Brewery
Original site: 3 Jubilee Estate, Horsham RH13 5UE (West Sussex , outside London)
Current site: 4 Tileyard Studios, Tileyard Road N7 9AH (Islington)
(Taproom at Campfire, Tileyard Studios)
twotribes.co.uk
First sold beer: 2000 (as W J King in Horsham), 4 April 2018 (as Two Tribes at London site)
Interestingly, this unashamedly modern brewery and taproom in the Tileyard, a complex of studios inhabited by hundreds of creative and high-tech businesses north of Kings Cross, is one of several tracing its roots to the breakup of historic Sussex family brewer King & Barnes, founded in Horsham around 1800 (18 Bishopric, Horsham RH12 1QN, West Sussex).
After Dorset-based competitor Hall & Woodhouse (Badger) bought and closed K&B in 2000, former director Bill King set up a micro, W J King, nearby. This was sold on in 2010, first becoming King Beers, rebranding again to Two Tribes in 2015 and relocating to London in 2018.
Finnish-born head brewer Chris Tuominen, formerly at Beavertown and Camden Town, oversaw the installation of a completely new 10 hl steam-heated brewhouse made in Hungary by Zip Technologies, complete with a canning line: the old kit went to Good Things in Eridge.
The taproom was originally at the front of the brewhouse unit but the space was converted to production use during the lockdowns, housing additional tanks to triple capacity. Its replacement was a much larger and more unusual space across the yard, opened in April 2021 under the name Campfire. This combines a container bar, sheltered and outdoor seating, a firepit for barbecue cooking and live music and DJs, many of them based onsite.
Chris moved on in November 2021 and now works at Indie Alehouse in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Beers are in keg and can.
Updated 16 December 2021.
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