Actor Ryan Reynolds has bought Great Britain’s oldest lager brewery, Wrexham Lager, following the beer launching in Australia last month.
Wrexham Lager Beer Co has been brewing in Wales since 1882. Reynolds and his business partner Rob McElhenney are the new co-owners of the company alongside the Roberts family.
The acquisition was made by Red Dragon Ventures, a joint venture formed by The R.R. McReynolds Company, majority owner of Wrexham AFC, and the Allyn family of Skaneateles, New York. Red Dragon Ventures was created to drive growth in the Wrexham community and Wrexham AFC.
The brewery said the transaction represented another landmark deal for the Welsh town and would considerably scale up its infrastructure and international production, distribution and marketing efforts.
“As co-chairmen of Wrexham AFC we have learned a lot,” said McElhenney and Reynolds.
“The connection between club and community, the intricacies of the offsides rule and the occasional need for beer – especially after finance meetings. Wrexham Lager has a 140-year-old recipe and a storied history and we’re excited to help write its next chapter.”
“This is a brand with great heritage – the oldest lager brewery in Great Britain, once enjoyed across the world,” said James Wright, CEO of the Wrexham Lager Beer Co. Ltd.
“So, to have Rob and Ryan onboard as we embark on international expansion is huge for us. They have been doing wonders for the town of Wrexham and strongly share our passion for once again seeing Wrexham Lager enjoyed in all the far-flung corners of the globe.”
Wrexham launches in Australia
Wrexham Lager launched in Australia in September and is distributed nationwide through Endeavour Group’s Dan Murphy’s.
Long-term order agreements were secured with Dan Murphy’s through Hawkesbury Brewing Co, supported by in-store and online promotion programs.
The lager is on sale in all 270 Dan Murphy retail stores and available to buy online. Its listings include the Wrexham Lager 330ml bottle 6x packs and Wrexham Lager 330ml bottle 24x packs.
The Wrexham Lager Beer Co has historical newspaper clippings of its original entry into the Australian market, dating back as far as 1884. At the time, a reporter for The Armidale Express highlighted the brand’s Pilsener as “…a beautiful pale colour, light and pleasant to the palate, and effervescing like good champagne, as a dinner beverage it is unsurpassed”. It was also pronounced to be ‘better than the lager beer used in Germany’ at the annual conference of German brewers in Australia.
Watch Reynolds’ announcement below:
Ryan Reynolds’ pub visit with Wrexham fans