Dark Star Brewing Co.

Regional Brewery in Partridge Green, West Sussex, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Owned by Asahi Breweries
Associated Venue: The Evening Star

Established in 1994

Contact
Star Road, Partridge Green, RH13 8RA, England
Description
Since 2024 Dark Star beers are brewed at Fullers brewery, Chiswick.

The Dark Star Brewing Company was born in 1994 in the cellar of a pub in Brighton. With a brew plant only marginally bigger than an enthusiastic home-brew kit the characteristic style of hoppy beers was developed and tried out on the willing guinea pigs at the bar. As with all the best ideas, the business was planned on the back of a beer mat, driven by a few beers and funded with money we didn’t have.

A few years on, well 25 years actually, we find ourselves in Partridge Green, just south west of Horsham, West Sussex, with a 45 barrel brewhouse. It’s all been a bit of a blur really. None of us really wanted to leave the cellar of the pub, but apparently more and more people liked drinking the same beers as us, so we needed to brew more…

What’s in a name…: The brewery is named after a song by the band The Grateful Dead, although if you have a heard a different story, use that, never let the truth stand in the way of a good yarn.

In February 2018, Dark Star was acquired by London-based brewer, Fuller Smith & Turner. In January 2019, Fuller Smith & Turner sold its entire drinks business, including The Dark Star Brewing Company, to Asahi Breweries.

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8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8
Cask conditioned at NERAX 4/28/2005 while chatting with the brewer
Light blonde with tints of lime-green. Small white head, recedes to light foam. Aroma of light hops, grassy, mildly herbal, maybe some oregano and lime in there. . .Flavor of pale malt, bitter lemonpeel, minty at times, some hints of limes, oranges. Tingly carbonation, bit of honey, eminently drinkable stuff.
Tried from Cask on 29 Apr 2005 at 10:32

6.1/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 4 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
[Cask at The Evening Star, Brighton] An opaque deep red beer with a fine lasting chocolate brown head. The aroma is sweet roasted, but very light. The flavor is sweet malty and roasty with coffee notes, though less than expected. I think it was served too cold.
Tried from Cask on 09 Mar 2005 at 14:44

4.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 4 Texture 6 Overall 4
[Draft at Evening Star, Brighton] A yellow beer with a small lasting white head. The aroma is sour wheaty, while the flavor is plain wheaty.
Tried from Draft on 09 Mar 2005 at 14:40

5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 4 Flavor 5 Texture 6 Overall 5
[Keg at The Evening Star, Brighton] A yellow beer with a small white head. The aroma is slightly wheaty. The flavor is sweet spicy with notes of citrus, hints of wheat, and loads of hops in the end, which is dry.
Tried on 08 Mar 2005 at 18:06

6/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 5 Flavor 6 Texture 4 Overall 6
[Cask at The Evening Star, Brighton] A deep red almost opaque beer with a small chocolate brown head. The aroma is sweet with notes of caramel and roasted bread. The flavor is sweet malty and again with notes of caramel and roasted bread, but the body is a little thin.
Tried from Cask on 08 Mar 2005 at 17:07

5.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 5 Texture 4 Overall 5
[Cask at The Evening Star, Brighton] An orange beer with no head. The aorm is very grassy and hoppy while the flavor is sweet grassy with a dry hoppy end and a thin body.
Tried from Cask on 08 Mar 2005 at 16:11

6.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
[Cask at The Evening Star, Brighton] The aroma is freshly hoppy with notes of new cut grass. The color is yellow and it has a small white head. The aorma is very fresh and grassy sweet with notes of hops and honey. A nice thirstquencher in the hot summer in Brighton.
Tried from Cask on 08 Mar 2005 at 14:54

6.6/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 6 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
Cask conditioned
Very dark ruby, good expresso head. Sweetish trefoil aroma. Chocolaty, roasted, softly hopped, slightly earthy. Bitter long aftertaste. Medium-bodied. A bit similar to Dark Star’s Dark Star.
Tried from Cask on 29 Jan 2005 at 21:42

8.8/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 8
Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm. Very dark ruby - almost black. Aroma of dark chocolate. Full bodied and packed with flavours. Despite it’s rich maltiness it’s surprisingly dry. There’s wood and licorice there as well as whiskey. It’s carefully hopped, but some grassy hops shine through in the salty finish. Superb!
Tried from Cask on 22 Jan 2005 at 03:04

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Cask at Akkurat, Stockholm. Dark brown. Roasty liicorice aroma. Dry, yet fruity. Solidly malty with rounded mouthfeel as well as plums and some anise. Lingering very hop bitter finish.
Tried from Cask on 10 Jan 2005 at 15:51