Vattanac Brewery, based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, has been a new member of the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB) since January 1, 2025.

Founded in 2020, the brewery is part of the Vattanac Group, a family-run group of companies in Cambodia. It is active in the real estate and financial sectors as well as in luxury goods, among others. The company is no newcomer to the brewing industry: from 1994 to 2014, Vattanac was a shareholder in Cambodia Brewery Limited (CBL), a joint venture with Asia Pacific Brewery Limited (APB), which belongs to Heineken. After this stake was sold to Heineken in 2014, Vattanac decided to re-enter the Cambodian beer and beverage market in 2021.

In collaboration with Ziemann Holvrieka, a modern brewery was built in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The foundation stone was laid in June 2020 and the first brew took place in October 2021. The total investment amounts to 140 million US dollars. The brewery currently produces eight types of beer, including Vattanac Premium Beer, Cambodia’s first All Malt Beer, Vattanac Premium Light, Vattanac Lagerade, Krud Pilsner Beer, Krud Lite Premium Beer, Dragon Premium Dark Beer, Dragon Nitro and Dragon Silver as well as energy and sports drinks. The flexible brewery concept enables future expansion of production capacities and adjustments to the packaging portfolio.

The new brewery was presented by Vattanac Chief Technology Officer Dr. Maximilian Härtl at the Bangkok Brewing Conference in June 2024 and could be visited in advance. At the end of 2024, the company decided to become a member of the VLB Berlin. The membership certificate was presented to Supply Chain Director Bauke van Nielen and his team by VLB Senior Consultant Mick Holewa during his first working visit to Phnom Penh in January 2025.

Handing-over the VLB membership certificate to Vattanac: Chhuon Pisith (Brewing Supervisor), Sim Chheko (Brewing Technologist), Bauke van Nielen (Supply Chain Director), Mick Holewa (VLB Consultant), Koy Vichea (Assistant Brewing Manager), Kun Sopheap (Quality Systems Manager)