Asmara Brewery (formerly, Melotti Brewery) is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

in Eritrea, founded in 1938. The brewery was nationalized by the Derg during the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was a war for independence which Eritrean independence fighters waged against successive Ethiopian governments from 1 September 1961 to 24 May 1991. Eritrea was an Italian colony from the 1880s until the ...

. The brewery operates a

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

, which plays in the

Eritrean Premier League The Eritrean Premier League is the highest division in football in Eritrea. The league was delivered in 1994 to the first time. Between 1953 and the Eritrean independence in 1993, Eritrean teams played in the Ethiopian Premier League, winnin ...

. The factory has over 600 employees.

History

The brewery was founded in 1938 (and started production in 1939) by Italian engineer Luigi Melotti. The brewery was nationalized by the Derg during the

, and was then inherited by the Government of Eritrea. Ownership in the brewery is shared between investors and the Government of Eritrea. In 1998, its factory exported up to 40% of production, with the remainder being domestically consumed. Production was affected during 2000 and production decreased for a period of time. However the production has since got back to normal levels, now even exporting products internationally to countries worldwide. During

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the present day it is one of the biggest companies in Eritrea. Melotti, the wealthy original owner, also built the famous "Villa Melotti" on the southern tip of Taulud Island in Massawa.

Overview

The Asmara Brewery plant covers an area of 100,000 square metres, 25,000 of which are covered by modern and functional buildings. The industrial activity includes the distillery, the liquor factory, the brewery, and the glass factory.

Distillery

The distillery consists of a modern installation for the production of alcohol from musts of dense wines, as this activity was installed for the industrial exploitation of the fruit of the

doum palm ''Hyphaene thebaica'', with common names doum palm (Ar: دوم) and gingerbread tree (also mistakenly doom palm), is a type of palm tree with edible oval fruit. It is a native to the Arabian Peninsula and also to the northern half and western pa ...

. The distillery installation has a daily production capability of 24 hectolitres of denatured alcohol exceeding 96o.

Liquor factory

Liquor production has been mainly directed toward Ethiopian consumers, and the Melotti Liquor Factory markets several kinds of liquors particularly appreciated by the clientele. Production capability is about 50,000 bottles monthly. The most popular liquors are anise, cognac, fernet, gin, and zibib.

Brewery

Born during the war period in order to satisfy contingent necessities, initially under the direction of Luigi Melotti, and later his widow Emma Santini Melotti, the beer industry has constantly directed its efforts to satisfy market demands, both concerning the product's quality as well as the price. This requires the company to continuously update its facilities. Its beer is appreciated throughout the country, and even abroad where only currency difficulties limit its already flourishing exports. The annual production capability is about 500,000 hectolitres of beer.

Glass factory

The glass factory started its own production in January 1960 with new facilities built in 1959, allowing for production which extends from the 90 gr bottle to the 1000 gr bottle and to a vast range of glasses, which meet demand in all local markets.

Brewery products

The brewery produces a wide range of beverages. One of its best known is ''Ariki'', an aniseed-flavored spirit. It also produces its famous ''Asmara beer'' (lager) and other beverages susch as gin,

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

and

Fernet-Branca Fernet-Branca () is an Italian brand of fernet, a style of '' amaro'' or bitters. It was formulated in Milan in 1845, and is manufactured there by Fratelli Branca Distillerie. History Fernet-Branca was formulated in Milan in 1845 by a self-ta ...

Football team

The brewery operates a