The highly popular Sharp's Brewery, most famous for Doom Bar ale, has been sold to international brewers Molson Coors for a rumoured £20 million. The new owners have said that the brewery at Rock, which employs 80 people making some 75,000 barrels a year, will be kept going.

There has been a working relationship between Sharp's and Molson Coors for some time and the new owners have expressed their wish to take Doom Bar to a wider public, preserving but enhancing its reputation and qualities.

At the same time members of Cornwall's Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) have voiced concern at the loss of a local company to an international business and fear many more takeovers may follow to the detriment of local beers.