Industry Alcoholic beverage Products Beer Founded 1965 | Predecessor SKD Brewery Website Official website | |
Headquarters Sihanoukville, Cambodia Owner Cambrew Ltd, Carlsberg Group (50%) | ||
Cambrew Ltd (Angkor Brewery) is the largest brewery in Cambodia, situated in Sihanoukville. The brewery produces Angkor Beer (the most widely consumed beer in the country and acknowledged as Cambodia’s national beer), Klang Beer, Bayon Beer, Angkor Extra Stout and Black Panther Premium Stout.
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History
The original brewery, known as SKD Brewery (Societie des Khmere Distilleries) was commissioned by the Cambodian Government in the early 1960s and built by a French contractor with technical assistance from France. The brewery was officially opened by HRH Prince Sihanouk in 1965. The brewery building was designed by Cambodia architect Vann Molyvann during the 'golden period' of New Khmer Architecture. The main office building follows the distinctive 'dong raik' architectural design form in which the upper floor overhangs the ground floor by several metres, highlighted and reflected in the shape of the distinctive triangle supports in the facade. Sihanoukville was chosen as the site for the brewery for the quality of the local water which supposedly had the ideal mineral content for brewing beer. The choice of Sihanoukville was not without controversy at the time due to the distance from the bottle manufacturing plant near Phnom Penh. The brewery produced lager beer, marketed under the brand names Angkor Beer and Bayon Beer. The brewery's operations were disrupted when civil war broke out in the early 1970s and closed in 1975.
In 1991 Cambrew Ltd (a Malaysian company) assumed control of the brewery and after nine months of refurbishment, the brewery recommenced production in 1992. In 1992 Cambrew entered into a joint venture with Pepsi Co. for bottling and distribution of soft drinks in Cambodia.
In 2005 the Carlsberg Group purchased a 50% holding in the brewery. In 2011 the Angkor Extra Stout was awarded the Grand Gold award from Monde Selection of Belgium.