Spanish beer company Damm has signed a long-term deal with Japanese brewery Kirin Holdings to become the exclusive UK distributor for its Kirin Ichiban beer.

The agreement will see Damm take over from current distributor Carslberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) from 1 January 2025. It intends to expand the beer’s current UK footprint.

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Kirin has been sold in the UK since 1993 and is the only major beer brewed exclusively with First Press wort – hence the name Ichiban, meaning “the first one”.

It is a popular beer in Japanese restaurants in the UK thanks to its authenticity.

Barcelona-based Damm is best-known in the UK for its Estrella Damm Spanish lager. It operates 17 production plants in the Iberian Peninsula and one in Bedford.

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