The growth of brewing in East Sussex

WHAT MAKES THE BREWING SCENE IN EAST SUSSEX SO SPECIAL? HERE, EMMA INCH SPEAKS TO SOME OF THE BREWERS THAT MAKE UP THIS RICH BEER TAPESTRY.

Pay a visit to Bedlam Brewery and you might just come away with mud on your boots. Despite its modern approach to brewing, its appeal to urban drinkers, the solar panels that gleam across its roof, and its recently delivered state-of-the-art brew kit, the folks at Bedlam never forget their roots. Located on a farm in Plumpton Green, north of Lewes, they’re as familiar with the local pigs as they are with the local pubs; they even share their spent grain

with the farm’s cows. Bedlam began life in 2011 just across the border in West Sussex, moving east seven years later. In doing so, it joined a county where the interplay between metropolitan and rural, heritage and revolution, respect for regional produce, and a strong sense of community connection, characterizes an exciting, expanding, and welcoming brewing scene. Three Legs Brewery in Broad Oak, north of Hastings, has been around since 2015.

According to co-founder, Ben Murray, East Sussex is a great place to have established a brewery. “A massive range of the beer spectrum is produced in the county and is increasing all the time,” he explains. Many brewers like Murray perceive the growth in breweries not only in terms of healthy competition, but also as beneficial due to the amount of innovation, support and cooperation that comes along with it. “I think the brewing population in East Sussex and beyond are pretty friendly and cooperative. The only enemy of a brewery like ours is bad beer. All the time the brewing is quality-led and diverse, that can only increase demand. Not only that, if you’re ever a bag of malt or some hops short, it’s nice to have neighbours,” he adds.

Prior to setting up Three Legs, Ben was a wine maker. East Sussex is one of the UK’s leading wine-producing counties, and other drinks producers – including cider and gin makers – have also chosen to make the county their home.

This thriving artisanal drinks scene has resulted in some interesting crosspollination. For example, Bedlam Brewery’s Porter Noir is a warm, dark ale flavoured with pinot noir grapes from the Ridgeview Estate in Ditchling, and Burning Sky Brewery’s Cider Apple Saison showcases Dabinett and Harry Masters Jersey apple varieties together with the skills of local cider maker, Ascension. Of course, part of the reason East Sussex has such great drinks producers is the synergy they have with the county’s rich agriculture. Beak is one of the area’s newest breweries. It put down roots in the county town of Lewes in spring 2020 and within months was listed as one of the top UK mi-crobreweries by ratings site Untappd. Founder, Daniel Tapper, is very keen to draw on hyper-local ingredients. ‘Currently we are growing eight acres of mixed heritage grain just outside Lewes. The beer brewed using this grain will be hopped with locally grown hops before being fermented in a 5000-litre oak barrel using native wild yeast strains. What’s more, portions of the beer will then be conditioned over local fruit. It’s our ode to this county’s amazing produce.’

Just down the road from Beak is ‘Lewes Cathedral’, otherwise known as Harvey’s, the oldest brew-ery in East Sussex. Established in 1790, it remains in the hands of the same family to this day. Miles Jenner has been head brewer for the past thirty-five years and agrees that local ingredients are best. “It is simple environmental sense. Why import foreign hops when you have the finest hop growers in the world on your doorstep?” A brewery is nothing, of course, without people to drink the beer. Harvey’s branding carries the unofficial motto of Sussex: ‘we wunt be druv’, in reference to the independent mindedness of the locals, and represents the symbiotic relationship between brewer and drinker. ‘We feel we are a truly local brew, tailored to the local palate, ‘explains Miles, ‘Many of our brands…reflect our local heritage.

Local sentiment has created a sense ofpublic ownership of the brewery and itsbeers – and we take tremendous pridein this.’

Tapper also recognizes the specialsupport the people of East Sussexextend to their local brew-ers “People liketo drink beer here and they appreciateboth heritage and progression, which isgreat for a brewery like ours,” he explains.The unique position of East Sussex andits county town also plays its part. AsTapper says: ’The location of Lewes isideal for us. We get to live and work ina truly unique rural town in the heartof the South Downs National Park andyet we are ten minutes by train fromBrighton and sixty minutes from London.I think over time this will help the town tobecome a genuine craft beer destination.’Arguably, the county already has a widerreputation as a place to drink qualitybeer. Matthew Curtis, author of therecently published book ‘Modern BritishBeer’, is a big fan.

‘I’m always excited to visit East Sussexand experience its beer scene, fromtraditional breweries such as Harvey’sthrough to modern trailblazers likeBurning Sky, it really does have

something for everyone,” he says. “I’vebeen particularly excited to see thisscene continue to develop recently too,with the addition of breweries like Abyssand Beak proving that there’s still plentyof untapped potential, and will mean I’llbe making many more visits in the futureto sample all these wonderful new beers.’

The future for the county’s brewingscene certainly looks bright. Withbusiness support from initiatives suchas Locate East Sussex, the uniquecombination of tradition and innovation,and what Miles Jenner refers to as: “theheritage, the hops, the hope, [and] thedogged determination of the county.”It looks set to grow and thrive. Backon the farm, Bedlam Brewery is readyto embrace that growth. Director, RobShepherd says: “At the end of the day, thepoint is not to fight over the pie as is; it’sto make a bigger pie.”

And this pie has to be one of the tastiestaround. Business Support OrganisationLocate East Sussex is here to supportall growing businesses in East Sussex toachieve their goals. If you are looking tosetup a brewery in East Sussex or growan existing one, then do Get in touch –enquiries@locateeastsussex.org.uk