Beer firm, former brewpub, no longer brewing
7 Queens Yard, White Post Lane E9 5EN (Tower Hamlets)
cratebrewery.com
First sold beer: 18 July 2012
Brewing ceased: July 2020
Opened just in time for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by New Zealanders Tom and Jess Seaton, of the Counter Café nearby, and friend and brewer Neil Hinchley, this brewpub in the White Building, a former sweet factory beside the River Lea Navigation, was the first new brewing initiative in the post-industrial arts and media colony at Hackney Wick.
At first, beers were brewed on an 8 hl kit from AB-UK behind glass in the bar, but in summer 2014, a new 16 hl brewhouse formerly at Ascot Ales was installed together with a pilot kit in a newly renovated location across the yard known as the Brew-Shed. In 2018, the business, by then producing around 10,000 hl a year under the guidance of head brewer Calum Bennett, secured a lease on the entire White Building and crowdfunded for a major refurbishment and expansion. The plan was to revive brewing in the pub itself, making limited edition specials alongside the core brands from the production brewery.
Unfortunately, these plans were severely disrupted by the Covid-19 lockdowns and in July 2020 the brewing side of the business was forced into administration. The Brew-Shed facility was bought by Truman’s, now Big Penny, and subsequently closed. All Crate-branded beers are now cuckoo-brewed outside London.
The original brewpub is still open as a bar and restaurant. The original brewing kit remained in place for some time with a professed intention to revive it, but had been removed by early 2023.
At its peak, Crate brewed contemporary-style ales and lagers in keg, bottle and can which were relatively widely available, including in major supermarkets. It also produced some cask, mainly for sale in the brewpub.
Updated 1 September 2023.
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