Dark Star Brewery | Craft Beers Born in Brighton

Dark Star Brewing Company began life in 1994 in the cellar of The Evening Star pub in Brighton, England. What started as a hobby brewed on a small scale quickly developed into something much bigger. The founders honed a distinctive style of hoppy, flavour‑forward beers by testing their early brews on willing customers at the pub.

In the early days, the beer that became Dark Star was originally made at Pitfield Brewery in north London, before brewer Rob Jones moved production to The Evening Star and began crafting beers under the Dark Star name.

By 2001 the brewery moved to Ansty, West Sussex, giving the team more room to refine their recipes. Then in 2010, Dark Star took a major step forward by relocating to Partridge Green, near Horsham in West Sussex. There, they installed a larger brewhouse with a capacity of 45 barrels, enabling them to produce more of their signature beers while maintaining quality and creativity.

Dark Star quickly became known across the UK craft scene for bold, hop‑driven beers such as Hophead — a pale ale with a fresh, lively profile alongside other standout offerings like Red Giant and Prize Old Ale.

In 2018, Fuller's brewer Fuller Smith & Turner acquired Dark Star, helping the brand reach a wider audience while keeping production rooted in traditional craft values. Later that year, some of Dark Star’s beers, including Hophead, began to be brewed at Fuller's London facilities.

In 2019, the brewery was sold again to Asahi Breweries, Japan’s largest brewing company, giving Dark Star access to even broader distribution. Most recently, production has shifted to larger facilities while the brand continues to evolve its portfolio and reputation.

Today, Dark Star beers combine the same passion for hop‑centric flavour that first made the brewery a cult favourite with the infrastructure of a major global portfolio keeping the spirit of small‑batch craft brewing alive at scale.