Sambrook’s Brewery hosted their first Beer by the River event by the River Wandle in Morden Hall Park in 2013 to mark their 5th birthday and it became a much loved annual event, held in various locations until COVID intervened. It was however successfully relaunched over the weekend of 3 to 5 September in their new home in the Ram Quarter, Wandsworth. This is also on the banks of the Wandle, albeit much closer to its estuary than its source. The Ram Brewery was, of course, the home of Young’s Brewery for over a century and has hosted continuous brewing since the early sixteenth century.
Filling the lengthy gap between the departure of Young’s and the arrival of Sambrook’s has been John Hatch, whose nano-brewery in the old stable block allowed the record of continuous brewing to be maintained. John was a senior brewer at Young’s and is now a brewing consultant and manager of the new heritage centre at Sambrook’s. He is also the most recent recipient of the John Young Memorial Award.
Five of John’s beers featured at the event and all sold out. These were his Phoenix Best Bitter, Misfits Ale (a 4.6% ABV ginger ale), Laughing Gas IPA, Oatmeal Stout and Weet-a-Brew wheat beer, which had wonderful banana flavours from the yeast esters. The full range of Sambrook’s beers was served, in both cask and keg, along with beers from Windsor & Eton, Ramsgate, Voldens, Garage, SlyBeast, Burning Sky, Buxton and Wild Beer Co. From abroad came a sweet wheat beer from Lervig (Norway) and the marvellous Tarus Bulba blonde ale from De La Senne Brasserie in Brussels.
On the Saturday, live music and an extra outside bar added to the party mood. Managing director Duncan Sambrook described the event as a ‘great launch party for the new brewery, tap room, shop and heritage centre’ that have all added new, invigorating life to one of London’s most iconic brewing sites. To further tempt any readers yet to visit, a new cask version of Battersea Rye will appear in September, followed by a new Baltic Porter in October.
Peter Sutcliffe
Peter is CAMRA’s brewery liaison officer for Sambrook’s. We will feature the Heritage Centre in a future edition.