Black Country brewer’s bostin beers lapped up by the Finns

BLACK Country brewer Sadler’s Ales is out to impress lager-loving drinkers in Scandinavia with its latest beers.

The Lye-based craft brewery has won its first major exporting deal and will be shipping thousands of bottles of its Hop Bomb and Red Ale IPA to Finland over the next 12 months as it looks to ramp up its overseas business.

The contract follows a trade mission to neighbouring Latvia last autumn organised by UK Trade & Investment.

Ian King, sales director at the firm, said: “It’s an exciting time for the brewery and we are very pleased to be sending our first major consignment of beers to Finland, which will be sold in retail stores and bars across the country.

“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work by the team here but we are confident about the quality of our beers and are determined to get our brand known in as many territories as possible.”

As well as exporting to Finland, it is also in advanced talks with sales distributors in Norway and Sweden after the company’s UKTI advisor Paul Keeling identified potential opportunities.

Mr King is now a strong advocate of the trade body, which has in turn used the brewery as a case study to encourage other firms to look at exporting.

He said: “We’ve been looking at the possibilities of exporting for a while and the trip to Latvia last year put us on a firm footing. UKTI has helped us to really focus on building our overseas market, so we’d recommend any business to see what they can achieve overseas.”

Mr Keeling, UKTI international trade adviser in the Black Country, added: “Sadler’s Ales is a very dynamic and enthusiastic company that is keen to explore as many export opportunities as it can. We’ve been working with the brewery for a few months now, offering support and guidance, and it is now starting to reap the rewards.”

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