Bedlam rides high on craft beer wave

One of the UK’s many young craft breweries has launched its first kegged offering in the form of a German-style Pilsner as it embarks on an ambitious expansion drive.

Founded in 2012 in Albourne, West Sussex, Bedlam Brewery secured “major investment” earlier this year, which it hopes to bolster through a future crowd-funding campaign.

The funds raised will be used to build a new brewery in the next 18 months, allowing the company to increase production “vastly”. The expanded site, which comes at a time when a new UK brewery is opening roughly every two days, will also feature a public tasting room and shop.

Ahead of this move, Bedlam has already completed a “complete rebranding exercise”. Meanwhile its latest Pilsner addition to the portfolio, which carries an RRP of £2.25 per bottle, is the first beer to be created by a new brewing team headed up by 27-year old Fabio Israel, formerly of London Fields brewery.

“Fabio has been making stunning beers for a long time, despite his age, and he’s already making his mark here with us,” said Bedlam’s managing director Dominic Worall. “He’s brimming with passion and it’s infectious.”

Explaining the motivation behind Bedlam’s current expansion drive, Worall remarked: “The craft revolution has revitalised interest in the beer category and enjoying a decent pint is no longer reserved for small pockets of ‘aficiionados’ – there is a big demand all over the country. It’s an exciting time for Bedlam.”