could lead to 50 job cuts and the beers so loved around the country no longer being made in Cornwall, if at all.
CAMRA chief executive, Tom Stainer, said this was yet another example of beer giants “destroying Britain’s cask brewing heritage”.
Sharp’s Brewery and Doom Bar have sponsored rugby club and events for many years(Image: DC Media)
He said: “Sharp’s has been brewing cask for over 30 years and this will just be dismantled overnight. Trying to produce iconic Cornish beers outside of the Duchy would be a disgrace.
“We are losing far too many cask brands and the breweries who craft them at the hands of global brewers more interested in profit than our brewing heritage, and making sure drinkers can enjoy authentic products. Not only does it impact our local pubs and consumer choice, but it damages Cornish and UK brewing heritage, culture and of course jobs.
“This once again puts a spotlight on the stranglehold global brewing giants have over our pubs. The Government must use their Access to Market Review to ensure that local, independent brewers and cider makers can get their produce on offer at the bar, so the wide range of beer styles that the UK’s pubs are known for can be protected and expanded.”
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