Star AB InBev Brewer Moves To A ‘Cathedral Of Beer’ In The UK

English winery Chapel Down who’ve been riding a wave of success in the United Kingdom will be opening a new craft brewery in 2019 and they just hired one of AB InBev’s best brewer to run it.

Here’s the deal…

Curious Drinks Brewery, a craft beer subsidiary of Kentish winery Chapel Down, has hired one of AB InBev’s top-ranking brewers According to the Drinks Business,

Matthew Anderson, who has spent more than a decade brewing big-name beers like Budweiser, Becks & Stella Artois at AB InBev’s breweries in Wales and Lancashire is now Curious Brewery’s Head of Brewing and Production.

Anderson is a top-ranking brewer within AB InBev. He completed his Diploma in Brewing in conjunction with the company’s Global Brewmaster Program, where he ranked in 1st place.

Anderson first joined AB-InBev in 2007 as a Packaging Quality Lab Technician in London’s Stag Brewery. And two years later he moved to AB InBev’s brewing facility in Wales, where he was part of a team which introduced Budweiser, Becks & Stella 4% ABV to the brewery.

In his new role, Anderson will help direct Curious Brewery’s range of beers and ciders, which currently includes exotics like 4.9% ABV sour ale blended with leftover Chardonnay, a lager re-fermented with Champagne yeast, a triple hopped IPA and a Kentish cider fermented with Bacchus lees.

Chapel Down has been hot of late, Wine sales rose by 15% in 2017. Beer and cider sales under the Curious Drinks brand also rose by 7%.

Anderson was clearly ecstatic about his new opportunity…

“I felt I really had to be part of this….That I get to do it while growing and adding to the existing drinks portfolio and being part of a team that is changing the way consumers think about and drink beer is brilliant. With Curious’ winemaking heritage and vision to create things that others can’t, I’m looking forward to making this happen!”

Chapel Down is set to open a new Curious Drinks brewery a £1.3 million brewing destination that they describe as a “cathedral of beer.”

And with Chapel Down’s announcement it appears that this soon-to-open ‘beer cathedral’ has found its new rector…