JEJU-DO < invest Korea

Jeju Beer has joined the craft beer binge in Korea, opening up its first major-scale brewery.

On Tuesday it launched Jeju Wit Ale, a specialty beer brand made out of a mix of German wheat and barley malt to deliver a smooth flavor. It has 5.3 percent alcohol content and comes in 330 ml bottle and 630 ml bottle for retailers and 20 liter keg for pubs.

The beer will be made in Jeju Island in what will be the country’s biggest craft brewery with a capacity to turn out 20 million liters a year.

Jeju Beer Co. is the first Asian sister company of Brooklyn Brewery, a top craft brewer in New York. “We tapped into Brooklyn Brewery’s 30 years of experience to develop a high-quality craft beer of our own,” said a company official.

Korea’s craft beer market is worth about 20 billion won ($17.8 million), according to industry sources. The market for micro craft brewers makes up less than 1 percent of the total beer industry. The segment has been doubling in size each year since the liberalization in 2014 that allowed microbreweries to produce and distribute their own beers.

One local brewer on the rise is Sevenbrau, which came into media spotlight as the beer enjoyed by President Moon Jae-in and business leaders at the recent happy-hour meeting at the Blue House. Other popular names include Haeundae Beach Ale by Korea Craft Brewery and Guarneri by Jang & Craft.

Non-Korean craft names are also expanding, including the U.K.-based BrewDog and the U.S.-based Brooklyn Brewery and Goose Island.



By Lee Hee-soo

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Aug. 2, 2017)