What better way to celebrate the arrival of summer and the easing of lockdown restrictions than a pint of freshly poured Bucks Star Beer?

Following a Halloween pre-opening event in 2020, our artisan Brewery Tap House is now fully open and operational. Located opposite the brewery in Stonebridge, the Tap House offers you the opportunity to enjoy some of our delicious organic beers on-site as well as purchase bottles, cans and Growlers to take home.

“It’s been a creative labour of love slowly realising the vision we have for the Brewery Tap House,” said Founder Datis. “Whilst we are now open to the public, there are going to be regular and noticeable adjustments to improve the customer experience and make the Brewery Tap House a popular go-to destination.”

We are open Tuesday to Sunday – and open until late (11pm) on Fridays and Saturdays – meaning you can Growler Swap or sit down to sup some beer with one of our freshly-baked, organic sourdough pizzas at your leisure. Full details and opening hours can be found on our website.

With plenty of live events and workshops in the pipeline, be sure to subscribe to our Facebook and Instagram pages for the latest Bucks Star news and updates! We are so excited to welcome you to the Brewery Tap House soon and we hope you’ll love it as much as we do.

We are delighted to announce that we are finalists in this year’s SME MK & Buckinghamshire Business Awards.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the business has made considerable developments since being crowned Buckingham Business of the Year in 2017.

Bucks Star now has a fully open and operational Tap House situated opposite the brewery, allowing customers to sample and buy our delicious range of organic, unfiltered and vegan-friendly beers. We have also seen the introduction of mobile bar services across Bucks and London and continue to be active in all markets despite a very challenging trading climate.

Datis, founder of Bucks Star, said of the nomination: “It’s a real pleasure to be a part of the local Milton Keynes SME Awards; we’ve been lucky enough to win previously although it’s the taking part that counts. The awards help to develop the esteem of small independent companies working hard to create quality products whilst stimulating supply chains and making an economic contribution.”

The Winner of the 2021 Buckinghamshire Business of the Year award will be selected in September. We would be delighted to add this award to our existing accolades, which includes being awarded Commended Beer of Buckinghamshire in 2016. We’ll cheers to that!

Please register for regular updates.

Bucks Star’s head brewer explains why ecology is a core value of the business…

My education and upbringing have been influential in how I think. In particular, my background in jurisprudence (legal philosophy) helped me discover that, ultimately, our laws are anthropocentric in nature. We might have environmental protections enacted in laws across the world, but ultimately the primary aim of laws is to govern the relationships between people, without sufficient regard to the impact human activity has on the surrounding environment and other animal species we all very much depend on. The upbringing my brother and I had also helped us become very conscious of what we eat, with emphasis on organic produce and wholesome foods.

Personally, I see business as an effective vehicle for changing people’s values and habits for the better, and ecology has been a key priority for me as I feel our beautiful environment is being taken for granted. It so happened that in 2013, my curiosity for real beer led me to take steps towards opening an ecological microbrewery, the name for which was immediately obvious: “Bucks Star“! From the start, it was clear to my brother that in brewing our pure beer, we should avoid the use of finings made from isinglass (fish bladder) and use organic ingredients wherever possible. In fact, our initial strapline advertised everywhere was “Unfiltered and Unfined”. Soon after, Guinness announced that after over 256 years of using isinglass, they were going vegan-friendly.

In 2016, the microbrewery was affected by a neighbouring fire, closing it down for nearly 2 years for the insurance company to carry out the building reinstatement. It was during this period that we made a decision to end our single-use offering and focus primarily on our zero-waste scheme, which we built around our reusable glass vessels called Growlers. It made no sense that people should pay for packaging every single time they make a purchase. People also pay for the means of disposing of that waste, and we will all pay the price for a degrading environment. We envisioned and formalised “Growler Swap” as the alternative, designed to address all these inefficiencies. It was not until the start of 2018 that we managed to return to the microbrewery and restart operations. During this past year, we have learned very much by pioneering our Growler Swap innovation. There is a huge educational effort to make people aware of what Growler Swap is about, how it works and, above all, why we are heavily investing in this reuse scheme. Another obstacle is access to ordinary shops and retailers.

Growler Swap is based on the idea that you return your empties and Swap for fresh Growler-conditioned beers, whilst moving away from the convenience and expensive waste of single-use containers. You pay for packaging once only! We charge no extra for packaging the first time you buy, i.e. you pay the same amount for our Growlers as for disposable glass bottles – in fact, about £1 more only. You can then sell us your empty for that £1 if you wish or, if you Swap it for another, any 1L/2L empty will get you £5 off the Growler of your choice, meaning you pay £0 packaging every time! We can of course not buy empties outright for £5, as they are of no use to us unless we wash, and refill, them – which we are able to do (free) in exchange for your return custom!

The challenge has been tremendous and is not likely to ease anytime soon, but it is very rewarding when customers who support us appreciate what we are doing and always return with encouraging words whilst recommending us to friends. We might be ahead of the curve, but you can be too!

What is brewer’s yeast?

Brewer’s yeast is an ingredient used in the production of beer and bread. It is made from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a one-celled fungus. Brewer’s yeast has a bitter taste.

Brewer’s yeast is also used as a nutritional supplement. It’s a rich source of chromium, which may help your body maintain normal blood sugar levels. It is also a source of B vitamins.

Brewer’s yeast is considered a probiotic and is used to aid digestion.

What does brewer’s yeast do?

Brewer’s yeast contains small organisms (microflora) that help maintain the proper functioning of the digestive tract. It’s contains nutritional value and is a rich source of:

• chromium
• protein
• selenium
• potassium
• iron
• zinc
• magnesium

It is also a great source of B vitamins that provide:

• thiamine (B-1)
• riboflavin (B-2)
• niacin (B-3)
• pantothenic acid (B-5)
• pyridoxine (B-6)
• folic acid (B-9)
• biotin (B-7)

What are the benefits of brewer’s yeast?

The probiotic characteristics of brewer’s yeast may make it an effective way to prevent diarrhea. It has been used to treat other disorders of the digestive tract, including:

• diarrhea caused by antibiotics
• traveler’s diarrhea
• irritable bowel syndrome
• clostridium difficile colitis
• lactose intolerance
• Brewer’s yeast can provide energy and may help maintain healthy skin, hair, eyes, and mouth. It may be effective at supporting the nervous system and enhancing the immune system.

The chromium in brewer’s yeast may help control sugar levels for patients with type 2 diabetes by improving glucose tolerance.

Brewer’s yeast is a source of B vitamins but it does not contain B-12. Inadequate amounts of B-12 can cause anemia, so it’s important to make sure you have sources of B-12 in your diet.

This article has been taken and edited from https://www.healthline.com/health/brewers-yeast

You are advised to verify the information for yourself. Please consult a health specialist if you have any concerns or experience any pains as a result of taking brewers yeast.

Professor Charlie Bamforth emphasising the importance of freshness

Professor Charlie Bamforth has described the nine month Best Before dates applied to beers in England as ‘ridiculous’, a view which raises questions about the move to twelve month dates in Australia. Continue reading →

Our head brewer’s view on the issues facing real ale.

What I love about beer is that it is an ancient drink some 7,000 years old with evidence of its earliest existence found in an area once called Continue reading →

From strength to strength is how Bucks Star’s Founder views the progress of the business despite still waiting for the brewery to be reinstated. It’s been a long journey, but significant progress continues to be made especially with the Growler Swap scheme which formalises the beer growler offering introduced back in 2015. As the brewery is not currently accessible, Continue reading →