Brewery moved outside London
Original site: 209 Blenheim Grove SE15 4QL (Southwark)
Final site in London: 13 Deptford Industrial Estate, Blackhorse Road SE8 5HY (Lewisham)
brickbrewery.co.uk
First sold beer: November 2013 (at original site)
Brewing ceased in London: November 2023
Like countless others on the contemporary brewing scene, the epiphany for York-born Ian Stewart was a bottle from the Kernel. He began developing his own beers in a Peckham shed, and, working alongside his wife Sally, opened commercially in an arch under Peckham Rye station while still holding down his marketing job.
Starting with a Chinese-built 9 hl brewhouse, Brick extended fermentation capacity several times and expanded into a neighbouring arch in 2015, with the brewery becoming a full-time concern, but still struggled with space. By the end of 2017, production had moved to a much bigger site in two units on a Deptford industrial estate beside the route of the old Grand Surrey Canal.
Head brewer Pete Vick moved on in 2020 and was replaced by Tom Dixon, formerly at Stewart Brewing in Edinburgh. He and his team worked on a 32 hl brewhouse from Willis European, also Chinese-built, with plenty of fermenters, a souring tank, barrel ageing facilities, keg filler and canning line. The Deptford site was only occasionally open to the public for special events; the regular taproom remained in the original Peckham arch.
In the face of rising rents and energy costs, the cost-of-living crisis and other challenges, the company went into administration on 2 June 2023. Its brands and assets were subsequently bought out by private equity company the BREAL group, which a few weeks previously had acquired the equally troubled (and rather older established) Black Sheep brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. BREAL subsequently acquired another London brewery, BBNo.
Initially Brick announced that production would continue as normal under the leadership of Ian and Sally, but brewing ceased by November and the equipment was removed to Black Sheep, with the Deptford site subsequently vacated. Both Brick and BBNo brands were then produced under an ex-Brick brewer at BBNo, but news reports on 12 February 2024 confirmed that BBNo was also slated to close ‘within three weeks’, with both brands moved to a new brewhouse created for them in Masham. In future some brewing may also take place at Purity in Alcester, Warwickshire, which BREAL bought in January 2024.
In late Febuary 2024, BREAL renamed itself the Keystone Brewing Group.
The Peckham taproom remains open for the time being.
Beers were in keg and can, with some cask mainly for local outlets.
Updated 27 February 2024.
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