Beer business toasts £3m milestone as it launches 15 new brews

An online beer business has broken through the £3 million revenue mark as it celebrates its 15^th year with its biggest-ever collaboration project.

Best of British Beer recorded an income of £3.04 million in the 12 months to May 2026 – it’s busiest year yet. The figure is an increase of almost 11% from £2.75 million the previous year.

The Newcastle-under-Lyme firm also more than doubled its EBITDA in 2025/26, which jumped from £77,000 to £178,000.

To mark its 15^th year, Best of British Beer, which was founded by Will and Gill Sherwin in 2011, has created 15 limited-edition beers with brewery partners around the country.

Will said: “We’ve tried to create 15 different beer styles to give our customers maximum choice.

“We’ve had a lot of fun thinking up ideas for each label and we’ve taken inspiration from a number of different sources.”

Two of the beers draw on Staffordshire’s pottery heritage, with Backstamp Bitter celebrating the tradition of turning over plates to see where the product is made, and Willow Ale’s label being inspired by Wedgwood’s famous pale blue design.

A ruby ale pays tribute to Philip Astley, the father of the modern circus who was born less than a mile away from the company’s headquarters, and there is a Zoom Call Dachshund lager inspired by an online incident involving Gill’s mother’s dog.

An up-close view of some of the birthday brews.

Will and Gill launched the business in a garden shed at a time when demand for craft beer was just starting to take off. They have since seen the company grow into the country’s biggest provider of online beer gifts, championing independent breweries.

Best of British Beer became employee-owned in 2022, when Will and Gill transferred 51% of the business to its staff.

It now employs six full-time co-owners alongside the sounders, supported by a pool of around 15 part-time staff, ranging in age from 16 to 79.

Significant growth has recently been experienced in its fulfilment operation which has expanded to include wine and spirits.

As well as selling online, Best of British Beer is open for customers to visit its Silverdale warehouse, where there are around 400 different beers at any one time.

Gill said one of the secrets to the company’s success has been to work with Staffordshire-based businesses wherever possible.

She said: “Our boxes are made a few miles away, our main lager supplier is Freedom Brewery in Abbots Bromley, the beer and gin we use for personalisation are provided by Staffordshire Brewery in Cheddleton and even the crisps we put in our gift boxes come from Rugeley.”