Cuckmere Haven Brewery

Who are they? A micro-brewery which forms a joint business with the adjoining Golden Galleon pub, set in the idyllic heart of the East Sussex Downs near Seaford. The brewery, started in 1994 by real-ale enthusiast and duty campaigner Alan Edgar at the age of 55, grows its own hops near the back beer garden. An outspoken ale advocate, Edgar has been involved in several high-profile campaigns calling for beer duty cuts, including driving a battered pick-up truck filled with barrels to the Commons, and taking a petition signed by 3,000 Golden Galleon regulars to No 10 Downing Street last year. "I can't understand why people chose to drink this Euro-pee, which is chilled to death and produced by people whose only aim is to make the accountants happy," he claimed. Main brands: The star brand is Downland Bitter (3.4%), a light bitter brewed with Fuggles and Goldings. Other beers include Cuckmere Haven Best (4.1%), Guv'nor (4.7%), Golden Peace (5.5%) and Saxon Beserker (8%), which recalls the local area where the Saxons launched their invasion. Employees: Two (and a half) in the brewery and 60 in the pub. Money: The business has a turnover of around £1m and the brewery has a barrelage of around 460 per year. Future Plans: The brewery is looking at how it can become more ecologically friendly. Later this year it plans to start using waste vegetable oil from the pub to produce electricity.