Unless you live in south west London, Battersea Brewery might not be one that springs to mind. This small brewery is one of a number of artisan outlets that reflect the ethos of the area that is turning from an urban community into something slightly trendier. But don’t let that put you off. A good gander at what has been done to the Battersea Power Station (now open to visitors) and the surrounding area is worth it in its own right, never mind visiting this small brewery. It is situated under the arches in an attractive alley with a number of restaurants and cafes that are definitely not part of any of the mega chains.
Battersea Brewery is owned by Mosaic, a chain of 28 pubs which, in turn, is partly owned by the City Pub Company. It has a 1,000 litre brewing plant tucked in next door to the pub. They usually brew twice a week and have to manually clean the equipment because they don’t have any CIP (cleaning in place).
The bar usually serves two cask beers, one from the brewery and one guest. In addition, they produce a number of keg beers, some of which are supplied to other Mosaic pubs. Almost 40% of the production is pale ale, with lagers being a big seller. In addition, they have a portfolio of seasonal beers and one offs.
Steve Kelly manages both the brewery and the bar, with the help of a brewer. His previous brewer, Tom Barlow, went to Wobbly Brewery in Herefordshire and the relationship remains close. Wobbly help out when needed, including advice and contract brewing. Steve is also grateful to Wobbly in other ways, “We struggle with storage space for ingredients. We store a lot in the pub cellar or freezer but Wobbly will sometimes help us with storing hops in particular.”
Steve was born in Hammersmith and has done various things, including working for the Draft House chain before they were acquired by BrewDog. He joined Mosaic about four years ago. The ambience in the bar is professional but laid back and this is echoed in the collaborative approach as to which beers to brew. Steve said, “It’s a democratic decision involving both brewery and bar staff. We’ll sit down most weeks to discuss.” The atmosphere is also enhanced by the newest addition to the staff; a Jack Russell puppy, which reinforces their description as a dog friendly pub.
Steve believes in passing on knowledge and delivers training for the Mosaic Group on a number of topics. During lockdown, he widened his audience by conducting tastings on Zoom on most Fridays. Like most of the hospitality sector, things weren’t easy during the pandemic. Steve explained, “We furloughed staff, which meant we made no one redundant. We did takeaways when we could, using milk jugs. We were also fortunate that we had a landlord who was looking at the longer term and was generous regarding rent payments.”
If you are going to try out the chimney lift at the Power Station, a pint at the brewery is a great way to finish the touristy visit. The full address is 12-14 Arches Lane, SW11 8AB and it is just around the corner from the new Battersea Power Station station on the Northern Line.
For further information go to https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk/ and https://batterseabrew.co.uk/. For more information on Mosaic, go to https://mosaicpubanddining.com/ and www.citypubcompany.com.
Christine Cryne