40ft up!
The 40ft Brewery was set up in 2015, based in two twenty foot shipping containers (hence the name!) in a car park in Dalston. To celebrate their tenth birthday in May, they hosted a party – what else! It was attended by many friends in the trade.
The photo shows Todd Matteson of Mondo Brewery (left) and Helen Busch of German Kraft enjoying the celebrations with Luke Norman, 40ft’s head brewer.
Christine Cryne
Eleven years and celebrating!
Paul Anspach and Jack Hobday had plenty to celebrate in March. They reached their 11th birthday and received three awards from CAMRA. Their IPA was the winning IPA at the Champion Beer of Britain competition before Christmas. It went on to win silver overall, just being pipped by Essex’s Crouch Vale Amarillo. They also took home silver in the ‘Speciality – Differently produced’ category for their well balanced Smoked Brown at the Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition in February.
Both beers, plus their one-off Celebration Porter, were available on handpump to celebrate at the Arch House taproom on the Bermondsey Beer Mile (SE1 2HH). Paul and Jack were joined by their parents, friends, CAMRA members (including the London Tasting Panel) and regulars who were delighted to be serenaded by sea shanties!
Christine Cryne
Beers, Damm beers and…
Readers will recall that in 2022 what is now Carlsberg Britvic sold the former Charles Wells Eagle Brewery site in Bedford to Barcelona-based brewers Sociedad Anonima Damm. Damm’s beers were already being packaged there and, since the purchase, Damm beers are being brewed there. S A Damm is an independent company, founded in 1876 by two cousins, August and Joseph Damm, who fled to Spain from the Alsace district of France after the Franco-Prussian War. At the end of March, Damm announced that they had made an agreement with the Northern Monk brewery in Leeds for Damm to distribute two of NM’s beers, Faith (5% ABV) and A Little Faith (4% ABV), in the on-trade. Northern Monk are looking to increase their production by 20% during 2025. This is being funded by a successful crowdfunding exercise last autumn. Northern Monk are also planning to open a venue in London.
Exale expand
Walthamstow based Exale Brewing, who already have a taproom on the Blackhorse Beer Mile (E17 5QJ) and operate the Three Colts pub in Bethnal Green (E2 0EL), are expanding. They have taken over the William the Fourth in Leyton (E10 6AE), formerly the original home of Brodies Brewery. The pub is a magnificent Victorian pile, dating from 1896. Andy and Steph Solley, the owners of Exale Brewing are local residents and their intention is to ‘breathe new life into a cherished part of our community’. The pub is currently being refurbished.
Exmoor Ales
The brewing of Exmoor’s beers has moved closer to London. Like many other small and medium sized breweries, the company, founded in 1980, is experiencing the consequences of the pandemic and the recent increases in running costs. Their solution has been to end brewing at their home in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, and go into a brewing partnership with the Hogs Back Brewery at Tongham, Surrey. Exmoor’s head brewer will oversee the brewing of their beers at Hogs Back, using the same recipes and yeast. Exmoor remain an independent company and will continue distributing their beers to their 400 customers in the south west. They are using their current premises as a depot. As part of the arrangement, Hogs Back will assist Exmoor with their marketing, so we may see more of their beers in London.
Progress for Pillars
Pillars Brewery, founded in 2016 and who describe themselves as London’s first craft lager brewery, have taken over the former Wild Card Brewery Barrel Store site. They have reopened it as the Malt Haus, a beer and whisky bar with barrel-aged beer and pilot brewing. It is quite close to their existing brewery and taproom on the Ravenswood Industrial Estate (E17 9HQ). That said, Pillars have outgrown the site and are planning to build a new, sustainable brewery, although a site has not yet been identified.
Queer Brewing Project
Queer Brewing, the UK’s first queer and trans-owned brewery, started in 2019 and guest brewed until January this year when they established their own brewery in Leyton. They have now opened a taproom at Unit D2, Leyton Industrial Village (E10 7QP). It serves six of their own beers on keg and in cans. A donation is made to rotating LGBTQ+ charities from every drink sold.
Great stuff!
As a consequence of various take-overs, the rights and recipe for Draught Bass are now owned by AB InBev. They do not brew it however. The 4.4% ABV amber ale is currently brewed by Carlsberg Britvic at the former Marston’s brewery in Burton on Trent. It is an oddity in itself that one multi-national should contract brew for another. Despite having been ‘under the radar’ in recent times, the beer has a very strong following, especially in its home area of Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Many aficionados believe that Draught Bass is currently as good as it has been for many years and it is reported that AB Inbev are starting to take more interest in the brand. If you want to find out where you can find Draught Bass, there is a website, originally set up by enthusiast Ian Thurman, nationalbassdirectory.wordpress.com. This gives you a list of outlets that is updated regularly and downloadable. You can also subscribe to updates. There are only four permanent outlets in London but a further 17 pubs stock it from time to time as a guest.
Remembering Michael
Many of us have reason to thank Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter, for his pioneering work in bringing the world’s beers to our attention. Although he lived in Hammersmith, his legacy, the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling, is based in the USA. The foundation’s aim is to create an inclusive brewing and distilling industry by the ‘Funding of technical education and career advancement for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the brewing and distilling industries’. Since its launch in the summer of 2020, it has helped 58 individuals to attend accredited brewing and distilling courses. It also provides a mentoring service. For more information see here.
Martin Butler