Simonds Farsons Cisk plc, commonly known as Farsons, is a Maltese food and beverage conglomerate whose businesses include the brewing, sale and distribution of beer and soft drinks; importation, wholesale and retail of food and beverages; operation of franchised food retailers; and property development.
History
Established in 1928, Farsons was the first brewery to be established on the island, in the town of Ħamrun, near the capital city Valletta. The brewery's first beer was Farsons Pale Ale, brewed to meet the preferences of the British garrison and navy stationed in Malta at the time. In 1929, Farsons merged with the H.G Simonds brewery from Reading to establish Simonds Farsons Ltd.
In the same year and a short distance from the Farsons brewery, the Marquis John Scicluna, whose family had established the first privately owned local bank, opened the Malta Export Brewery. While Simonds Farsons Ltd had been granted the licence to brew ales, the Malta Export Brewery was granted a temporary exclusive licence to brew Bavarian-style lagers under the names Cisk Pilsner and Cisk Munchener.
Following twenty years of rivalry, the Malta Export Brewery merged with Simonds Farsons Ltd in 1948 to form the company Simonds Farsons Cisk Ltd which soon after diversified its product portfolio and interests.
Beers
Farsons beers include lagers, ales and stouts. Its lager range includes Cisk, Cisk Export (Premium Lager), Cisk Pilsner (Premium German style Pils), Cisk Extra Strong Lager, Cisk Excel (Low Carb Lager, made with soy), Cisk Chill Range (Lemon, Berry and Ginger Lime Lager).