Simonds Farsons Cisk Brewery
Encyclopedia
Simonds Farsons Cisk is a brewery
founded in Malta
in 1928.
s and from this take-over was born Malta's first beer, the 'Cisk Pilsner'.
The Malta Export Brewery eventually merged with Simonds Farsons Limited in 1948. This company had itself been formed in 1929 by the merger of the local brewing firm, L. Farrugia & Sons (alias 'Farsons') and the Maltese branch of the Simonds' Brewery
based in Reading, Berkshire
in the United Kingdom
. The new company became Simonds Farsons Cisk Limited.
), Cisk Export (Premium Lager), Hopleaf (Pale Ale
), Hopleaf Extra (Premium Pale Ale), Blue Label (Ale
), Lacto (Milk Stout), Traditional and Lemon & Lime shandies
, as well as Carlsberg and Skol
under licence. The company also has a "Smooth 'n' Creamy" draught
variant of Hopleaf and Blue Label, and also produces a variety of soft drinks, table waters, juices and juice drinks.
.
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
founded in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
in 1928.
History
"The Malta Export Brewery" was created when the first privately-owned Maltese bank, established in 1840 by Giuseppe Scicluna, took over one of their client's operations in 1928. They were granted a temporary exclusive licence to manufacture lagerLager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
s and from this take-over was born Malta's first beer, the 'Cisk Pilsner'.
The Malta Export Brewery eventually merged with Simonds Farsons Limited in 1948. This company had itself been formed in 1929 by the merger of the local brewing firm, L. Farrugia & Sons (alias 'Farsons') and the Maltese branch of the Simonds' Brewery
Simonds' Brewery
H & G Simonds Ltd was a brewery founded in Reading, Berkshire, England in 1785 by William Blackall Simonds. The company amalgamated with Courage & Barclay in 1960, eventually becoming part of Scottish & Newcastle...
based in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The new company became Simonds Farsons Cisk Limited.
Products
Simonds Farsons Cisk plc produces the following beers : Cisk (LagerLager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
), Cisk Export (Premium Lager), Hopleaf (Pale Ale
Pale ale
Pale ale is a beer which uses a warm fermentation and predominantly pale malt. It is one of the world's major beer styles.The higher proportion of pale malts results in a lighter colour. The term "pale ale" was being applied around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with coke, which resulted in a...
), Hopleaf Extra (Premium Pale Ale), Blue Label (Ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
), Lacto (Milk Stout), Traditional and Lemon & Lime shandies
Shandy
Shandy, or shandygaff, is normally a beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste, normally half-and-half. There are also non-alcoholic shandy mixes known as “rock shandies”...
, as well as Carlsberg and Skol
Skol
Skol was initially created to be a global beer brand. Allied Breweries , Labatt , Pripps-Bryggerierna and Unibra formed a new company called Skol International in 1964. Its aim was the creation of a world-wide beer brand, Skol, which could be licensed, manufactured and marketed across the world...
under licence. The company also has a "Smooth 'n' Creamy" draught
Draught beer
Draught beer is beer served from a cask or a pressurised keg.-History of draught:Until Joseph Bramah patented the beer engine in 1785, beer was served directly from the barrel and carried to the customer. The Old English word for carry was dragen which developed into a series of related words,...
variant of Hopleaf and Blue Label, and also produces a variety of soft drinks, table waters, juices and juice drinks.
Beer
Cisk Lager is a golden-coloured, bottom-fermented lager with an alcohol content of 4.2% . Fruit and malt flavours can be noted. The name "Cisk" originates from Giuseppe Scicluna's nickname "Iċ-Ċisk" or in English, "The cheque". Scicluna was notable for his use of cheques, and due to the unpopularity of the payment method in Malta at that time, some of Scicluna's clients had the habit of referring to him as "Ċisk". Other than Cisk, Farsons also produces Blue Label (Ale) and Hopleaf (Pale-Ale) as well as the non-alcoholic citrus soft drink, KinnieKinnie
Kinnie is a soft drink from Malta. It was first developed in 1952 by Simonds Farsons Cisk.Kinnie is amber in colour, has a bittersweet flavour, and is drunk straight or mixed with alcohol to create a long drink.-History:...
.
Restaurants
Farsons is a major franchisee of Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC in Malta, Italy and other European countries. The company's first Burger King location opened in Malta in 1995, KFC in 1996, and Pizza hut in 1993. It added TGI Fridays to its stable of restaurants in 1999.Awards
- Cisk Lager was awarded top prize in the International Lager Category at the 1995 Australian Beer Awards and was presented with the Pfizer Food Science Trophy for the lager obtaining the highest number of votes in the same competition.
- Cisk Lager had achieved a similar dual championship recognition during the 1980 Brewex Competition held in the UK when it had been awarded gold medals for both the "Lager" and the "Best Overall" categories.
- Cisk Lager was named "World's Best Traditional Lager" by Beers of The World in 2007.
- Cisk Excel was named "World's Best Low Carb Beer" by Beers of the World in 2007.