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Generations of drinkers must have thought they’d seen the back of this once-notorious London brand: see Stag Brewery. But in 2016 it was back, licensed by Nick Whitehurst of Brands Reunited from Heineken.
There have never been any plans for a separate brewery. Originally the beer, in keg and can, was cuckoo-brewed at Sambrook’s, using newly developed recipes, but this ceased following the brewery’s move to Wandsworth. A minikeg version of the once ubiquitous Party Seven giant can made an appearance early in 2021 but since then activity seems to have ceased.
Former beer firm, brewery outside London toastale.com Active since: January 2016
Originally based in Southwark, Toast was launched by Tristram Stuart, founder of food waste charity Feedback, with the aim of recycling waste bread into beer, a process Tristram first saw in action at Brussels Beer Project. The company had early links with E5 Bakehouse. Income from sales helps support the charity.
Most of the bread used is in the form of crusts and other offcuts donated by the sandwich industry and surplus loaves from large bakeries, typically replacing a third of the grist. The first brew was at Hackney brewery but the core beers then moved to SEB in Broadstairs, Kent.
There were numerous one-off collaborations with brewers around the country and the world. The project expanded to New York City, working with local brewers. The recipes are ‘open source’ so anyone can brew them.
In March 2023, Toast launched Good Company, a London taproom just off Marylebone Road (17 Triton Street, London NW1 3BF) in collaboration with likeminded social enterprise Change Please coffee. This proved a disappointment, with the brewer withdrawing from the arrangement in late 2024: the venue subsequently closed.
In July 2023, Toast announced it would be launching its own microbrewery, not in London but at Unity Place, a newly developed multi-purpose space in Milton Keynes. The brewery duly opened in September 2024 and I’m therefore no longer regarding Toast as a London-based beer firm.
By the end of 2012, there were 37 commercial breweries operating in London, including 12 brewpubs. One was part of a national group (N) and one part of a multinational (M). These breweries were:
AB InBev UK (Stag, AB InBev M) SW14, Richmond upon Thames
Florence Brewery SE24, Lambeth, brewpub, relaunches under new management as Head in a Hat. The pub is then acquired by Greene King N, but brewing continues.
For definitions of a London brewery, see the current London breweries page.
By the end of 2013, there were 52 commercial breweries operating in London, including 14 brewpubs. One was part of a multinational group (M). These breweries were:
AB InBev UK (Stag, AB InBev M) SW14, Richmond upon Thames
Beavertown Brewery moves from Dukes Brew and Que to an expanded standalone site in Fish Island, Tower Hamlets. Pub continues to operate as a non-brewing venue.
Head in a Hat is now independent, though using kit and premises leased from Greene King N.
N = part of a national brewing group.
For definitions of a London brewery, see the current London breweries page.
With its spiritual home at Woodberry Down, Haringey, just off the Seven Sisters Road, this was started at UBREW as a part-time project by maths teachers Chris Martin and Tristan Bradley and retail professional Julio Santoyo in 2016.
It’s since worked at Bianca Road and various Brewhouse & Kitchens before largely settling at Hambledon Ales in Yorkshire, though the beers are easy to find in north London, and it’s also organised beer festivals in Stoke Newington.
Closed brewery 36 Ernest Avenue SE27 0DJ (Lambeth) First sold beer: April 2019 Ceased brewing: September 2019
This short-lived brewery was founded by Ian Hewitt and a homebrewing friend, who opened a taproom in West Norwood late in 2018, originally cuckoo brewing the beer in Scotland. They then added their own small kit, but the taproom had to close in autumn 2019 and the project has since been abandoned.
Beer firm, planned brewpub 13 Wagtail Walk SE2 9FE (Bexley) rockleopardbrewing.com Active since: November 2018
Stacey Ayeh got into the drinks business through importing and marketing in the 2000s: following a visit to Sweden, he established Swedish cider brands Kopparberg and Rekorderlig in the UK, dipping into beer through importing Swedish-brewed Nils Oscar. Realising the specialist drinks market was moving in the direction of local producers, he built his experience of brewing with a spell at London Fields in Hackney (since under new ownership as Saint Monday) and taught himself to homebrew.
Stacey launched Rock Leopard as a commercial cuckoo brewer in late 2018, working alongside several other cuckoo brewers at Missing Link in West Sussex. During the lockdowns he conceived a plan to create a brewpub in Thamesmead where he lived, as it was a rapidly redeveloping neighbourhood with very few hospitality outlets.
Rock Leopard gained wider recognition in 2021 when one of its beers was included in the series of Step Up collaborations brewed at Cloudwater in Manchester, alongside Eko and Queer Brewing. The beers have also been brewed at Altarnum in Cornwall, BBNo, Villages and most recently at Drop Project.
Following a successful crowdfunding round in May 2022, Stacey located a unit at the new development of Cygnet Square, Thamesmead where he planned to install a community-focused 15 hl brewery and taproom. Following numerous delays thanks to local authority and landlord bureaucracy, the taproom was granted a license in February 2024, though Bexley Council made a mistake in the hours, which didn’t cover evenings or Sundays.
Stacey Ayeh behind the taps at Rock Leopard, London SE2.
The taproom finally opened in June 2025, initially as a temporary popup, but local response was so enthusiastic that it’s remained open with limited hours as fitup progresses. Installation of the brewhouse is planned to commence during 2025 but it’s unlikely to be operational until at least spring 2026. In the the meantime, cuckoo brewing continues mainly at Drop Project.
Started by four homebrewing friends, one British and the others from New Zealand, this first brewed at London Beer Lab in 2015 and also used the facilities at Altarnun in Cornwall and 71 Brewing in Dundee. One of the four, Nick Thomas, owns the Craft Beer Cabin bottle shop-bars in Bromley and South Norwood.
Brewing activities lapsed in 2020 as the partners felt the project had run its course.
Brewery D2 Leyton Industrial Village, Argall Avenue E10 7QP (Waltham Forest) thequeerbrewingproject.com Active since: June 2018 First sold beer (from own brewery): March 2025
London-based beer writer, photographer and potter Lily Waite-Marsden began brewing in 2018 in a one-off collaboration with Marble Brewery in Manchester as part of an art project for Manchester Beer Week.
Further collabs followed, aimed at promoting greater diversity, acceptance, and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in the beer and brewing industries. Lily then began cuckoo brewing with various partners, including Affinity and Brick in London and others like Cloudwater in Manchester, winning a reputation for innovation and quality, with 10p donated to relevant charities for every can or pint sold.
For some time, the company has operated from a warehouse on the same Leyton industrial estate as Neckstamper and Nirvana, with a taproom opening intermittently from summer 2024. In October, in response to growing demand, they rented a neighbouring unit to accommodate their own 30 hl brewhouse, taking on Andy Potter, most recently at Fourpure, as head brewer.
Andy Potter behind the bar at Queer Brewing.
Beers brewed in-house were available by March 2025, with the taproom also open regularly.
Brewpub no longer brewing Project 88, Beer + Burger Willesden, 88 Walm Lane NW2 4QY beerandburgerstore.com First sold beer: October 2017 Ceased brewing: by early 2019
Staff member Steve Law began brewing under the name Project 88 for Beer + Burger on a tiny kit at the Willesden branch in 2017. Steve moved on and his role was taken by Milo Oddi. Demand expanded as the chain grew, so the beers were often contracted, to One Mile End or Hop Kettle in Swindon. The brand was dropped in 2019, though B+B continued to participate in collaboration brews exclusively stocked in the bars.
Milo launched his own cuckoo project, the Standard Brew Co, in July 2021, brewing at One Mile End. The company focuses on IPAs but pursues variety within the broad style. Besides a recurring core table IPA ideal for serving alongside food, a new recipe is sent out every month as a six-pack to subscribers, a model which helps build a community of customers in the absence of a taproom.
There’s still a link to B+B as the owners of that company are investors in Standard and their venues sometimes stock its beer in keg form. Milo has no immediate plans to add his own kit as he’s happy working as a cuckoo brewer and collaborator: a brew at 40FT is planned for the autumn 2022.
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