Archipelago Brewery#Awards

{{Short description|Beverage company in Singapore}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Archipelago Brewery

| logo = File:Archipelago Brewery logo.png

| image =

| caption =

| hq_location_country = Singapore

| location = 459 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim

| owner = Heineken Asia Pacific

| foundation = November 1933
24 July 2006 (re-commissioned) in Singapore

| defunct = 30 June 2024

| production = 400,000 litres per annum

| industry = Alcoholic beverage

| products = Beer

| homepage = {{url|archipelagobrewery.com/}}

}}

The Archipelago Brewery was a Singaporean brewery owned by Heineken Asia Pacific (formerly Asia Pacific Breweries). It labelled itself as "Singapore's Craft Brewery".

==History==

File:Former Archipelago Brewery Company, Alexandra (2025) - img 11.jpg

In August 1931, with a capital of 5,250,000 guilders N.V. Archipel Brouwerij Compagnie (Archipelago Brewery Co.) was formed in Batavia (now known as Jakarta). The board was formed by the firm, Geo Wehry and Co. This company imported all by Beck brewery in Bremen to brew Koentji (key) beer. The first brewery was built in Batavia, it was made of steel framing, something in the Dutch Indies virtually not been done before. Wehry was a trading company, which started out in traading tobacco. Wehry was later merged with Borsumij and then merged into the still existing Hagemeyer that time in the Dutch East Indies was established.{{cite book|title=Capital and Entrepreneurship in South-East Asia|author=Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown|publisher=McMillan Press|page=285|isbn=9781349234691}}

Archipelago opened a brewery on Alexandra Road in Singapore in November 1933, in art-deco buildings designed by Hienrich Rudolf Arbenz, where it produced Anchor Beer.{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Mark|title=Rough Guide to Singapore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRkgkUdWn9wC&pg=PA105|access-date=25 April 2012|date=1 December 2003|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-075-6|page=105}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ura.gov.sg/Conservation-Portal/Explore/History.aspx?bldgid=ALX01|title=Alexandra Road No. 366 (former Anchor Brewery)|publisher=Urban Redevelopment Authority|access-date=14 April 2025}}{{cite web|url=https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/history/2024/4/beer-brewing-production-brewery-singapore/|title=From Tiger to craft beer, beer brewing in Singapore has had a long and storied history|author=Ho Sie Sie|publisher=National Library Singapore|access-date=14 April 2025}}

During World War II, the British deemed the brewery to be enemy territory due to its German ties and seized it in 1941. It was then bought by Malayan Breweries Ltd, which in 1990 was renamed Asia Pacific Breweries. In 2013, Asia Pacific Breweries merged to become Heineken Asia Pacific.

Archipelago Brewery is currently Heineken Asia Pacific's craft brewing arm. The old Archipelago Brewery was re-commissioned on 24 July 2006, with international brewmaster, Fal Allen. Three variants of the Archipelago craft beers, namely Traveller's Wheat, Straits Pale and Traders Brown Ale were launched at Archipelago's flagship pub located on Circular Road in Singapore (now closed).{{cite news|title=Circular Road makeover to gather pace soon|url=http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/circular-road-makeover-gather-pace-soon|publisher=Asia One|access-date=21 July 2015|archive-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114030425/http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/circular-road-makeover-gather-pace-soon|url-status=dead}}

The re-launch of Archipelago was consistent with Heineken Asia Pacific's objectives to add a new dimension to Singapore's beer industry; and to continue to grow its presence and stature locally.{{cite web|title=F&N Annual report 2006|url=http://www.fraserandneave.com/docs/default-source/investor-relations/annual-reports/2006/2006-section-05-p30-50.pdf?sfvrsn=2}}

Archipelago Brewery produced boutique beers in small batches. In 2016, Archipelago Brewery brewed and sold 390,000 litres of beer. The Archipelago Brewery currently produces six permanent beers: Tropical Pale Ale, Singapore Blonde Ale, Belgian Wit, Summer IPA, Bohemian Lager and Irish Ale, in addition to limited edition or specialty beers.

In May 2024 Heineken Asia Pacific announced it would be closing the brewery at the end of June that year.{{cite web|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/archipelago-brewery-close-june-2024-end-era-4388976|title='An end of an era' with Singapore's Archipelago Brewery set to close|publisher=CNA|first=Kurt|last=Ganapathy|date=6 June 2024|access-date=14 April 2025}}

Specialty Brews

The brewery created speciality brews which were sold as limited-release products, produced in much smaller quantities than the regular brews. Previous speciality brews included:

  • Anderson Valley Brewing collaboration Pale Ale – Fresh seedless red Californian grapes were squeezed and added to boil in the last 5 minutes, along with Nelson Sauvin and Pacifica hops to give it a subtle orange and gooseberry hop aroma. After a week of cold conditioning, the beer was flushed into a separate tank containing dry hopping bags full of freshly cut and sterilised passion fruit. ABV 4.6%, Bitterness 32 IBU, Colour 25EBC
  • [http://the1925.com.sg/ 1925] Archi Mango IPA collaboration – Various hops were used in the boil and whirlpool to give it flavours of grapefruit, orange and passion fruit. Fresh Mango was added on the 4-day of fermentation along with generous amounts of Centennial hops to give it herbal lemon citrus aromas. ABV – 5.55% Bitterness – 45 IBU.
  • Renku Lager – Dry hopped with Challenger (UK) and a dash of Japanese green tea which provides a clean fresh aroma of evergreen, wood and green tea tones.
  • HOPSALE – American Pale Ale with 8 types of hops added throughout different stages of the brew. 5% ABV
  • COCO's Cream – Nitrogen saturated smooth pour cream ale made with a large amount of cooking chocolate. 4.2% ABV

Awards

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Organiser

! Winning Variant

! Award

! Category

2008Brew NZSamui{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Fruit/Spiced/Herb/Flavoured Beer, Fruit and Vegetable
2008Brew NZExplorer{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}French and Belgian Style Ales, French-Belgian Style Saison
2010World Beer CupStraits Pale{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}International Pale Ale
2011The Brewing Industry International AwardsBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Wheat Beer
2011Australian International Beer AwardsBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Witbier Style
2011Australian International Beer AwardsIrish Ale{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}British Style Pale Ale
2011Australian International Beer AwardsSummer Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}British Style Pale Ale
2011International Brewing AwardsHickory Smoked IPA{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Specialty
2011Brew NZBohemian Lager{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}International Lager Styles
2011Brew NZIrish Ale{{Awards table sorting|Gold}}British Ale Styles
2011NZSummer Ale{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}British Ale Styles
2011Brew NZBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Wheat & Other Grain Styles
2011Japanese Beer AwardsIrish Ale{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Irish Ales category, only medal in the category
2011Japanese Beer AwardsBohemian Lager{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}International Lager Styles, only medal in the category
2011Japanese Beer AwardsSummer Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}English Style Summer Ales, only medal in the category
2012Australian International Beer AwardsSummer Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}English Summer Ale
2012Australian International Beer AwardsIrish Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}American Styly Red Draught
2012Australian International Beer AwardsBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Belgian Wit Draught
2012International Beer Challenge UKBohemian Lager{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Lager
2012International Beer Challenge UKIrish Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Ales
2012International Beer Challenge UKSake Sorachi{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Specialty
2012Brewers Guild Awards NZBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Gold}}Wheat & Other Grain Styles
2012Japan International Beer AwardBohemian Lager{{Awards table sorting|Gold}}International – Style Lager
2012Japan International Beer AwardSummer Ale{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}English Style – Summer Ale
2012Japan International Beer AwardBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Belgian-Style Witbier
2014Japan International Beer AwardEnglish Bitter{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Ordinary Bitter
2014Japan International Beer AwardBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Bronze}}Belgian-Style Witbier
2016BeerFest Asia SingaporeBelgian Wit{{Awards table sorting|Gold}}Belgian-Style Witbier
2016BeerFest Asia SingaporeBlemished Flemish Saison{{Awards table sorting|Silver}}Saison – Farmhouse

References

{{Reflist}}