Brewery moved from London
Original site: 275 Poyser Street E2 9RL (Tower Hamlets)
redchurch.beer
Current site: 15 River Way, Harlow CM20 2SE (Essex)
First sold beer: September 2011
Ceased brewing in London: May 2019
Former solicitor Gary Ward and partner Tracey Cleland named this brewery after Redchurch Street, where they lived in Shoreditch, first launching the brand with a homebrewed trial batch at nearby Mason & Taylor (now BrewDog Shoreditch) in August 2011. The first commercial brew from their 13 hl PBC kit in a Bethnal Green railway arch followed shortly afterwards.
By February 2013, the site had expanded into a neighbouring arch and added a taproom. The brewery’s reputation continued to grow, particularly in 2015-16 under head brewer James Rylance, formerly at the Kernel and Beavertown, who began experimenting with wild and mixed fermentation brews and barrel ageing.
Following a major crowdfunding campaign, Redchurch moved its main production facility out of London during 2016 to a much bigger new brewery in Harlow, Essex. The arch at Bethnal Green was retained both as a taproom and a dedicated facility for wild and mixed fermentation under the sub-brand Urban Farmhouse. James led this project until 2018 when he moved to Harbour Brewery in Cornwall to produce similarly creative beers.
The company became the first major casualty of the recent boom in May 2019 when it went into pre-pack administration, with the brands and Harlow site sold on to new owners and almost £900,000 of crowdfunding investment lost. Gary retained the arches which he reopened as a bar called Sundays and there was talk of reviving the production of wild and mixed fermentation beers, but later in the year some of the brewing equipment was for sale on eBay.
In October 2022, Redchurch was bought by Laine, another company with a previous history of brewing in London.
Updated 22 December 2022
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