In 2018, when St John’s Church in Hackney received funding for a refurbishment intended to help ‘liven up the place’, someone then involved with the church came up with the novel idea of starting a brewery and the Hackney Church Brew Company was born.
In 2022 Hamish Glenn came on board. Hamish said, “I thought it was a bit of fun and I have always been involved with the hospitality sector. I have opened a number of venues in the past, both in Britain and around the world. I have some sleeping partners in this venture but I am the MD. The ethos of Hackney Church is ‘beer for all sorts’. We are the church of beer and we like to do good for the local community, directly impacting on people’s lives.”
This approach is reflected in their adoption of a charity each quarter. The staff come together to suggest and choose a local charity that has a direct impact on the lives of people who live in the area. The funding comes from the idea of ‘paying forward a pint’. To quote from their leaflet, ‘When you order a pint from the bar, think of it as buying a pint for a mate who is not there’. Hackney Church then match however much has been raised in that quarter. The chosen charity at the time of the Tasting Panel’s visit was the Hackney Migrant Centre, which provides advice and support for local immigrants.
Hamish is assisted by head brewer, Jacob Hobbs, who also joined the brewery in 2022. Jacob was previously with Redemption and explained, “Back at Redemption I started their first keg beer. When I arrived here, there were only a couple of Hackney Church beers on tap but plenty of lines. I started from scratch, creating new beers.” These days, most of the taps are full with Hackney Church beers. There are six beers in their core range, most having a church related name such as Ascension, Halo, Renaissance and St Clements although ‘the names can’t be too risky’. Jacob expanded, “We try and have a dark beer on and we do occasional collabs as well as our one offs. But we are not just for beer nerds; we are here for different people, ensuring we always have beer that is recognisable. I promised my dad there would always be some beer for him to drink.” (To find out more about Jacob’s interesting background see the December/January 2021 edition of London Drinker.)
The brewery and the tap room are housed in adjoining railway arches in Bohemia Place (E8 1DU). The brewery has a brew length of 2,000 litres (around 12 barrels) with five fermenters. Two additional ten hectolitre vessels are due to be added shortly. With a six week maturation period for their lagers, they need the extra capacity. Unlike many breweries, Hackney Church can do reverse osmosis with its water; this is where the salts are removed to leave a soft water, which is essential for a good lager. The other piece of equipment that many smaller breweries don’t have is a malt mill. Hamish explained, “We have a lauter system for our malts and it’s really helpful if we can control the grain size.” Lautering is more common on the continent than in the UK. The process is designed to extract as much sugar from the malt as possible. It is usually a three-step process at the end of a mash, involving recirculation and sparging of the grain bed.
Once brewed, the beer is put into either kegs or tanks; you can spot the latter above the bar. The beer put in the tanks is mainly their bigger sellers. The seating besides the bar is high tables and benches and they weigh a ton; don’t try to move them! There is a small seating area outside at the front and a larger canopied area at the back with picnic type seating, overlooked by the kitchen. The food is provided by Lagom, owned by a Swede called Elliot Cunningham, and is more than just the usual burgers.
The Hackney Church Brewery and Tap Room is just a few minutes’ walk from Hackney Central Station; the station which you get off at if you are going to Pig’s Ear Beer Festival. So, if you are going to the festival this year, this tap room makes a good finishing point and train waiting room! The tap room opens on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and all day Friday to Sunday. For details see here. You can find the London Tasting Panel’s tasting notes in the London Breweries’ section of the regional website: www.london.camra.org.uk.
Christine Cryne