Brighton Bier has launched a special beer, Mabeira, to raise funds for the city’s Save Madeira Terrace campaign, and announced plans for a significant expansion of the brewery.
The crowdfunding campaign, led by Brighton & Hove City Council, exceeded its target in November 2017 raising more than £464,000 that will now be spent on restoring three of the historic Madeira Terrace arches to their former glory. Due to public demand, a restoration fund has now been set up to allow the city to continue to raise money towards the restoration of the whole terrace.
Just a short walk from the existing Brighton Bier brewery, the famous Victorian ironwork, totalling 151 individual arches and overlooking Brighton beach, is a famous backdrop to the finish of the Brighton Marathon and has featured in many films, including Quadrophenia and Brighton Rock.
Brighton Bier founder and brewer, Gary Sillence, said: “We would love to one day be brewing Brighton Bier on Brighton beach as part of a restored and revitalised Madeira Terrace seafront area, and realised we could help immediately by brewing a beer specifically for the restoration campaign.”
Twenty-five per cent of the profits from the sale of the 4% ABV pale ale Mabeira will be donated to the Madeira Terrace Restoration Fund. The beer will launch in keg and can on Friday, February 2, at the Brighton Bierhaus (161 Edward Street) and subsequently be available in outlets across the city.
Warren Morgan, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “The crowdfunding campaign demonstrated an overwhelming level of public support for the restoration of Madeira Terrace, but it’s essential we keep that momentum up.
“This latest idea will help to keep the ongoing campaign in the public eye and is a great example of how businesses can get involved. Buying Mabiera not only supports the campaign, but puts money back into the local economy by supporting local businesses and local jobs, so it’s a win-win all round. I look forward to trying a pint soon!”
A hop-forward pale ale, the recipe for Mabeira includes subtle nods to the challenge of restoring and modernising the areas surrounding Madeira Terrace. The beer pairs classic American hop variety Centennial with a newer experimental variety bred by the Hop Breeding Company and known simply as HBC431. It is fermented with a combination of an historic flavourful English ale yeast and a modern West Coast American strain.
New brewery
With its existing brewery long since at full capacity, Brighton Bier is now looking for a location and investment to open a new brewery in the city that would increase brewing capacity 400% to approximately 1,000,000 litres per year .
The new site would include a destination bar / restaurant, outdoor beer garden, visitor centre and shop, alongside state-of-the-art brewing and packaging facilities. As well as being a significant tourist attraction, the new brewery would create 20 jobs, training opportunities and apprenticeships for local people.
Director, Stephen Whitehurst, said: “We want to secure a location that will take Brighton Bier and brewing in our city to a new level, building an iconic brewery that will stand the test of time. This year is about finding the right location in Brighton and the right investment to move forward.”
• Established in 2011, Brighton Bier originally brewed in the historic Hand in Hand brewpub in Kemp Town before moving to its own facility less than a mile down the road in 2014. Stephen Whitehurst said; “When we started Brighton Bier there were very few genuine free houses in Brighton and we were the only brewery. Fast forward to 2018 and interest in craft beer in the city has exploded, but still very little of the beer being drunk in Brighton is actually brewed in the city.”
All content on Beer Today is free to access and always will be. If you would like to support the site with a donation, though — £5 a year would be brilliant — that will be very welcome and can be done via the PayPal donation button below. (You do not need to have a PayPal account). Many thanks!
