Heineken and United African Company (UAC) began construction of the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited in October 1961 in Wellington Industrial Estate in Freetown, and the first brew was mashed-in on 23 November 1962. The first brand to be brewed was Star Lager.[4]
It closed for six months in 1982 following a shortage of foreign exchange, reopening after the end of the rainy season. During the 1997 Military Coup, the brewing stopped for six months after the brewery was ransacked. On 6 January 1999, the rebel forces looted the brewery, stopping production for one and a half years.