Managing director Darren Edmonstone talks brand evolution, community roots and the future of Battle Brewery
Darren, can you tell us about Battle Brewery and your journey as owner?
Battle Brewery is located in the heart of 1066 Country on the fringe of Battle town itself, within Beech Estates. The brewery was originally founded in 2017, and in late 2023, the opportunity arose to invest in and acquire the business. We completed the transaction in March 2024.
During the due diligence period, prior to closing, we identified a number of areas where the brewery could grow. These centred on developing a clear strategic plan that acknowledged the competitive landscape, making additional capital investments, refreshing the brand, restructuring the business and implementing several best-practice processes, alongside a focused sales strategy across all our markets.
As the 100% owner, the first year brought its challenges, but it was consistently exciting. We achieved a great deal in our first 18 months and, with a strong team now in place, have laid solid foundations for the brewery’s future success.
You’ve refreshed the brand and direction recently. What sparked that change?
I’ve built and created brands throughout my career as a global leader and CEO in the hospitality industry. One of the immediate and key initiatives I was keen to address once taking ownership of Battle Brewery was where Battle Brewery sits in the competitive landscape of all the numerous other breweries out there.
We brought in brand design strategists D-Studio and quickly did a deep dive into the competitive set of similar-sized breweries, mapping out where Battle Brewery was placed at the time. This helped highlight not only gaps in the market that we could tap into, but also areas where our branding could be strengthened.
To stand out in such a crowded sector, we felt the Battle Brewery identity needed a modern update. The focus was on maintaining connections to the history of the region, as well as being a little playful and fun, especially with our keg range of beers. I believe in the location as much as the brand and wanted the opportunity to breathe new life into a business. I get very passionate about creating opportunities.
Can you talk us through your range? How do you strike a balance between tradition and innovation when developing your beers?
As part of our strategic direction, we reduced the number of traditional cask beers that were on offer under previous ownership and substituted these with a new, core craft beer keg range aimed at a broader market. At present, our overall core brand of beers includes three traditional cask beers and three craft keg beers. Both styles of beer appeal to different markets, but we certainly see this overlapping to some extent in our Tap Room on Battle High Street.
In our cask range, we offer a best bitter called Battleaxe (4.1% ABV), a pale ale called Arrowhead (3.9% ABV) and an IPA called Crossfire (5.0% ABV). In our craft beer range, we offer a hazy XPA called Royal Rumble (3.8% ABV), which is my personal favourite, a hazy IPA called Knight Rider (5.4% ABV) and last but by no means least, our 1066 Lager. This is a Pilsner-style lager, launched in May 2025, that has quickly become extremely popular. All our beers are vegan-friendly. There are no chemicals, just grain, hops, filtered water and passion.
Sustainability is central to your approach. What have been the biggest challenges and rewards in that journey?
One of the biggest challenges has been balancing sustainability with scalability. Brewing is resource-intensive, so reducing water usage, sourcing local ingredients and minimising packaging waste required significant investment and creativity. The reward, however, is huge – knowing that every pint reflects our commitment to the environment and seeing customers appreciate that ethos. It has also opened doors to partnerships with like-minded suppliers and organisations. For instance, a local farmer collects all our spent grain to supplement feed for his livestock.
Our fully recyclable e-kegs and e-casks help to lower transport emissions by reducing the number of journeys we need to make. We are always looking for ways to introduce new sustainability initiatives and strengthen those already in place.
Community and local heritage are key parts of your story. How do those values shape what you do?
Battle Brewery was born from a love of our town’s history and the people who make it special. We celebrate local heritage in our beer names and take part in events that bring the community together. These values guide every decision – from the ingredients we choose to the stories we tell – because we want every sip to feel like a connection to Battle. We want the Battle town community to be equally proud of Battle Brewery as we are of being part of Battle.
How important are events and partnerships to growing the brewery’s presence and connection with customers?
Events and partnerships are essential. They allow us to share our passion face-to-face – whether at local festivals or by sponsoring events. Collaborating with other businesses creates experiences that go beyond beer. These moments build loyalty and help us reach new audiences who value authenticity and community.
We were proud to partner with English Heritage for the annual Battle of Hastings Reenactment. We were the only brewer with a beer hall at the event, and our beers were also available in the retail tent. Our products now have a permanent place in the Battle Abbey visitor centre shop, which is fantastic for the brand – tourists often buy our beers as gifts, so you never know where they’ll end up.
We poured more than 2,500 pints during the event in October, with all our beers proving popular, but in particular the 1066 Lager and Battleaxe bitter. It was great to be part of the English Heritage team to help mark this incredibly important battle, which changed the course of European history.
In June 2025, we sponsored the 2025 Blaze National Championship at Pevensey Bay Sailing Club, and we’ll be one of the main sponsors again in 2026. It was another great way to raise brand awareness. We continue to explore long-term sponsorships and partnerships and are currently in discussions about several exciting opportunities so look out for announcements in the new year.
What’s next for Battle Brewery? Any exciting projects or ambitions on the horizon?
Our focus remains on producing great-tasting, consistently high-quality beers while developing new, innovative additions for customers – whoever and wherever they are. We’ll continue building a strong customer base and raising brand awareness across the UK through our focused sales strategy.
We consciously ensure we balance our beers between cask and craft keg beers in order to give our brands every chance in all markets. However, we’re always identifying new gaps where we can introduce interesting alternatives. Given the strength and diversity of the craft keg beer market, we do find it is easier to be a bit more innovative in this space.
We are currently working on some new brews that complement our core range, which we think are going to be exciting additions to our range. Battle Brewery is also coming up with a calendar of seasonal and guest beers that will be showcased next year, and we’re contemplating offering brewery tours.
