Bedlam Brewery: Beer for the Planet

Bedlam Brewery: One of the joys of keeping the Ethical and Sustainable Beer and Cider Directory up to date for well over a year now is hearing great news of how breweries are striving to do more to support their local environment. Lewes brewers Bedlam have been in touch to let me know about all the exciting stuff they have happening at the moment, and while I can’t be there to share it with them, I thought I’d let you all know about it.

They are launching two new beers this week, and both have a story to tell. Creating collaborations with local businesses, they have Coffee Porter. This is brewed with their local roastery, Craft House Coffee. I love to see businesses work together – we are all stronger together! Developing beers using locally made (or roasted) ingredients is a great opportunity to reach a new audience, and create more exciting flavours. It’s a win for them and a win for us as consumers.

Perhaps even more interestingly, from my perspective anyway, is the new High Tide Pale Ale. This is billed as ‘a celebration of our commitment to restoring and maintaining our coastline through active support of local beach cleans’, picking up the rubbish left after a high tide. At their launch event, they will have Steve from the Sussex Seabed Restoration project along to talk about the work he does to protect the Sussex marine environment. He single-handedly set up a Kelp Hub in his garage to help reintroduce kelp to the coastline. Kelp is important to the environment as a habitat but also for carbon capture.

High Tide Pale Ale

Bedlam has already been supporting the Sussex Kelp Restoration Project directly by donating 5% of all sales of Kelp! the beer to the charity. Plus it is an extension of the real, practical commitment they have made through membership of 1% For The Planet. They donate 1% of their profits each year to local charities. And the team delivers practical support where they can.

All in all, a lot to celebrate. People before profit can sound like hollow talk sometimes. So it’s always nice to hear more about what the good guys are up to. They are making tasty beers, and really helping to make their home a better place to live. If you want to know more, head over to their website and read all about it.