9 minute read
Brixton’s breweries
BRIXTON’S CRAFT BEER COMMUNITY ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’
Though many of them are tucked away in old railway arches and former disused spaces, it’s hard not to have noticed the influx of microbreweries to Brixton in the last decade, which is fast building a reputation as one of London’s best craft beer destinations. Polly Nash investigates
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Lockdown saw an acceleration of the trend to microbreweries trend, spurring people’s interest in home brewing, and encouraging customers to support independent local producers.
The number of commercial breweries in London has increased tenfold from 14 in 2010 to roughly 140 today.
With about 10 breweries and bottle shops within a 25-minute walk from Brixton Station, it’s become a popular destination for beer lovers.
There’s talk of a Brixton Craft Beer Trail. Keep your eyes peeled for more details coming your way.
For now, here’s a preview at some of our favourites. Brixton Brewery, Hill says that breweries do well next to each other as patrons stop in for a couple of drinks at each.
All pints at Dogs Grandad are priced at £5.50, and every one is vegan-friendly. The best-selling New England Pale is a cool 4% ABV and uses light and fruity yeast.
If you’re feeling more adventurous go for the Black IPA whose dark colour is created by using roasted wheat and comes recommended by Hill himself. A FAVOURITE fellow Brixton
Brewery: London Beer Lab
A BEST FOR: Brewing expertise
straight from the source
A FIND Dogs Grandad at Arch 550 Brixton
Station Road, London SW9 8PF
DOGS GRANDAD BREWERY BRIXTON BREWERY
One of Brixton’s newer breweries, Dogs Grandad opened in an arch on Brixton Station Road during the height of lockdown in February 2021. It’s a one-stop-shop where the beer is brewed, the cans are sold and the pints are pulled. Brixton local Alex Hill runs the whole operation.
Formerly a social worker for 20 years, Hill decided to turn his passion for home brewing into a career by setting up his own microbrewery.
“It’s exhausting and sometimes I work seven days a week, but I absolutely love brewing beer so it doesn’t really feel like work,” he says.
In his precious down time you might find Hill playing on the arcade machine in the taproom. “I always wanted an excuse to buy an arcade machine and it’s gone down really well. Loads of customers enjoy playing on it,” Hill laughs.
Located just a few arches down from Brixton’s first commercial micro-brewery opening in 2013, Brixton Brewery has become a recognised brand supplying 2,000 pubs across the country and exports beer as far as Hong Kong and Bermuda. It’s now owned by Heineken.
It’s safe to say they have come a long way from the days of delivering beer in a shopping trolley or in the family car with the kids in tow.
But the brand remains committed to its Brixton roots. As Jez Galaun, one of four co-owners, says: “We’re really trying to put Brixton on the map for great beer. That’s what I get out of bed every day to do.”
The idea for this much-loved brewery was born just over a decade ago when two local couples met in what used to be the Hive Bar on Brixton Station Road, bonded over their love of the area and set out to start a brewery to make Brixton proud.
“You go around the country and people know Brixton. They’ve come to a gig here, they’ve had a relationship here, they’ve bought drugs here … they’ve had an experience,” says Galaun. “It really resonates with people, and that’s what we want to package up and give to people in the medium of a can or a pint.”
When it comes to their best-selling brew, Galaun says the Reliance Pale Ale and the Coldharbour Lager are neck and neck, but he expects the lager will take top position thanks to the hot weather this summer.
“It’s a bit of a dirty secret in craft beer that brewers really appreciate lager,” Galaun confesses. “We’re obviously brewing other beers with a lot more intensity and flavour, but lager is a hard nut to crack in terms of creating a well balanced, really drinkable product.”
In refreshing contrast to the ever-rising prices at many London pubs, you won’t find a pint at Brixton Brewery for more than £5.20.
Keep your eyes peeled for their unmistakable branding in virtually every restaurant in Brixton Village and Market Row, including Fish Wings and Tings, which was one of their earliest partners. A FAVOURITE fellow Brixton
Brewery: London Beer Lab
A BEST FOR: Easy & accessible craft beers A POP into the taproom at Arch 548
Brixton Station Road, London SW9 8PF
FRIENDSHIP ADVENTURE
As you might have guessed, Friendship Adventure was born when two friends chatting over a pint decided they wanted to capture that sense of human connection and channel it into a tangible community space.
Located under a railway bridge on Coldharbour Lane, they have created just that. A favourite drinking spot for locals, you wouldn’t guess that this brewery is a relative newcomer to Brixton’s craft beer scene, offering a truly authentic drinking experience.
With the vast metal beer tanks standing tall in the taproom, you get to experience the benefits of drinking straight from the source, which you miss out on in a traditional pub.
There’s also a feeling of exceptionality that comes with drinking beers exclusive to the brewery, such as their new fruity IPA, the Salisbury Charm.
More often than not, at least one of the brewers is in the taproom for you to pick their brains, and the enthusiastic bar staff are generous with their tasters, allowing you to try before you buy. Radim Zvanovec, brand ambassador at the UK arm of famous Czech brewery Budweiser Budvar, running a workshop upstairs at The London Beer Lab
Plenty of choice at The London Beer Lab
London Beer Lab founders, Karl Durand O’Connor and Bruno Alajouanine, ready to roll with a local delivery via their eco-friendly cargo bike
Brixton Brewery’s taproom on Brixton Station Road
More than just a taproom, the brewers on Coldharbour Lane host yoga classes and other community events with their local charity partners.
This summer two dedicated patrons even got married in the space, seeing off six weeks’ worth of wine in one evening.
Neil Wates, co-owner and director at Friendship Adventure, says that the best thing about brewing is the sense of community.
“You’re not really rivals with your rivals, clients that buy us by definition will be buying from other microbreweries, that’s the nature of the beast really,” says Wates: “the rising tide lifts all boats.”
With all pints ranging from £4 to £6, you would be hard pressed to find a better deal in London.
You can find Friendship Adventure’s brews at local venues including Lost in Brixton, and a bespoke beer they made especially for Rudie’s Jerk Shack. A FAVOURITE fellow Brixton
Brewery: Dogs Grandad
A BEST FOR: Friendly vibes
and free popcorn
A FIND Friendship Adventure at Unit
G1, Coldharbour Works, 245A
Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8RR.
LONDON BEER LAB
If all this beer talk has inspired you to brew your own, then London Beer Lab is the place to go.
They have been teaching the local community to brew for more than 10 years and, according to brand ambassador Tim Ellis, the tasting sessions cater to all audiences, “not just craft beer geeks!”
Deciding what to drink at their taproom can be a difficult task, with roughly 25 beers on the menu at any one time.
Their vast offering of nano-brews all begin with the beers that people at the workshops have made themselves, creating an ever-evolving selection of choice.
“The idea is to reduce waste,” says Ellis: “In big batches you risk wasting hundreds of litres of water and a few bags of grain if a recipe doesn’t work. By doing it in nano batches we can play around with the brews which is good fun.”
This way the brewers at London Beer Lab experiment with a range of ingredients and recipes.
The most unusual beer they have on offer at the moment has to be the Peanut Butter Jelly Sour, which tastes a bit like blackberry jam with subtle hints of coffee and nuts.
Be warned though, according to Ellis it has almost every allergen in there: “apart from maybe crustaceans – we’re going to try and work those into a recipe soon!” he laughs.
It’s clear Ellis is passionate about the science around brewing, and wants to put Brixton on the map as a craft beer hub.
“There’s a great sense of community between the taprooms,” he says. “We’re all in it together to try and make better beer.”
Prices at London Beer Lab range from £4.50 to £9 depending on the ABV percentage. With the highest one at 9.1%, rest assured you’re getting your money’s worth. A FAVOURITE fellow Brixton
Brewery: Bullfinch Brewery
A BEST FOR: Experimental brews A FOR the brewing workshops
and taproom head to Arch 41,
Nursery Road, SW9 8BP.
CLARKSHAWS
If you ever find yourself in Loughborough Junction on a Saturday, get yourself down to Clarkshaws. Open just one afternoon a week, it’s the only chance you’ll have to visit this family run brewery, tucked away in yet another railway arch overlooking Wyck Gardens.
Previously brewing in Herne Hill, owners Ian and Lucy moved to this location in 2015 when the landlord was offering reduced rents to companies that brought something new to the area.
As well as the taproom, you might have seen them at some of our local fetes this summer, pulling pints from their mobile bar at Ruskin Park Dog Show and Camberwell Arts Fair, for instance.
Slightly off the beaten track, the locals who know about this community watering hole keep Clarkshaws alive. This summer they even have Loughborough Junction’s own Mike’s Cider on tap, made just around the corner by a regular at the brewery.
Whether it can rival their best-selling “Hell Yeah!” lager is yet to be seen, but with all pints costing £5, it’s definitely worth a trip to the junction to find out. A FAVOURITE fellow Brixton Brewery:
Jez & the team at Brixton Brewery
A BEST FOR: Mini Kegs (great
for a barbecue!)
A WHEN they’re not selling at a summer
fete, you can find Clarkshaws at 497
Ridgeway Road, London SW9 7EX
AND …
If you’re still thirsty after those, here are some more quality breweries and taprooms to visit in the area:
A AFFINITY BREW CO – Found at
The Grosvenor Arms, 17 Sidney
Road, London SW9 0TP
A CRAFT METROPOLIS – Arch 263, 241 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8RR
A GHOST WHALE CRAFT BEER SHOP –70 Atlantic Road, London SW9 8PX
A BULLFINCH BREWERY – Rosendale Road, Norwood, London SE24 9EH
A CANOPY BEER CO. – Arch 1127,
Bath Factory Estate, 41 Norwood
Road, London SE24 9AJ
A And, of course, there’s the Craft Beer Co on Brixton Station Road – famous for 15 minutes recently for selling (or not selling) Britain’s most expensive beer. A 75ml bottle (same as a wine bottle) of Reforged 20th Anniversary Ale made by the AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego would set you back £105, equivalent to £80.15 a pint. Buy it to take away and you get a third off.
