Golden Guinea Breweries Plc is a historic Nigerian brewer based in Umuahia, Abia State, which was founded in 1962 as the Independence Brewery Limited. The brewery was established by the then Eastern Nigerian regional government to provide an indigenous alternative in the beer, stout, and malt drink market in the country.
Production at Golden Guinea started in 1963, with annual capacity initially at about 1 million gallons. Among its early product lines was Eagle Stout, introduced in 1967. Operations were later interrupted by the Nigerian Civil War (1967-70), and in 1971, it adopted the name Golden Guinea Breweries. By 1975, Coutinho Caro, a German firm, helped revamp the facility and added extensions.
The brewery suffered a major setback in 2003, when fire damaged its plant and shut down operations. It remained inactive for over a decade until revival efforts began. These efforts included a grant of ₦3.6 billion from Nigerian governmental bodies (NEXIM Bank and the Bank of Industry) to facilitate refurbishment and restart.
In 2019, following an investment of about US$9.98 million, the brewery reopened. With upgraded equipment, its processing capacity was improved to produce roughly 48,000 bottles per hour (about 1.15 million bottles per day). This represented a doubling of its previous output (formerly about 24,000 bottles per hour) before the fire.
Golden Guinea holds franchise rights to produce and market Golden Guinea Lager, Eagle Stout, Bergedorf Premium Lager, and Bergedorf Malta in Nigeria, under license from Holsten Brewery (Germany).
In 2024, Golden Guinea secured ownership of the Eagle Stout trademark following a long legal battle, which bolstered market confidence.
Pan Marine Investments Limited, led by Okey Nzenwa, is the core investor in Golden Guinea.
