Promoting an international beer culture that recognises and celebrates beers of quality, distinctiveness and local character, brewed with care and passion.
Best beer and travel writing award 2015, 2011 -- British Guild of Beer Writers Awards
Accredited Beer Sommelier
Writer of "Probably the best book about beer in London" - Londonist
"A necessity if you're a beer geek travelling to London town" - Beer Advocate
"A joy to read" - Roger Protz
"Very authoritative" - Tim Webb.
"One of the top beer writers in the UK" - Mark Dredge.
"A beer guru" - Popbitch.
Brewpub no longer brewing 1 Finsbury Road N22 8PA (Haringey) theprincen22.co.uk First brewed beer: September 2017 (as House Brewing) Ceased brewing: by September 2019 (as The Goodness)
This Wood Green pub was equipped with a brewhouse in a side room soon after it reopened in 2017. Initially it operated under the name House, but activity ceased when the brewer left late in 2018.
During 2019, the brewhouse was used as a stopgap by the Goodness. Brewing was suspended once the Goodness’ own much bigger kit was commissioned elsewhere in Wood Green, and was never resumed: the brewhouse has since been sold to Werewolf and the space repurposed.
Closed brewery 344a Essex Road N1 3PD (Islington) First sold beer: March 2017 Ceased brewing: by June 2018
This small brewery in the cellar of the Borough Wines bottle shop in Islington made beer in bottles and 5 l minicasks for sale in the shop. Brewing ceased after just over a year and shop has since been closed.
Beer firm, planned brewpub The Green Goddess, 43A Vanburgh Park SE3 7AB (Lewisham) commonriotersbeer.co.uk Active since: June 2019
The brainchild of ex-Brewhouse and Kitchen brewer Stephen O’Connor and his beer sommelier wife Maryann, Common Rioters has been active as a southeast London-based cuckoo since 2019. Beers have been brewed at a variety of locations and sold through local outlets and various bars and stalls, and a popup bar at Charlton House.
In 2021, Stephen and Maryann began working on a project to open a brewpub known as the Green Goddess in a former bank building at the Blackheath Standard. This took much longer than expected, but the pub finally opened in July 2022. On opening brewing hadn’t yet commenced as some of the brewing equipment was still due to be delivered and commissioned. Brewing should start in the first half of 2023.
The brewery name refers to the successful 1876 protests opposing threatened further development of Plumstead Common.
Beers are in bottle, keg and sometimes cask, often modern twists on traditional European styles.
Launched in 2017 by three locals based in Purley and initially brewing at Hepworth in Pulborough, West Sussex, Coalition planned to open a brewpub in central Croydon during 2019 but the site fell through thanks to a regeneration scheme. In 2021, an attempt to open at a second site also failed.
In late 2022, Coalition head brewer Charlotte Cook began brewing the brands on the former SlyBeast kit at the Ram Inn, Wandsworth, with the beer eventually available in the pub. This arrangement ended at short notice in early January 2024 and Coalition returned to cuckoo brewing.
Closed brewpub and beer firm 184 New Cross Road SE14 5AA (Lewisham) First sold beer: March 2017 Ceased brewing: around July 2018, active as a cuckoo until 2020.
Paddy and Joseph Ryan began this brewery in 2017 with a 50 l Braumeister kit in the cellar of their pub, the White Hart in New Cross, under the name Paddies with Attitude. It was renamed in April 2018 and soon afterwards switched to cuckoo brewing at Bianca Road to address capacity issues.
The pub was threatened by plans to convert the upper floors to flats in 2019, which the licensees argued would make it unviable. The proposal was defeated following a local campaign but the threat of revived proposals persisted, and the business closed during the 2020 lockdowns. Cuckoo brewing has also ceased as one of the partners has moved from the UK.
Brewery, visitors to nearby taproom only Original site: Mackenzie Road, Beckenham BR3 4RY (Bromley) Second site: 253 Beckenham Road, Beckenham BR3 4RP (Bromley) Current site (no visitors please) Birkbeck Road, Beckenham BR3 4SN br3wery.com First sold beer: February 2019 (at original site)
Cadú Gomes began brewing commercially on a small scale using a home-based kit early in 2019, emphasising local character with the brewery name, which puns on the Beckenham postcode (BR3).
Beer was subsequently cuckoo brewed larger batches at various locations, including Brum Brewery in Birmingham.
During the 2020 lockdowns, Cadú converted a former lawnmower shop by Beckenham Road tram stop into a small brewpub, opening in December 2020 with seating within arm’s reach of an 8.5 hl Hoplex brewhouse.
In November 2023, production was located to a standalone site a short distance away, with the Beckenham Road taproom retained and expanded to create further drinking space.
Beers are mainly changing specials, currently in keg only, sold from the taproom and through selected local outlets.
Bloomsbury is a brand used for exclusive beers commissioned for the Bloomsbury Leisure Group, which owns the Euston Tap and its sister pubs. The beers originate at a variety of breweries in the UK and elsewhere, including Five Points.
The name was previously used for an unrelated brewery at the Perseverance pub in Bloomsbury.
24 openings and revivals, 7 closures and suspensions, net change +17.
By the end of 2018, there were 125 commercial breweries operating in London, including 32 brewpubs. Seven were parts of multinationals (M). These breweries were:
Short Stack (Howling Hops, Cock Tavern) E8, Hackney, brewpub NEW!, reviving brewing on original Howling Hops kit vacated by Maregade which has moved to Hackney.
Dragonfly (George and Dragon), brewpub, management of brewery passed to Portobello and rebranded Portbello at the George.
House Brewery (Prince) brewpub, brewing operations under new management and rebranded The Goodness.
Wild Card Brewery transfers production to expanded site off Blackhorse Lane, inaugurating the ‘Blackhorse Mile’. It retains its Walthamstow Village site as a taproom and barrel vault.
N = part of a national brewing group.
For definitions of a London brewery, see the current London breweries page.
Brewery not currently brewing, no visitors please Kentish Town NW5 1UF (Camden) kentishtownbrewery.com First sold beer: October 2017 Brewing suspended: by October 2019
This small home-based brewery was placed on hold in late 2019 while brewer Mark Drayton made a trip to Australia for family reasons. He expected to return and resume brewing in 2020 but these plans were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. He’s since brewed in Australia, though still plans to return to the UK and revive the project.
Beers made before brewing was suspended were mainly bottled, with some short runs brewed at home in Kentish Town and bigger batches cuckoo-brewed elsewhere.
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