A quiet genius of modern brewing, Jones shot to fame when he became the first independent microbrewer to win the Supreme Champion title at Camra’s Champion Beer of Britain contest in 1987 with a hard-to-classify strong ale called Dark Star, created at his Pitfield Brewery in Hoxton, east London.
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He had started that brewery in 1981 with his schoolfriend and fellow home brew enthusiast Martin Kemp. When the partnership broke up in 1989 Kemp made Pitfield the country’s first all-organic brewery and Jones took the Dark Star brand with him, initially to a short-lived venture in Stourbridge, West Midlands, and then Lancing in Sussex before arriving at the aptly-named Evening Star pub in Brighton.
‘Russian doll’ system
Owners Pete Halliday and Pete Skinner invited him to set up a brewery in the tiny cellar, which Jones achieved with by fitting the different brewing vessels inside each other to make a unique ‘Russian doll’ system.
A couple of years later came another first. Halliday had smuggled back a suitcase of Cascade hops from a trip to California and Jones made a beer with it that, as Hophead, would set a benchmark for the countless hop-forward, citrussy, pale session ale that became a staple of the UK’s modern beer scene.
Soon, Jones needed an assistant, so he took on one of the pub’s regulars, Mark Tranter, who went on to work for Dark Star for 17 years before setting up Burning Sky Brewery and continuing his mentor’s spirit of brewing adventure.
Focused on the pub
In 2001, Dark Star expanded into new premises at Ansty, Sussex, and Jones was looking to take on another pub. The Duke of Wellington, a few miles along the coast, came on the market and he turned it into a famous alehouse serving many guests alongside his own beers and indulged in his other love, music, with live sessions and festivals.
By the time Dark Star was taken over by Fuller’s in 2018, Jones had left the company to focus on the pub, intending to start brewing again in the beer garden. That never happened, but he collaborated with Downlands Brewery to devise the recipes for the pub’s exclusive house ales.
Meanwhile, the beers he had created took on their own life in the UK market and were a factor in Asahi’s decision to acquire Fuller’s, and the Dark Star brands, in 2019.
Rob Jones’ hugely influential life will no doubt be celebrated at Wellyfest, his pub’s early music festival, on 12 June.
