Friends for nearly 30 years, Andy Bridge and Andrew Mellor have always shared that creative flair. And in Abyss Brewing, lucky patrons in Lewes and beyond are enjoying their excellent beers, too.

“There we were, both dialled in on a Zoom call and boom – out of nowhere – 20 or 30 faces pop up.”

Andy Bridge, co-founder of Abyss Brewing, remembers the day in 2020 with both a sense of humour and a semblance of anxiety.

East Sussex, like the rest of the UK, was in a state of lockdown. But Bridge, and his co-founder Andrew Mellor, were pressing ahead with plans for their exciting new brewery in the town of Lewes. They just had to go online to progress certain parts of it. 

The purpose of the call was simple. The duo had been given the platform to allay local fears, and answer any questions, regarding plans for the taproom operation that would be so integral to the identity of Abyss Brewing.

“We were getting pummelled right off the bat!” smiles Mellor. “We were told there would be vomiting in the streets and people doing drugs if this taproom was to open.”

Bridge adds: “I was thinking, what?! This is Lewes you’re talking about. Andrew already runs a successful pub on the other side of town and there’s never once been a problem!”

Thankfully common sense prevailed and calm heads would rule the day. The local councillor on the call posed the question of whether Abyss could run without the premises license to serve alcohol that they were seeking. Explaining in great detail of why the taproom was such a focal point of their plans for the brewery, they would eventually win them over.

“They initially allowed us to open until 8pm during the week and 10pm at weekends, but over time they’ve extended that, as well as expanding the area we can offer as seating for visitors, too” smiles Mellor.

“And everyone that was on that call are now our best pals” says Bridge. And they’re just some of the amazing friends we’ve made along the way!”

In early October, Abyss Brewing will celebrate its first birthday trading from its facility in Davey’s Lane. The Davey’s Lane area of Lewes is steeped in brewing history. The Abyss Brewery + Tap is inside an old Maltings building that used to serve the South Downs Brewery, which still proudly standing next door in Thomas Street.

Along with Harvey’s Brewery, some 400 metres away and the somewhat newer Beak Brewery a mere mile down the road, Abyss Brewing is part of a growing and buoyant beer scene in this East Sussex county town. And while the duo’s Lewes-based brewery will soon celebrate that significant first milestone, the Abyss story started long before.

“Andrew was a great chef, even back then. He even had dreads!” recalls Bridge. “And let’s not forget Andy’s jazz goatee,” laughs Mellor.

The pair had met in 1993 while studying at art college in the Yorkshire city of Hull. “We lived together for two years and swiftly became adept at relaxing and cooking good food,” says Bridge.

Despite the course coming to its natural conclusion, Bridge and Mellor found themselves independently gravitating back towards to the south of England. By the late 2000s, Bridge was involved in the world of DJing and promoting concerts, bringing over Balkan gipsy groups from Romania to play at Brighton venues such as Komedia and The Dome.

Mellor meanwhile had embarked on a variety of chef roles, including one at The Prince George, a venerable establishment famed for its vegetarian menu on Brighton’s Trafalgar Street. Differing schedules failed to prevent the duo from meeting up every couple of weeks all in the aid of a great beer.

“It got to the point where we were actively after a great pint,” says Bridge. “So that meant Bengal Lancer from Fuller’s, Hophead from Dark Star and then beers such as Thornbridge Jaipur in bottles.”

He adds: “I also used to organise trips with my mates. There would be 10-12 of us heading to places like France or Spain under some sort of daft narrative. Once we had an epic visit to the Peak District and we found ourselves in a pub on the doorstep of the Thornbridge Brewery.

“We were in this beautiful stone-walled pub that served great food, surrounded by countless cask lines of the freshest, most delicious beers you could ask for. It was the ultimate odyssey.”

By 2008, Mellor had decided to pursue his passion for pubs by taking on The Pelham Arms, a 17th-century pub located on Lewes High Street. “Around the same time I visited my brother who had just moved to Brooklyn. Trying ‘Brooklyn Ale’ on draught was my first taste of US craft beer. It was revelation and, with those other beers I was enjoying, it really showed me what hop-forward beer could be.”

Mellor had taken on the lease for The Pelham Arms from Hall and Woodhouse, famed for such brews as Badger Best Bitter, Tangle Foot and The Fursty Ferret.

“After a few years I found myself feeling a little frustrated with the range of beers I could offer our customers,” he remembers. “But we get on really well and they are very supportive, so late in 2014 I wrote them a letter suggesting that their beer range needed extending.

“I’ve always had something of a DIY punk attitude. When it comes to getting something done, I feel that if nobody can help me then I’ll do it myself. I had never really brewed before but I didn’t want that to stop me.”

Mellor had asked the pub’s owners if he could make a requisition of a room in the cellar of The Pelham Arms. Almost tunnel-like, the cellar leads through to the cellar of the adjacent St Pancras R C Church next-door. 

“It was almost subterranean. But the nice chap from next door showed me around the similar space they had, too,” he says. “I thought I could use the space in the pub’s space to pop in a small brewery set-up. They said: ‘Go for it, as long as you’re not making cask beer!’”

Mellor would procure an insulated Coleman water cooler, a mash tun, an electric boiler for the kettle and some plastic fermenters. Ingredients would come from businesses such as The Malt Miller and Brew UK.

“Hall and Woodhouse released me from the beer tie, something they had never done before in any of their other pubs,” he says graciously. “So I registered as a brewery with HMRC and secured my brewing license so I could sell some of these beers through the pub!”

Early brews focused on hop-forward styles. A series of Pale Ales; Uno, Dos, Tres would reach Cinco, before hitting the taps at The Pelham Arms. Positive feedback followed. Mellor also discovered a love of Sorachi Ace, which formed a central facet of the hop backbone in its Tropical Thunder IPA.

Come February 2017, following Hall and Woodhouse approval, Abyss Brewing’s beers were selling well on tap, and Mellor was gaining increased confidence in his abilities. Which is handy then because several months prior, a call to Bridge had beckoned.

“I told him I wanted to start a brewery and asked if he’d like to join me. I knew I needed someone who could go and talk to people while selling our beer,” says Mellor. “He’s more extroverted while I’m the opposite, I guess.”

Bridge was being kept busy with his day job as well as various acting roles alongside his passion for live music. “But I was bang into the idea of a brewery. It felt like a good thing to do,” he recalls.

But before Bridge could stomp the boards of East Sussex selling their wares, the new brewery would need a name.

“In eastern philosophy, the abyss is viewed as a positive place,” adds Bridge. In the darkness, you will find the light. And we were born in a dark cellar here in Lewes, so there’s almost a physical abyss there, too.”

Mellor adds: “It’s about taking that leap of faith and having belief in yourself. We consider the abyss for its positive connotations, and we hope others do as well.”

The positive qualities of Abyss Brewing’s beers certainly resonated with the patrons of The Pelham Arms, and by late 2017 the duo would outgrow those humble beginnings and move into new premises. This came in the form of a site on Palehouse Common in Uckfield, a spot vacated following the closure of Black Cat brewery. Brewing on a 2.5BBL kit, Bridge and Mellor had the confidence to take their beers to a wider customer base. 

Without the ability to carbonate in tank, early beers were conditioned in KeyKeg before additional fermentation capacity was added in the form of conical FVs. “It was a time of slow, organic growth,” says Bridge. “We weren’t a brewery that was canning our beers straight out of the blocks, so we took things a little slower than others.”

Business was growing steadily, with an increased number of local on-trade customers opting to serve delicious Abyss beer. And then, you guessed it, COVID-19 hit. Like so many other businesses the team had to act, and they had to act fast.

“We had a cold store full of kegs and then the pubs shut,” Mellor grimaces. “We found ourselves asking what do we do? But we already had the framework online to sell merchandise and thankfully, I had already planned to offer beer to take-out, both from The Pelham Arms and the brewery, so we had a pallet of reusable bottles sitting in the yard. It somehow started to come together.”

Before long, patrons would be visiting the shuttered pub to pick up their pre-paid bottles of Abyss beer. Queues would form while locals would partake in brief, socially-distanced conversations.

“The people that gave us that early confidence in what we were doing were there once more, reconnecting with us. It was a real home crowd,” says Bridge. “The ability to pour from the pub taps, and our three Lindrs were saviours. Those little machines really helped us steer our business through a very challenging time.” 

While 2020 presented hurdles, it presented opportunity, too. With its eyes already set on further expansion, Abyss Brewing won the inaugural Brew Accelerator, from the creators of BrewLDN and supported by Johnston Carmichael. In doing so, the brewery secured the top prize of a year of mentoring and guidance, valued at £50,000. With the pandemic hitting shortly after, they worked with Johnston Carmichael to navigate the choppy waters that lay ahead.  

Adam Hardie, head of food and drink at Johnston Carmichael and a judge of the Brew Accelerator, said at the time: “We knew Abyss was a worthy winner but the speed at which it adapted and im-plemented its business model following COVID-19 has been impressive.

“It’s been a tough time for brewers, who almost overnight lost their on-trade custom, but we predict big things for Abyss and its great tasting beers. We are already working closely with Andy, providing accountancy and tax expertise and input to the company’s growth plan.”

And Daniel Rowntree, co-founder of BrewLDN, which launched the Brew Accelerator, added: “Abyss has an embarrassment of riches; a great brand and product story, they brew awesome and consistent beer and have one eye on the future. They also have a charismatic and coachable founder in Andy Bridge and I look forward to working with him to take Abyss to the next level.”

While Abyss successfully managed to continued to sell its beers through collection and online sales, plans remained afoot to move to a bigger, better facility. That involved assessing possible sites in Brighton and Lewes.

While one possible location in Brighton had merits, there were fears surrounding the ability to expand. However the decision would soon have been taken out of their hands either way with Getir, an on-demand delivery service for grocery items and a courier service for restaurant food deliveries, showing an interest in the space – with the quoted rent swiftly doubling in the process.

“Brighton is obviously a great location but Lewes was by far the better option for us. We didn’t want to get lost in the noise of Brighton and for a business like Abyss, word-of-mouth is everything. That is a real quality of the community here,” says Bridge.

Their search included a unit in The Davey’s Lane area of Lewes. A stone’s throw from the River Ouse, the historic splendour of Harvey’s and the centre of town, the spot is adjacent to Tigermoth coffee roastery and a sleuth of building merchants. 

It was the perfect fit, with contracts signed in October 2020. With the new space, the team would be able to expand production with the on-site brewery as well as welcoming visitors with a taproom, a permanent Mexican Street Food kitchen curated by Carlito Riestra (a pioneer in Mexican cuisine from Guadalajara) and a regular programme of events. And to help enable the fit-out of their bar, they turned to a crowdfunding campaign.

“Our dream was always to have a brewery and taproom offering like so many of the great breweries in the US,” says Mellor. “It enables you to build connections with the community, host events and bring people into your world.”

An initial target of £15,000 was hit within several days, with a stretch goal of £30,000 met by the end of the campaign. “Call us naive but we didn’t know the funds were treated as income so in the end HMRC would take their cut,” Bridge smirks. “I only say that as a word of advice to other breweries that want to embark on similar!”

The team would call on Johnston Carmichael for advice as part of their prize from the Brew Accelerator win, while also exploring other modes of funding and finance. 

“During this journey we’ve learned even more about the value of personal relationships and communication,” says Bridge. “We found ourselves going directly to the building merchants that we are lucky to call neighbours. 

“We were frank and honest about the help we needed, and all they wanted to know was when we can pay for the goods and services. We gave them dates, stuck to our word and now have a fantastic community of local merchants that can call Abyss their local. They were far more helpful and practical than going through various hoops of finance.”

Photos above, Left and bottom right: Catherine Benson

Turning Unit 3, also known as The Malthouse, into a fully-functioning brewery, tap and retail unit took place from April to October 2021, with the first brew taking place that month. And a myriad of beers have been brewed and poured in the 11 months since. Both on-site and at guest breweries, collaborations have also seen the duo team up with outfits such as Salt Brewing, Saint Mars of the Desert, Atom beers, Arundel Brewery, and Play Brew Co.

“The taproom has really been integral to this business. It’s why we were so insistent on having one in the first place,” Bridge says. “It’s a foundation to this brewery that can hopefully only get better and better.”

Mellor adds: “One comment we always get is how warm and welcoming the brewery feels, despite it being a warehouse on an industrial estate. Abyss is just not a place for us to make and sell beer. It’s somewhere for us to host events and give people a sense of belonging. From day one we wanted this space to be an inclusive, welcoming environment and I think we’re doing just that.”

“Our future is to build on the solid new base we have built adding more capacity and possibly more retail. And if the right site presents itself we shall act! There are also more possibilities to add to our site in Lewes, so lots to get excited about.”