Cork's Franciscan Well Brewery to close in the New Year
Franciscan Well brewery and warehouse facility at Marina Commercial Park, Cork City. South Pic Larry Cummins.
Cork city’s Franciscan Well Brewery has announced it is to close its doors early next year, and will cease production of the popular beer brands.
Brand owner Molson Coors said that the decision had not been taken lightly, citing "challenging" conditions in the craft beer industry and economic pressures, behind the decision to cease the production of their beers at the docklands brewery.
The Franciscan Well pub on the North Mall is under different ownership and will remain open.
Molson Coors said in a statement this afternoon: “It is with a heavy heart that today we announce we will cease production of the Franciscan Well brands early in the New Year, and as a result, propose to close our Franciscan Well brewery in Cork.
“This decision has not been taken lightly, and we are providing our 15 impacted employees with every support.”
However, they said that the BrewPub is a separate business under completely different ownership to the Franciscan Well Brewery, and thus it is not impacted by today’s news.
The spokesperson said that over the past decade the company has invested in the Franciscan Well Brewery and the brand portfolio, most recently refreshing the visual brand identity in November 2022, and releasing new product development with Well Hazy in early 2023 and the Docklands Series in 2024.
“Unfortunately, despite great work from the team, in the face of a challenging craft beer category and other economic pressures impacting our customers and consumers, it has not been possible to grow the brands to the level needed to sustain the brewery as part of our UK and Ireland production network,” said the spokesperson.
The company’s local distribution partner will be working with customers in the coming weeks, and the owners have entered into a consultation process with impacted employees, saying it “will work through this process with integrity and respect for everyone affected.
“We will seek redeployment for all displaced employees wherever possible," said the spokesperson.
“We understand the special place the Franciscan Well brewery and brands have in the local community, and remain open to conversations with interested parties about the future of the brewery and brands," they added.
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