Green light for Tiny Rebel Brewery expansion

Welsh brewery Tiny Rebel has had plans for a new brewery and community space approved by Newport City Council.

The award-winning brewery, which announced in July the plans to improve its capacity fivefold, has also received a rural development grant from the Welsh government for the scheme.

The new facility will produce five million litres annually, and will also feature an events space for beer festivals and live entertainment, as well as a bar and kitchen, with a total overall capacity of around 150 people. 

The bar will not have regular opening hours but the brewer plans to have "frequent" brewery open days.

Heart and soul

Tiny Rebel has won numerous awards in the past few years, which has boosted its profile and need for expansion. It won Champion Beer of Britain 2015 for its ale Cwtch and was also named UK Brewery of the Year at the 2016 International Beer Challenge.

Brad Cummings, co-founder, said: “The entire Tiny Rebel team has put its heart and soul into this project for the past 24 months, so it is brilliant to have the council and the Welsh government on board.

“This £2.6m relocation and expansion allows us to create the additional capacity we need as well as creating a vibrant new event space for the city.”

Co-founder Gazz Williams said: “Tiny Rebel Brewery started life in a garage, born out of our passion for flavoursome, drinkable beers. Four years later, the business is making progress we could not have imagined.

“As well as opening two bars in Cardiff and Newport, we have has released an ever-growing list of limited edition beers alongside our ever-popular core range.

“The extra capacity that the new site will provide gives us the flexibility to expand our range and give more people the chance to enjoy Tiny Rebel beers.”