BEERBLEFISH BREWING COMPANY
Having obtained a bottle shop licence at the end of April, Beerblefish, who are a social enterprise company, were taking their staff off furlough and opening for sales in early May. Initially they were opening Thursday to Saturday, 12 noon to 5pm for the sale of bottles only but were hoping hoped to extend to draught beer (both in mini-kegs and customers’ own containers) in a week or so. As you would expect, it is ‘one in, one out’ with social distancing outside but payment by both cash and card is possible. Check their website or call 07594 383195 for enquiries. Their address is Unit 6, Georgiou Business Park, Second Avenue, Edmonton N18 2PG.
BOHEM BREWERY
Bohem have set up a home delivery service for their authentic Czech-style lagers, which are lagered in cold fermenters for a minimum of five weeks. They can supply both five and ten litre kegs of five of their beers, filled from the tank for same day delivery. Delivery to any London postcode is free. The ten litre kegs are reusable and the brewery will collect the empty after seven days. The five litre ones are fully recyclable. They can also supply 440ml cans. Orders can be placed online. As co-owner Glynn Davis said, “Until we can all get back to sharing a pint and chat with our friends, brewery-fresh lager in perfect condition at home is the next best thing. It’s also a great way to support a local brewery during this challenging time for our industry.”
BROCKLEY SUPPORT THE BINMEN AND WOMEN
On Friday 1 May, Brockley Brewery launched their ‘Beer for Binmen and Women’ campaign. Andy Rowland, one of the brewery’s founding partners, explains, “At Brockley Brewery we are in awe of all the hardworking people who are keeping this world going. With this in mind we have launched our Beer for Binmen campaign to celebrate the continued hard work that the bin men and women have put in despite the challenging circumstances. We would be in a mess without them so please, say thank you to the men and women who collect our bins and keep our streets clean. Say thank you with a beer!” If you donate £5 (two bottles) via brewery’s on-line shop, the brewery will deliver the beer to the bin men and women and match funds up to £200 a month to pay for more beer. You can, of course, also buy beer for yourself. Local deliveries are made by bike. For full details, see their website .
The photo shows, left to right, Edwin Quast (delivery cyclist), Will Upton (assistant brewer), Andy Rowland (founding partner), Leo Harvey (head of sales) and Sam Gowans (beer packer).
CAMDEN TOWN BREWERY
Well done to CTB who have released a special edition of their Hells Lager called ‘Heroes Lager’, with the proceeds from the sale of every can going to support healthcare workers. In addition, they were allowing NHS workers a free six-pack from their on-line shop.
I also want to mention a story which, to be honest, I should have mentioned in the last edition. CTB’s kindness was, earlier in the year, extended to Britain’s sadly endangered hedgehogs. They produced a new beer, Hells in Hibernation Lager, unfiltered and brewed with Apollo and Chinook hops which, according to CTB’s tasting notes, gave it a piney freshness and citrus bitterness. A proportion of the proceeds from sales was donated to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society who campaign to raise awareness of how the public can help hedgehogs hibernate despite the changes to their environment caused by temperature and urban disturbance to their habitats. They also produced the Hibernation Arms, a shelter in the form of a pub to go in gardens to provide a safe place for hibernation in winter and for the birth of baby hogs in the summer. They were available free from the on-line shop with every pack of four beers purchased. Sadly, they are now sold out. It was, incidentally, Hedgehog Awareness Week 3 to 9 May.
MECHANIC BREWING COMPANY
In the last edition I mentioned the problems that Five Points brewery were having with their landlord, the private equity backed Arch Company, over a rent increase. It is understood that Mechanic, who under Olga Zubrzycka, the founder, owner and head brewster, brew some very distinctive beers, are having similar problems as regards their railway arch premises in Bethnal Green. Let’s hope that, at this difficult time, some compromise can be reached.
PORTOBELLO BREWING
Portobello are also adapting to circumstances. To quote from a facebook message from them passed to me by CAMRA’s West London branch, ‘Hello friends. Hope you’re holding up OK. It’s a strange, scary time for every single one of us right now. We’ve found that beer helps enormously, and fortunately we’ve got loads of it. We’ve also got a crew of twelve healthy people who are desperate to get it to you. To keep our team working and earning during this strange, strange time we’ve launched a new home delivery service to bring you beer and cheer while you’re stuck at home.’
You can order through their on-line shop or by ‘phone on 07794 715913. Payment is by card and delivery anywhere within the M25 is free. The message added that they are, of course, taking all government advised precautions on hygiene in the brewery and our delivery vehicles, and, if you don’t feel comfortable meeting them on the doorstep, they can easily arrange a no-contact beer drop to make sure everyone is safe.
SAMBROOK’S BREWERY
A significant event occurred in the week before ‘lockdown’. Phoenix Pale Ale, which, up to now, has been brewed by John Hatch on his 12 gallon ‘do-it-yourself’ brew kit at the Ram Quarter, has for the first time been brewed in a commercial quantity. The beer is still being brewed by John, using his own unique yeast strain which gives the beer a Belgian style flavour. Sambrook’s are running a delivery service for both cask and bottled beers. For details see https://sambrooksbrewery.co.uk.
SIGNATURE BREW
A number of breweries have come up with this idea but Walthamstow’s Signature Brew were very early off the mark. To soften the blow of the pubs being closed, they created the ‘Pub in a Box’. For £25 you get a supply of beer, a couple of packets of snacks, two glasses, some beer mats (as they say, it wouldn’t be a pub without them), Spotify playlists, matched to each beer and, as you would expect from Signature, a music quiz. Given their association with the music industry, they are employing musicians who have had their tours cancelled to make their deliveries and are paying them the London Living Wage. The offer is available throughout the UK.
Signature Brew have also joined in with a project called ‘All Together’ started by the Other Half Brewing Company from New York City with the aim of raising funds globally for hospitality industry professionals who are suffering through Covid-19 lockdowns. In a similar format to the International Women’s Collaboration Brewing Day, Other Half have devised a recipe and have invited other brewers to brew their version of it. Signature Brew will be donating 20% of proceeds to the Drinks Trust, a UK charity supporting drinks industry professionals. All Together should still be available on-line, www.signaturebrew.co.uk.
GOING WILD (NOT) AT TAP EAST
With many brewers now ploughing the furlough, it would be easy to think that everything had stopped. However, it is far from the case with Tap East.
Head brewer Josh Walker has taken the opportunity to do something he wouldn’t normally get to do when it is business as usual: experimenting at home with ‘Brett’ (Brettanomyces) and mixed yeast cultures. It’s unlikely these beers will become part of the regular line up when the pubs do reopen but perhaps we might see something special when we can stand at the bar once more?
Alan Perryman
GARDEN CIDER COMPANY
This is a nice gesture. The Garden Cider Company, based in Chiddingfold near Horsham, have a bottling plant, installed two years ago. That is a facility that most small breweries do not have and this is a time when one would be very useful. They are offering to do bottling runs for breweries accordingly. Their bottling line is designed for small runs, from 1,000 to 10,000 litres. Garden’s co-founder, Ben Filby, said, “We’re a family run business which allows us to be more flexible for our bottling customers. We also understand the industry from their side as cider makers who have used external bottling plants ourselves, and we really endeavour to make the process as simple and painless as possible. We’re currently taking bottling bookings two weeks in advance but we will try and accommodate and prioritise breweries according to their needs. So just get in touch – we’re here to help!” It isn’t a free service but the cost is competitive.
Garden Cider is an interesting operation. Its ethos is based on sustainability, taking an abundant and largely wasted natural resource in the form of donated garden apples and turning them into cider. There are some 4,000 local households who donate in return for a percentage of the yield of their apples.
WIMBLEDON BREWERY
Our congratulations to Wimbledon for winning the gold medal for their Wimbledon IPA (6.2% ABV) in the ‘bottle and can (5.5% to 6.4% ABV)’ category at this year’s SIBA BEER X UK, held in March in Liverpool. This is the bottled version of their draught Quartermaine IPA, brewed with all British ingredients (Maris Otter malt and Golding, Fuggle, and Target hops) and is bottle conditioned.
Martin Butler
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S COLLABORATION BREW DAY
To follow up the article in the last edition, the Brewhouse & Kitchen group also participated by inviting local ladies to brew at their 22 pubs, with each site producing a different beer. These included Chocolate Treacle Stout, Pineapple NEIPA, Comet Cherry Bomb, Raspberry Pale Ale, Shredder IPA, Red Beer and Salted Caramel Chocolate Milk Stout. This was their fourth such event which the group hope will highlight the long involvement of women in the brewing of beer, which goes back to Ancient Egypt. B&K’s marketing manager, Gail Bunn, told the Morning Advertiser, “Today, beer companies are more aware of the importance of female beer drinkers and women now feel more comfortable to drink beer, attend pubs and contribute to the growth of the industry.” The Proceeds from the brewing experience were donated to Breast Cancer Research.
The photo relates to last edition’s article, with Olga Zubrzycka of Mechanic Brewing (as above) in the centre with Maryann O’Connor on her left and Steph Marlow on the right. With thanks to Clive Troubman, CAMRA’s Brewery Liaison Officer for Mechanic, for the photo.
MOLSON COORS SELLS OFF BURTON SITE
Not in London, I know, but I thought that readers might be interested in this bit of British brewing history. Molson Coors have decided to sell off one of their two sites in Burton-on-Trent for ‘residential-led mixed-use development’. It is the former Bass brewery in Station Road, built in 1864 and parts of which are Grade II-listed. It was mothballed in 2018, brewing having ceased a year earlier. It used to be connected to MC’s other building by a bridge across the road but this was dismantled in 2019. A Molson Coors spokesman told the Derby Telegraph, “It is incredibly important to us that this site, which is an important part of our and Burton’s heritage, is developed in an appropriately sympathetic way and adds real value to our local community in Burton.”
CHARLES FARAM HOP MERCHANTS
Not a brewery, admittedly, but where would breweries be without hops? Farams are one of the country’s leading hop merchants (sometimes called factors) and are based in the hamlet of Newland, situated at the foot of the Malvern Hills. They are still open for business and are trying to help breweries by finding other customers for hops which breweries bought in advance but now won’t need. The range of hops available for ‘spot purchase’ has increased accordingly.
Meanwhile, Farams are continuing their hop breeding programme, primarily looking to breed disease resistant plants. No self-respecting hop wants Downy Mildew! The disease testing can reduce 15,000 potential new variety seedlings to 1,000. They are also experimenting with crops to grow in between rows of hops to keep out weeds and which then could be harvested in their own right or used for green manure.
Perhaps not the best time for it to happen, but a hot, dry summer has led to an excellent hop harvest in New Zealand. The harvest, conducted in February, was 18% up on last year, totalling 1,231,936 kilograms!
With thanks to Christine Cryne for the information.
Compiled by Tony Hedger, except where otherwise credited