Dark Star was a brewery in

Partridge Green Partridge Green is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the B2135 road north-west of Henfield. It is in the parish of West Grinstead. Partridge Green takes its name from a family called Partrych who were regi ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, England.

History

Dark Star Brewery was established in 1994, brewing in the cellar of the Evening Star public house in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

. The beer ''Dark Star'' was originally made by Pitfield Brewery in north London before its brewer Rob Jones moved to the Evening Star. In 2001 the company moved production to

Ansty, West Sussex Ansty is a village in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the A272 road 1.4 miles (2.2 km) southwest of Cuckfield. It is in the civil parish of Ansty and Staplefield. Ansty has a cricket team (Ansty Cricket Club ...

, before moving again to Partridge Green in 2010. The new brewery had a brew length of 45

barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids ...

and an annual capacity of 20,000 barrels. In February 2018, Dark Star was acquired by London-based brewer, Fuller Smith & Turner, with James Cuthbertson staying on as its managing director. In August 2018 the brewery confirmed that some of its flagship "Hophead"

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at th ...

was being produced by Fuller's in London. In January 2019, Fuller Smith & Turner announced plans to sell its entire drinks business, including The Dark Star Brewing Company, to Japanese firm

Asahi Breweries The is a Japanese beverage holding company headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: Alcoholic drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...

. In November 2022,

announced that it would close the Dark Star Brewery in Partridge Green, with the entire Dark Star portfolio moving to its

Meantime Brewery Meantime Brewing Company was a brewery based in Greenwich, London, England, and owned by Asahi Breweries. The company was founded by Alastair Hook in 1999. History It was founded in 1999 by Alastair Hook, who trained at Heriot-Watt University a ...

in Greenwich, London. In March 2024

Asahi Asahi (Japanese 朝日, 旭, or あさひ 'morning sun') may refer to: Places in Japan Cities * Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards * Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'') * Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'') Towns * Asahi, Aichi ...

announced the closure of

. Asahi moved production of Dark Star beers to the

Fuller's Brewery Fuller's Brewery in Chiswick, west London, England, was the brewing division of Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC, a family-run business from its foundation in 1845 until 2019, when it was sold to the Japanese Asahi Breweries. John Fuller's Griffin Br ...

in Chiswick.

References

External links

Goodbeerhunting.com. ''Fuller’s Acquires Dark Star Brewing in Bid for Craft Cred.''

Imbibe.com. ''"Ultimately Dark Star is Fuller’s toy", says MD.''

365 Magazine. ''The Man Behind Dark Star Brewery - An Exclusive Interview With James Cuthbertson.''
{{coords, 50.9582, -0.3041, display=title Mid Sussex District Companies based in Sussex Food and drink companies established in 1994 Breweries in England British companies established in 1994 1994 establishments in England