Investment and expansion feeds North Yorkshire’s BAD Co. Brewery’s thirst for growth

North Yorkshire-based brewery BAD Co. has achieved a hat trick of milestones.

The brewery has doubled its product portfolio, installed a new bottling facility capable of filling 2,800 bottles per hour, and is about to launch a brand new ecommerce website.

Located near the RAF airfield in Dishforth, the brewery was founded in 2014 by Harrogate born businessman, David Brown.

Together with head brewer, Paul Holden-Ridgway, the brewery has seen continued to expand its distribution routes further across the UK, as well as venturing into its first foreign market territories.

BAD Co.’s core beer range is doubling in size, and comprises of Comfortably Numb (Pale Ale), Wild Gravity (IPA), Love Over Gold (Blonde Ale) and Dazed and Confused (Milk Stout), and will be joined by Whiter Shade of Pale (Oatmeal Pale Ale), Slow Rider(Grapefruit Easy Ale), Summer Breeze (Fruit Beer) and Satisfaction (Brown Ale).

With an increase in year on year sales, BAD Co. recently formed a national events team. Its creation will allow the presence of BAD Co. brews to appear at festivals, food and drinks shows and exhibitions across the country. BAD Co. currently employs a team of 16.

Paul Holden-Ridgway, head brewer, said: “Continued investment in our plant, combined with an endless thirst for knowledge shows our commitment to our drinkers – they are front of mind at all times. We are on a mission to create the best tasting product possible and to become a go-to for the most discerning of drinker, as well as those just starting to get into real ale.

“The craft industry is changing and we’re proud to be leading the charge on this. Knowledge is power and coupling passion with innovation, maximised through smart uses of technology means we can produce beers that dispel the myths surrounding craft, convert the non-believers and make our hardcore fans and aficionados come back for more!”

BAD Co. installed a brand new and updated bottling plant in June 2016, which has meant its bottled output can grow to allow for 2,800 units to be produced every hour. This new plant also means BAD Co. can achieve immediate scale and provide large quantities to service its supply routes.

Due to this continued investment, the plant has evolved from a 8,000l fermentation facility when first open in 2014, to 40,000l today and the BAD Co. team are aiming to increase this to 64,000l in the coming months.

BAD Co is also installing a new canning facility at the Dishforth plant, which will enable the product range to expand into premium canned formats.

BAD Co. products are now on sale in over 500 outlets across the UK, with bottle shops, independent pubs, restaurants and wholesalers stocking the range. BAD Co. beers are already being sold in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Birmingham to name but a few of the major UK cities.

David Brown, BAD Co. owner, commented: “We believe that quality speaks for itself – we set up BAD Co. to deliver the best tasting brews we could.

“Alongside the hops, yeast, and core ingredients are hours of dedication from a passionate, knowledgeable team who are taking craft beer to a whole new level.

“We aren’t conducting amateur alchemy in a shed, this is an advanced production line, with international expertise coming together to deliver what we think is the best tasting beer in the UK. We’re immensely proud that consumers and the beer drinking public like what we are doing and this is reflected in our ongoing growth.

“This growth will see us expand to beyond beer in the near future, providing a whole range of drinks under the BAD Co. brand.”

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