no. 060 | Beak
Beak was batch no. 000. Before we launched no. 001 in 2021, it was their beers we used to stress test our business. Having revisited once to mark our second birthday, we’re back to celebrate half a decade of batch.
Long-time subscribers will know Beak, and those that have yet to have the pleasure can revisit our initial stories from batch no. 002 and no. 024. Rather than re-telling the story of founder Danny, we’re using this as an opportunity to check-in and understand what’s changed and what hasn’t.
A lot has certainly happened in the intervening year. Beak has continued to grow into one of the most respected independent breweries in the country, exporting to around thirty countries, running a festival that draws four thousand people to the grounds of a historic East Sussex estate and building a community around the taproom that stretches well beyond beer. The first thing Tapper tells us is therefore somewhat surprising:
“We’re still brewing from the same tiny site in Lewes, but somehow we’ve managed to more than double our capacity. It’s a constant game of Tetris and we’re absolutely bursting at the seams.”
That constraint hasn’t blunted the ambition. If anything, he says, the scrutiny has intensified. “Scaling up is one thing,” he says, “but making sure every pint is better than the last is what really matters to us.” It’s a line that could sound trite, but we remember drinking Danny’s beers when he was still cuckoo brewing on borrowed kit from the likes of Beavertown and Northern Monk. He’d road-trip up and down the country to sell his first beers, whereas now people do the same thing to consume his.
Case in point: These Hills festival, which is held at Glynde Place each year. It’s become one of the quiet highlights of the UK beer calendar, bringing together around forty of the world’s best breweries, wineries and cider makers alongside street food vendors, live music and what Danny describes as “a healthy dose of wonderfully left-field folk customs”. Attendance has settled at around four thousand people, which is remarkable in and of itself. “We’ve been able to grow without losing what made it special in the first place,” he says. “We’d like to think it’s the UK’s cuddliest beer festival”.
The running club that started as a monthly jog from the taproom has grown into something harder to summarise. Hundreds of runners now come in from across Sussex. There are sell-out trail races attracting runners from across the UK. A cycling club has spun off alongside it. There are also craft workshops and quizzes. “Community has always been at the heart of Beak,” he says, “and it’s become one of the things we’re proudest of.”
When we ask about the beers he’s most proud of from the past couple of years, he names two beers: GREENS, an annual Triple IPA brewed with New York’s Other Half, has become the highest-rated TIPA in England and this year’s release was Beak’s biggest single beer launch to date. Then there’s BECCO, a restrained and refined lager made with Italian brewing institution Birrificio Italiano. “One is unapologetically bold, the other all about restraint,” he says. “I’m equally proud of both.”
Earlier this year Beak collaborated on a cask beer with Lewes institution Harvey’s, which has been brewing on the same site since 1790. For Danny, who has always spoken about the town’s brewing heritage with genuine reverence, it meant a lot. “It’s a genuine career highlight and something I’ll never forget.”
More broadly, Beak has deliberately avoided chasing supermarket listings, preferring to build lasting relationships with independent pubs, bars and bottle shops. “We’d rather build sustainable relationships with independents than become overly reliant on a handful of big customers,” he says. It’s an approach that has served the brewery well enough to be shipping beer to Sweden, Singapore and everywhere in between.
As for what’s next, it’s time to make the leap. A new brewery is in the works; one that’s large enough to quadruple current production while significantly reducing Beak’s environmental footprint. This will be coupled with a flagship bar in central Brighton. “I can’t say too much just yet,” Danny says, “but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.”
As we close out our catch-up, we ask how he feels Beak has changed over the five years we’ve showcased the brewery. His answer is the same one he’s been giving, in different forms, since the beginning. “We’re still driven by a simple ambition: to brew beers that stop people in their tracks and, even if only for a moment, make life feel that little bit richer.” Their motto, “life-affirming ales”, hasn’t changed; the beers are just getting better and better.