‘Treated like a chump’: Wild Beer Co’s collapse leaves bitter taste for backers

Caption: The Wild Beer Bar at Wapping Wharf, Bristol Photograph: James Beck/BPM Media

The collapse of a pioneering craft brewery has left a bitter taste among investors who crowdfunded almost £1.8m for a state-of-the-art venue that was never built.

Wild Beer Co, based in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, wooed nearly 2,000 shareholders in 2017 with a pitch that promised a destination brewery, restaurant and “school of fermentation” on the nearby Bath & West showground.