Bucks Star Beer

Bucks Star Beer was established in Milton Keynes in 2015 with a strong emphasis on producing beer in a more natural and environmentally conscious way. The brewery operates a purpose-built 10-barrel plant powered in part by solar energy and uses organic grain in its beers, avoiding added sugars and syrups as well as isinglass finings. Its beers are produced as live, unfiltered and unpasteurised products, with carbonation developing naturally from active brewer's yeast rather than added CO2.

Sustainability also shaped the way Bucks Star chose to sell its beer. In 2015 the brewery founded Growler Swap, a reusable packaging system built around one- and two-litre glass growlers. Customers return their rinsed containers and swap them for filled replacements at a reduced cost, allowing the same packaging to be used repeatedly rather than discarded after each purchase. The system became a distinctive part of Bucks Star's identity and remains one of the brewery's principal ways of supplying beer alongside draught and cans.

Bucks Star developed a strong direct-to-customer presence through local farmers' markets and other locations, including regular appearances in London. Its beer is available both for takeaway and on draught at selected markets, including Parliament Hill on Saturdays and Queen's Park on Sundays, extending the brewery's reusable and locally focused approach beyond its Milton Keynes home.

The brewery later expanded its public-facing operation with the Brewery Tap House opposite the brewery. Opened successfully despite the difficult trading conditions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the venue carried Bucks Star's sustainable, organic and local ethos into its wider food and drink offer. Organic sourdough pizza became a central part of the menu, while local producers, musicians, comedians, poets and promoters helped develop the venue as a community and events space. The venue has subsequently entered a new chapter as the Lion & Sun Tavern.

Recognition for Bucks Star began soon after its launch. In 2016 it won Gold as Beer of Buckinghamshire, followed by the Buckingham Business of the Year award at the SME Awards in 2017. In 2021 it received the Business of Buckinghamshire award following the opening of its Brewery Tap House, and in 2024 Bucks Star returned to the Food & Drink Awards to win Gold as Brewery of Buckinghamshire.

Ten years after its establishment, Bucks Star continues to place environmental considerations at the centre of both brewing and distribution. Solar power, organic ingredients, reusable growlers and naturally conditioned beer sit alongside more conventional draught and canned formats, while its hospitality operation provides a permanent home for the brewery's beers and a programme of community events in Milton Keynes.