ABOUT
OLD TREE BREWERY
We're a small brewery that uses the transformative power of fermentation to produce the most delicious, live drinks, based just outside of Brighton.
Our Ethos
We are a new kind of business here to shake up a stale beverage and drinks industry. The mass production of cheap, sugary drinks has a negative impact on the environment and human health. We are here to prove that things can be done differently:
At Old Tree Brewery, having a net positive impact on our environment and local community is at the core of everything we do. As a social enterprise, the sale of our products supports the Old Tree mission to regenerate soil and connect people to nature with forest farming and fermentation. We support emerging networks for regenerative agriculture – composting and foraging to build community and cultural resilience in response to ecosystem collapse.
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Read more below about how we champion the environment in our brewing and business practices.
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Fermenting is what we do best. At Old Tree Brewery we are dedicated to creating the most delicious, refined and high quality product we can. We use the best ingredients we can find: many of our ingredients are collected by local foragers, picking the finest seasonal produce in and around Sussex, and whenever possible, we take in surplus food to make interesting, new, small-batch creations. We purchase organic sencha green tea and organic Assam black tea. Additionally, we purchase organic, carbon-neutral sugar, which supports increased biodiversity. Our ingredients are of the highest quality, both for our drinks and for the environment.
We foster a non-hierarchical work environment and are a Living Wage Employer. We’re committed to paying our employees a fair wage and treating each other with respect and kindness, to foster community within our wider network. We’re also committed to strengthening the amazing network of local independent businesses in Brighton & Hove.
Living Drinks for Living Soil
All of our products are delivered via e-bike courier Zedify in reusable crates and containers.
Our labels and packaging materials are all either compostable or reused. Our glass bottles are widely recycled, and we are currently saving up for a new bottle capping machine to replace our plastic caps with aluminium caps so our products can be fully zero-waste.
Our gas and electricity is provided by a green energy supplier Ecotricity.
We use local, organic and seasonal ingredients as much as possible to encourage small supply chains.
Our Story
Old Tree Brewery began between an ancient woodland and an abandoned industrial estate in Sussex after a new friendship was formed on a train journey. Inspired by the secrets of ancient fermentation and forest culture, Tom and Nick founded Old Tree as a social enterprise in 2014 to explore ways to use seasonal botanical drinks to reconnect people with nature.
Old Tree Brewery grew as the small team rediscovered the ancient techniques of botanical brewing, producing delicious drinks from foraged botanicals like Elderflower Sparkling Wine, Apple Cyder, Dandelion and Yarrow Beer, Beet Kvass, and Nettle Beer. The potential for creativity was limitless.
The brewery took its earliest form as the botanical brewery for Silo – an award winning zero-waste restaurant previously based in Brighton and now located in central London.
As our knowledge of botanical drinks expanded, Old Tree began investing in Drink Forest Gardens, first based in start up hub FieldBTN, and then expanding to work with local community growing projects like The Real Junk Food project and Rock Farm.
In 2019, we ran a successful crowdfunder and have since then honed our brewing skills and streamlined our product line and business practices. Old Tree became the Old Tree Collective, with Old Tree Brewery, Compost Club and Old Tree Market Garden all working together for a better future. Old Tree Brewery is a brewery that combines foraging & fermentation in order to transform our drinking culture, realign us with the seasons, create secure jobs and preserve botanical wisdom for all.
