As one of the largest craft breweries, not only in the Algarve but also Portugal with its 3,000 litre Brew House, it is now about to embark on a new exciting phase of expansion.

With new owners and management at the helm, the brewery has withstood the challenges that the CoviD Lockdown brought that saw most of its sales revenues fall due the closure of bars and restaurants. The brewery survived this by switching its sales strategy to concentrate on sales to Supermarkets and online. Algarve Rock beers are currently available in supermarkets such as Apolónia, and selected Intermarché, and Spar outlets along the Algarve and will also soon be available in other supermarket chains in the next few weeks.

Algarve Rock was the first craft brewery in the Algarve and also one of the first in Portugal to have their beers available in cans. This trend of craft beer in cans has swept across from the USA and now sees most craft breweries in Europe making their beer available in cans, which have many advantages over glass bottles such as easier recyclability, quicker to cool in the fridge etc. A brand new, state of the art canning machine was purchased from a UK specialist manufacturer earlier this year that allows Algarve Rock package up to 1,500 cans per hour.

Apart from craft beer, Algarve Rock recently launched a range of Hard Seltzers to complement its core range of beers. With their low carbohydrate and calorie content, Hard Seltzers offer a welcome and fashionable choice to people who want to drink alcohol while restricting their carbohydrate and calorie intake.

Algarve Rock´s brand of Hard Seltzers, AquaRazz are a blend of filtered carbonated water, natural fruit flavouring, and alcohol that offer only 70 calories and can be enjoyed on their own or as a mixer at a pleasant 3.7 percent alcohol rate. As no sugar is added, they make for the perfect refreshing beverage that can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways.

Algarve Rock recently and despite the many bureaucratic difficulties due to Brexit exported a full container of beer to the UK to a distributor who will help them build the brand in the UK. They have also exported beer to Italy earlier this year and are currently negotiating to have their beer available in other European markets.

Barrel aging beer – In tandem with crafting beer that will be sold in cans and kegs, the brewery recently undertook a barrel aging programme whereby they have a number of their beers currently aging in Bourbon Whisky, Porto and Moscatel barrels. The beer in these barrel casks along with some from a local winery just outside Faro will be aged for up to 12 months and marketed as limited edition beers. Some will even be bottled in time for Christmas this year.

The brewery and its Taproom are open to visitors by appointment where the various beers can be sampled and an interesting tour of the brewery and how the process of brewing craft beer from start to finish can be shown and explained.

For further information about Algarve Rock Brewery, please visit www.algarverock.com or call 962 490 973