BBC Radio 4\u2019s Food Programme broadcast on 12 January was devoted to breweries that are working to change attitudes towards people with learning disabilities. One of those companies is Ignition Brewery, a not-for-profit organisation based in Lewisham, south-east London, which recently released a collaboration beer with Gipsy Hill Brewing Company as part of the Social Beer Collective. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ignition started life when director Nick O\u2019Shea realised that 94%\nof people with a learning disability were unemployed and decided to do\nsomething about remedying the situation. He therefore founded Ignition, which\nemploys and trains people with learning disabilities to brew beer and to serve\nthat beer in the taproom. Nick decided on brewing because the process can be\nlabour intensive and, at a certain scale, Ignition could make enough money to\ncover operating expenses and pay people with learning disabilities the London\nLiving Wage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ignition employs a head brewer and a bar manager, who supervise\nand oversee the training of the team members who have learning disabilities. In\nsome ways, the business model at the brewery is the opposite of what you might\nexpect: it\u2019s not constantly looking to make its processes more efficient as the\npurpose is to provide as many opportunities as possible to those who might\notherwise be unable to find a job. In fact, the more beer they produce, the\nmore jobs they hope to be able to create. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Nick says, \u201cthe ethos is simple: our team have a lot to offer and with the right support and care, they can make beer that competes on the open market. Our patrons buy our beer because it tastes great, as well as because of who brewed it. And that is just how we like it<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The brewing kit is relatively small at just 2.5 brewers\u2019 barrels.\nBrewing usually takes place once or twice a week and all the bottling and\nkegging takes place on the premises. The team take part in all the brewing\nprocesses and Ignition is looking to introduce more formalised brewing training\nfor the team over the coming year, in order to build on their practical skills\nand make their day-to-day experience more rewarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the front of the building that houses the brewery is the\ntaproom. This serves four regular Ignition brews in bottle-conditioned form and\nfrom Ecofass kegs (the beer is conditioned in the bag and no gas touches the\nproduct). The four regulars are: South of the River (a 4.2% ABV pale ale), Jump\nStart (a 4.6% ABV IPA), Well Oiled Machine (a 4.8% ABV London porter) and GTI\n(a 5.5% ABV double dry-hopped APA). There is also a range of specials that\nvaries throughout the year. The current special is Spark Plug, a 3.8% ABV\nsingle-hopped extra pale ale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find the taproom at 44A Sydenham Road (SE26 5QF) and it is open\nfrom 5pm to 9pm on Thursdays, 5pm to 10pm on Fridays and 2pm to 10pm on\nSaturdays. It can be booked for special events on Sundays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n