Sharp’s Brewery will close its production site in Rock, north Cornwall, in December, ending brewing operations at the location and putting up to 40 jobs at risk. Owner Molson Coors says the site can no longer operate sustainably as demand shifts and the British cask ale market remains under pressure.
Molson Coors Confirms December Closure
According to the BBC, Molson Coors confirmed the closure after completing a consultation process that began earlier in the year. The company has owned Sharp’s Brewery since 2011 and says it has invested more than £20 million in the Rock operation during that period.
The brewer said changing consumer preferences and persistent difficulties in the cask ale sector had made the Cornwall facility financially unsustainable.
Molson Coors proposed the closure earlier this year and said the decision “follows the conclusion of a consultation process that launched in February, and throughout which every alternative has been fully considered”.
The decision means brewing at the Rock site will cease after a brand presence in Cornwall that has become closely associated with beers including Doom Bar.
Brewery closure confirmed with 40 job losses https://t.co/STCGGzFrmw
— BBC South West (@BBCSpotlight) October 2, 2026
Doom Bar Cask Production Will Move to Hartlepool
Molson Coors has selected Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool as its preferred brewing partner for key Sharp’s cask beers, including Doom Bar.
That move places production of some of the company’s best-known cask brands more than 400 miles from Rock.
Sharp’s keg and packaged beers will follow a different production route. Molson Coors says those products will continue to be made at its existing brewing sites in Burton-on-Trent and Tadcaster.
The changes separate Sharp’s brands from the Cornwall brewery where they were developed and produced, while keeping the products themselves in the company’s wider portfolio.
Molson Coors Says the Site Is No Longer Sustainable
Simon Kerry, managing director of Molson Coors in the UK and Ireland, said the company had reached the decision despite the importance of Sharp’s within its British business.
“For the last 15 years, Sharp’s Brewery has formed a significant part of our UK business, so taking the decision to close the site has not been easy. However, despite our best efforts, the site is no longer financially sustainable.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank our many exceptional colleagues at Rock who have been instrumental in the success of the Sharp’s brands during that time.
“Our focus is now on supporting those impacted throughout this transition.”
The company has framed the closure as a response to longer-term changes in the beer market rather than a withdrawal of the Sharp’s brand. Production will continue elsewhere, but the Rock brewery itself will no longer form part of the manufacturing network.
CAMRA Challenges the Future Use of the Cornish Identity
The closure has drawn criticism from the Campaign for Real Ale, which argues that beer presented to consumers as Cornish should continue to be brewed in Cornwall.
Dave Pedlar, chairman of CAMRA Kernow, said the move broke the connection between the beer, its workforce and the region that helped establish the brand.
“This is a betrayal of the founders of Sharp’s, the 40 people whose jobs are at risk, and the locals that have supported this business for decades.
“We’ve known for a while that the Sharp’s cask production was moving up country, but Hartlepool is 417 miles away, which is as far from Rock as Brussels.
“We need ‘pasty-style’ consumer protection laws that stop Molson Coors from continuing to market these beers as Cornish.”
His comments introduce a second issue beyond the closure itself: how regional identity should be used when a food or drink product is no longer manufactured in the place with which consumers associate it.
CAMRA is calling for protections comparable to those applying to geographically defined foods, using the Cornish pasty as its example.
