Chichester micro-pub handed to established city brewers Little Monster with refurbishment to come

The Hornet Alehouse, in The Hornet, has been sold to Little Monster brewery based in Chilgrove. The craft brewery began life in Caledonian Road in 2018 and its popularity has snowballed with its beer range now being poured into pint glasses across the country.

The acquisition of the Alehouse has given owner Brenden Quinn a presence in the city that helped build his brewery. The venue is officially being handed over on Wednesday (February 1), and will remain open until Saturday and will be closed from Sunday 5 to Monday 9 while refurbishments take place.

He said: “We have always wanted to have a presence in the city and I think we are the first new brewery in the area so it is important for us to have a presence here. We are also planning to move the brewery into the city at some point.”

Asked if he had confidence in the city’s high street economy, Brenden said: “Absolutely. We’ve got lots of faith in Chichester as a place to do business. We have got a great following and we have a lot of support coming in.”

“I think people should be really excited. We are a really established business and it’s a great venue within a great city. Part of our plans it to keep all that community and add extra [beer] lines and add extra [opening hours] all while keeping the core values that [founder and former owner] Glenn has built up from the beginning.

"We are super excited to come in to the city.”

Glenn Johnson set up the micro-pub in April 2018 has scooped numerous awards for its beer and bar across the years.

Last year Little Monster opened its brand-new brewery in Chilgrove and the team saw huge popularity during the balmy summer months as beer lovers flocked to the site. As the weather worsened and punters were less inclined to sit outside, the team saw an opportunity to welcome those customers into the warmth of a pub.

You can find out more about Little Monster here: www.littlemonsterbrew.com