The story
The brewery was founded in 1938 by Italian engineer Luigi Melotti. It started production in 1939.
Asmara Brewery was originally established in 1939 in Asmara, where it is presently located. The Present site of the factory was previously used as a depot of road construction materials. It was set up by Eng. Luigi Melotti, an Italian National who came to Eritrea during the Italian colonial period, as an expert in road construction. The factory, to start with, used to produce liquor products based on rudimentary technology. Asmara Brewery Corporation S.C. was originally established during the Italian colonial period, to start with, to produce alcoholic drinks (liquor) on a small scale. Over the years, the Brewery went through major developments, in terms of product quality improvement, diversification and plant capacity expansion and modernization, to become a highly reputed plant of its kind.
The brewery was nationalized by the Derg during the Eritrean War of Independence, 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 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.
From Wikipedia’s article on Asmara Brewery, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3