Eden Mill snaps up namesake brewery in England

Scotland’s first single site brewery and distillery, Eden Mill, is to expand after buying a namesake south of the border.

The firm’s growth continues after the acquisition of the aptly named Eden River Brewery in Penrith, Cumbria, for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will enable Eden Mill to bottle and can some of its growing range of products in the north of England which will also allow a quicker and smoother distribution, as its retail channels continue to grow.

Eden River Brewery has a state-of-the-art bottling plant near Penrith and will increase production by an equivalent of 50,000 nine litre cases per year – more than doubling Eden Mill’s own current capacity and will create a further 12 jobs at the plant.

Paul Miller, co-founder of Eden Mill said: ‘Thanks to a growth trend amongst our customer base and our ongoing partnership with big retailers such as, Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, our acquisition of Eden River Brewery will allow us to drastically increase our production on many of our products.

‘Eden River Brewery is highly complementary to our business and we share commonalities in products and approach, making us hugely excited about our combined potential.’

Eden River Brewery’s site in the north of England will allow Eden Mill to bottle and distribute quickly and effectively.

Paul Miller, co-founder of Eden Mill

However, Eden Mill will continue to distil its gin and whisky and brew its beer at its home in St Andrews.

Jason Hill, director of Eden River said: ‘When we were approached by Eden Mill, I knew immediately that this was the kind of company, and the right team of people we could work with. We all had a vision of the quality products and identified that highlighting the craft aspects of our products would allow for us to expand yet stay personal to our customers.

‘Like Eden Mill, our company is very hands on and we are invested in making sure we are part of perfecting our products from conception to consumption. Everyone here at Eden River is looking forward to a positive and prosperous new year.’

The deal follows a successful year for Eden Mill, having recently been awarded Scottish Gin of the Year at the Annual Scottish Gin Awards, as well as being awarded the most accolades, five in total, including London Dry Gin of the Year. Eden Mill also won Best Pale Ale at the Scottish Beer Awards.

Recently, Eden Mill launched exclusive pop ups within retail giant, Debenhams in over 40 stores across England and Wales for the month of December.

Since launching in 2012, Eden Mill has expanded its business rapidly and now boasts hundreds gin, whisky, beer and liqueur products and is currently stocked in ASDA, Aldi, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, John Lewis & Partners and more.