This year started with our brewery floor playing games with our fragile hearts. The dig-up and relay threw our brews into a frosty delay, making the Arundel air even crisper. So we dove headfirst into planning a wildlife extravaganza at Arundel Castle – a DIY exhibition of epic proportions! Punchy, Wednesday's Domaine, and a legion of incredible wildlife artists and photographers joined forces, transforming the castle into a haven for brushstrokes and feathered friends, raising over 10k for our chosen charity partners.
By the time the brewery floor finally emerged from its mudscape, it was a grass green dream, just in time for the tulips to paint Arundel in fragrant springtime hues. As the sun melted the frost, we unveiled our newest wonder: Fauna Brewing’s Elderflower Gin, a taste of sunshine that plants 100 wildflower seeds for every bottle sold.
As summertime approached, we didn’t slow down! Fauna hosted a 10k in Arundel Park with Nice Work, raising our total charitable donations to over £15k! Always looking for more reasons to spend time in the park, we created our brewery trail, which starts at Swanbourne lake and ends up at the Taproom. We practically wore out the park paths with our daily pilgrimages.
Henry and Becca welcomed baby Rupert, and his cuteness is still off the scale these months later. When Henry returned from paternity, Henry and Mat accidentally twinned and it was adorable, they clearly missed one another. We officially joined forces with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, uniting our African wildlife conservation efforts under one umbrella organisation.
Summer saw Fauna reaching the shelves of new socially conscious supermarkets, seafront restaurants and a growing list of Sussex pubs, but the highlight of the season? Our. Epic. Brewery. Launch. Party! Tears of joy flowed freely (not just from the beer, we swear!), the Taproom had a record day and the good vibes flowed faster than a pint of cheetah.
Autumn arrived with a flurry of cardboard and confusion! Our new gift box prototypes landed, and let's just say the assembly instructions were more like cryptic riddles. We wrestled with cardboard, were perplexed by pattern cutting but were super pleased with these new boxes worthy of our brews, and in time for Christmas!
We hosted our second event of the year at Arundel castle, this time led by the events team at DSWF and we were thrilled to be a part of an event that raised £40,000 for wildlife conservation!
We joined two amazing new Online marketplaces, Resident Artisan and Holly & Co. Both have been wildly successful and a joy to work with. Now, our beers mingle with a treasure trove of Sussex artisan creations, and hand-picked by Holly inspiring small businesses. After the success of launching online, we hosted 2 Maker's Market with Resident Artisan. The taproom was host to some incredible Sussex based artisans and small business owners who we will definitely invite back in 2024!
We frolicked through the park with Terra Vitum, unearthing edible treasures and learning more about slow living. We hosted more workshops throughout the winter, we wove wreaths, spun silent disco nights, and closed the year with a sold out our first stand up Comedy night.
2023 came to a close with the big news that Fauna Brewing are now the proud owners of The Grizzly Bear in West Worthing. The Grizzly is a beautiful micropub, conceived by the previous owner, Ollie, and designed with an eye for the subtle details of a speakeasy bar that would be at home in an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. The Bear is a culmination of over a decade in the hospitality industry, the desire for a guaranteed delicious cocktail, a passion for excellent service, and above all, a love of craft beer. We are thrilled to have a sister venue for our beloved Arundel Taproom, and to bring Fauna’s brews into another Worthing venue.
As we raise a glass to 2023, we're bursting with gratitude for you, our incredible Fauna Fam. Here's to another year of wild adventures, (hopefully less) unexpected twists, and always, delicious conservation conscious brews.
Keep your eyes peeled for even more brewery magik in 2024. We've got some surprises brewing (pun intended), and you won't want to miss a drop!
