What Meantime Brewing Co. does

Meantime Brewing Co. is a UK craft brewery founded in 1999 by Alistair Hook in a Greenwich flat, established as one of the first major craft breweries credited with sparking the UK craft beer movement. The company now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd, itself part of the Asahi Group Holdings group, with operations and headquarters in Greenwich, London. Its product portfolio centers on a core range of craft beers brewed with British, German, and American ingredients under a "time as the fifth ingredient" philosophy, supplemented by limited-edition collaboration beers such as "About Time" (with Charlton Athletic FC) and "So Good Lager" (with talkSPORT).

Meantime distributes through three complementary channels: a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (shop.meantimebrewing.com), an owned on-premise venue (The Dial, London) serving as year-round taproom and product showcase, and on-trade wholesale through the Pub Finder network of participating UK pubs. The on-site venue also functions as a brand experience and limited-release test bed. Marketing is event-driven, anchored on three pillars - regional sports partnerships (Charlton Athletic FC as Official Beer), national sports-media collaborations (talkSPORT), and premium food festival activations (Meatopia, FUME/Cluck/RibFest via Savour Festivals) - supported by organic social on Instagram and Facebook.

The underlying technology is conventional craft brewing, with no disclosed AI/ML, digital platform, or proprietary software layers in the source data. The legal entity is a UK private limited company with 11-50 employees; headquarter contact flows through Asahi UK Ltd at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, London, indicating group-level shared services. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, and there are no recorded funding rounds, M&A transactions as acquirer, or recent leadership changes in the input data.

Name

Meantime Brewing Co.

Legal name

Meantime Brewing

Website

https://meantimebrewing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meantime Brewing Co. is a UK craft brewery and subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd., producing craft beers for British consumers via its owned London venue The Dial, an online shop, and a national pub wholesale network, with event-driven marketing anchored in sports and food festival partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beer

NAICS

Breweries (31212), Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers (424810), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer Brewing & Craft Brewing (AFAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beer Brewing & Brands (CRADAIAA), Regional & National Breweries (THAFALAD), Packaging & Production Breweries (Limited/No On-site Service) (THAFALAB)

Keywords

• Craft beer brewery
• Beer wholesale
• Taproom venue
• Limited edition beers
• UK beer distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Beer Sales (Direct to Consumer): Direct beer sales to consumers through the owned pub venue The Dial in London and the online shop (shop.meantimebrewing.com).
2. On-trade Wholesale/Distribution: Wholesale distribution to a network of participating pubs across the UK, facilitated through the Pub Finder program.
3. Partnership Activations and Limited Edition Beers: Sales of limited-edition collaborative beers such as the 'About Time' beer (supporting Charlton Athletic Community Trust) and 'So Good Lager' (collaboration with talkSPORT).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Meantime Brewing Co. is a craft beer brewery founded in 1999 in Greenwich, London, producing innovative, high-quality beers using British, German, and American ingredients with time as a core brewing ingredient. The company sells its beers directly to consumers through its online shop and owned pub venue The Dial, and distributes wholesale to a network of UK pubs via its Pub Finder program. It also produces limited-edition collaborative beers tied to sports and food event partnerships.

Product overview

Meantime Brewing Co. is a craft beer brewery operating as a subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd. The company's product portfolio centers on its core craft beer offerings, supplemented by limited-edition collaboration beers (About Time Beer with Charlton Athletic FC, So Good Lager with talkSPORT) and a flagship taproom venue (The Dial). The beers are characterized by their use of time, passion, and high-quality British, German, and American ingredients, positioning Meantime as a pioneer in the UK craft beer movement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Meantime Craft Beer Range
• About Time Beer
• So Good Lager
• The Dial Pub Venue

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Charlton Athletic FCcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMeantime is the Official Beer of Charlton Athletic FC - a partnership rooted in shared spirit, pride, and passion of South East London. The #ItsAboutTime campaign supports trail-blazing women in football and beyond, with 25p from every pint or can of limited-edition 'About Time' beer sold going to Charlton Athletic Community Trust.
• MeatopiacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMeatopia is the legendary London festival celebrating fire, food and flavour. Meantime is the Official Beer Partner, pouring alongside over 70 of the world's best live-fire chefs at Tobacco Dock.
• Savour Festivals / FUME BBQ FestivalsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerSavour Festivals operates FUME, Cluck and RibFest BBQ events. Meantime partnered with Savour Festivals for the 'So Good Summer' campaign bringing together BBQ, sports and craft beer.
• talkSPORTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with talkSPORT (world's biggest sports radio station and official broadcaster) to create 'So Good Lager' - a crisp, refreshing lager made for matchdays, launched ahead of a massive summer of football.
• Asahi Europe LtdcoreOthersMeantime Brewing is a subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd, the parent company providing corporate ownership and support.
• Asahi UK LtdcoreOthersAsahi UK Ltd, headquartered at Griffin Brewery, Chiswick Lane South, London, is the UK operating entity and promoter of Meantime marketing promotions and competitions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• BrewDog: Scotland-based craft brewery and bar operator with a comparable UK-wide product portfolio, on-trade pub network, and DTC e-commerce model. Both brands target craft beer enthusiasts with a strong focus on brand-led marketing and limited-edition releases.
• Camden Town Brewery: London-based craft brewery with overlapping hometown geography, similar lager- and ale-led portfolio, and shared reliance on UK on-trade and off-trade distribution. Like Meantime, Camden is backed by a global brewer (AB InBev), making the corporate-parent structure directly comparable.
• Beavertown Brewery: London-based craft brewery with a flagship taproom and UK-wide on-trade distribution, also owned by a global brewer (Heineken). The brand-led, design-forward positioning and London origin are highly comparable to Meantime's craft identity and The Dial venue.
• Cloudwater Brew Co. Manchester-based craft brewery known for modern, hop-forward beers and limited releases sold through specialist UK on-trade and DTC channels. Comparable to Meantime on craft positioning, premium pricing, and reliance on UK pub and direct distribution.
• The Kernel Brewery: London-based craft brewery with a strong reputation for high-quality, traditional brewing and limited-release bottle conditioning. Like Meantime, it is rooted in South East London craft heritage and sells through a curated UK on-trade and bottle-shop network.

Broad incumbents

• Fuller's Brewery: Long-established London brewer and pub operator (Griffin Brewery, Chiswick) that shares Meantime's South East London footprint and operates its own tied pub estate. A broader incumbent with a wider mainstream ale portfolio, but directly relevant for on-trade competition and regional brand benchmarks.
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Large US craft brewer with a pioneering heritage position broadly analogous to Meantime's 'original UK craft' identity. Useful as a benchmark for how a heritage craft brand can scale distribution and product extensions over decades.
• Brooklyn Brewery: US craft brand with global distribution that pioneered the urban craft identity now used by Meantime. Comparable in narrative positioning (city-rooted, time-honoured brewing) and in leveraging brand storytelling to support premium pricing.
• Lagunitas Brewing Company: Major international craft brewer (owned by Heineken) that scaled from craft roots to broad global distribution, mirroring the Asahi-backed trajectory available to Meantime. Useful peer for international expansion benchmarking.
• Wainwright Brewery (Heineken UK): Mainstream UK cask ale brand owned by Heineken, sharing the South East London brewing heritage via the former RAM Brewery site in Wandsworth. Comparable as a competing regional ale offering in the same UK on-trade channels as Meantime.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/meantimebrewing
• Instagraminstagram.com/meantimebrewing
• Xx.com/meantimebrewing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Meantime Brewing Co.