On 14 March, the guys at the Pressure Drop Brewery and Taproom in Tottenham Hale kindly hosted the inaugural Beyond the Pale beer festival, inspired by Low Key’s amazing Generation Craft festival and brought to London by the enthusiasm and determination of Albina Dzyaloshinskaya.
Instead of the pales, IPAs, lagers and bitters that appear in abundance on Britain’s bar tops, here the world of Imperial stouts, barley wines, fruit-fuelled beers, sours and black-coloured tipples was showcased in this one-day extolment of these under-celebrated delights. The crowd was in good cheer as they worked their way through the offerings, from the established titan that is Tartarus Beers and up-and-coming Breakbeat Brewing, who are making waves as they experiment with pushing the boundaries of Imperial Stouts. My fellow-drinkers and I salivated at the wares of sour-beer and fruity beer virtuosos, Dolphin Brewery. I personally delighted in the offerings from Amity Brew Co, Drop Project, Gravity Well Brewing, Ampersand and Libertalia Brewing. Crafty Apple’s small-batch libations filled a cider-shaped hole.
Wonderful weather. Wonderful beer. I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the day and fingers crossed for a return of this event.
Daniel Meers