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The former Russian River brewhouse under installation at Forest Road, August 2021.
London’s brewery count rose from 131 at the end of 2020 to 136 at the end of 2021, with at least three likely to start operations in the early months of 2022. While six breweries closed, suspended production or moved out of London during 2021, another 11 either commenced or resumed selling their own beer.
Those are the headline figures from the just-completed update of my London brewery pages, where I’ve been tracking the numbers in the capital back to 1971.
Following the boom of the 2010s, when London leapt from accommodating 14 commercial breweries in 2010 to over 100 by 2017, the year-on-year figures have been creeping up much more slowly recently: 125 at the end of 2018, 129 by 2019, 131 by 2020 and 136 today. But given the challenges of the past two years, it’s particularly remarkable that they are still increasing.
The resilience of London brewing supports plentiful anecdotal evidence that customers are increasingly favouring local independent producers and suppliers. That trend was already evident before the Covid-19 pandemic and seems to have strengthened further. While researching the latest edition of London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars, numerous brewers and retailers told me how important local custom had become to their business during the lockdowns.
But with recent developments showing the pandemic is far from over, continued erratic leadership from government and the failure of the recently announced support package to include direct support for breweries once again, the situation remains precarious. Breweries are now better prepared to adapt to lockdown conditions if necessary, but many are already in a weakened financial state.
Though a few of the newcomers are working at an ambitious scale, a growing number of start-ups in recent years have been much smaller operations. These are often part-time businesses working from home in very small batches – typically 100 litres but in one case only 25 – and selling through a small number of local outlets. These are all fully licensed and accredited commercial breweries and some of them are producing outstanding beer, but their contribution to total beer volumes in London is minimal.
Given these factors, I’m not going to make any predictions about what the figures might look like this time next year. But one thing is certain – the vibrancy of London’s brewing scene depends on the support of drinkers, so please continue to support your local independent breweries, pubs, bars and bottle shops during these difficult times.
An earlier version of this post was circulated to my Patreon supporters on 22 December. To sign up for advanced news of London brewery changes, updates to London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars, discounts on tours and events and more, visit patreon.com/ldnbestbeer.
The former Russian River brewhouse under installation at Forest Road, August 2021.
12 openings or revivals, 12 suspensions or closures, net change 0.
By the end of December 2021, there were 132 commercial breweries operating in London, including 29 brewpubs. 14 were parts of multinationals (M). Those breweries were:
E5 Poplar Bakehouse E14, Tower Hamlets, brewpub, REVIVED! briefly revived kvass brewing this year, relocating the activity from the Hackney site, but soon suspended it again.
Mellor’s Brewing Co SE8, Lewisham NEW! was also active but moved to cuckoo brewing later before the end of the year.
Closed this year
Barnet Brewery (Black Horse) EN5, Barnet, brewpub no longer brewing
CTZN Brew SW14, Richmond upon Thames, formerly Kew Brewery
Beer firm, brewpub in development 57 Beckenham Road, Beckenham BR3 4PR (Bromley) threehoundsbeerco.com Active since: 2016
Matt Walden, formerly at Brockley, began cuckoo brewing for sale on a market stall in 2016, and continued to offer own-brewed brands at his bottle shop and bar in Clock House, Beckenham, opened in October 2017. He currently uses the facilities at By the Horns and Dogs Grandad, but plans to install his own 1 hl brewhouse, perhaps during 2022.
Beers, also sold through other outlets, are in keg and occasional can, with plans for cask once the brewhouse is up and running.
Licensed trade veteran Michael Breen began planning a Soho brewpub in 2013 but the project was held up by unexpected difficulties. He finally launched Soho Lager in 2019, devised by former Guinness master brewery Fergal Murray and initially brewed at Hepworth in Sussex.
Further beers are planned, and the brewpub is still on the long-term agenda.
There’s no relationship with the late 1990s Soho brewpub in Covent Garden (see Freedom).
Founded by Jesse Wilson, a descendant of brewers and publicans, Jubel markets a range of gluten-free, vegan-friendly “craft lagers cut with fruit”. Brewing currently takes place at Camerons in Hartlepool.
Beer firm, planned brewery 2A-2, 133 Copeland Park, Copeland Road, London SE15 3SN (Southwark) ekobrewery.com Active since: 2018
Anthony and Helena Adedipe’s project, borrowing the Yoruba name for Lagos, gives an African twist to contemporary style brews, using ingredients like palm sugar and South African hops. They’ve been cuckoo brewing since 2018 at a variety of sites in London and elsewhere, including Cloudwater, Hambleton and Wildcard.
In 2023 they had an unexpected opportunity to create their own venue, opened on 28 October as a taproom in the former Kanpai unit in Peckham’s post-industrial Copeland Park. There’s no brewhouse yet, but this should follow in 2024 in a space reserved at the back.
Beers are in keg, bottle and can, with bottles likely to be retained for the restaurant trade.
Launched by London-based Scots Duncan Keith and Mike Gammell in 2020, this is another contributor to the expanding choice of decent low and no alcohol beers. A lager and a pale ale are brewed in Scotland using a special technique of fermentation control to achieve 0% ABV.
Former beer firm, brewery outside London Highfields Farm, The Broyle, Ringmer, Lewes BN8 5AR (East Sussex) brithopbeer.com Active since: June 2018
Stuart Holland started this part-time enterprise in September 2017, based in Belvedere (Bexley) but cuckoo-brewing at Franklins in Sussex. Originally he planned to open his own brewery and taproom in southeast London but instead moved in January 2022 to take over the former facilities of Franklins, which has relocated to a bigger site at Ringmer just outside Brighton. So this is no longer a planned London brewery.
Beers with brands inspired by the indie music of the 1990s are in cask, keg and can.
Beavertown’s original brewery, still in action as a pilot at the Tottenham Hale site.
16 openings or revivals, 14 suspensions or closures, net change +2.
By the end of December 2020, there were 132 commercial breweries operating in London, including 29 brewpubs. 14 were parts of multinationals (M). Those breweries were:
Lockdowns aimed at containing the spread of the Covid-19 virus are put in place from 20 March, effectively closing all hospitality venues in the UK. Trading conditions won’t return to normal until July 2021.
Affinity Brew Co relocated to Grosvenor Arms, with Three Hills taking over previous site.
Shared brewery 92 Enid Street SE16 4AW (Southwark) mashpaddlebrewery.com First sold beer: June 2022
Nick Harkin, a homebrewer with a background in financial services, is the man behind this communal brewery in the heart of Bermondsey, which opened following a successful crowdfunding round in summer 2021.
Mash Paddle offers homebrewing beginners to brew their own beer on professional-grade homebrew-sized kits, with a commercial license, its own small batch brands and onsite taproom, a little like the now-defunct UBREW. It’s also a social enterprise, working to support people with criminal convictions.
Finding a suitable home for the project proved more challenging then expected, but an announcement on 30 January 2022 confirmed that it had secured a site in Enid Street between Bianca Road and the Kernel.
‘Soft opening’ began in June, initially only with a bar stocking other people’s beer, but a few small-scale trial brews began to appear soon afterwards. Full brewing facilities were delayed a little while a more powerful electricity supply was installed but the site was fully operational by September 2022. There are two 40 l SS Tech kits with separate vessels, and two 30 l ‘all-in-one’ Grainfathers, plus various miniature cylindroconical fermentation vessels and a hand canning machine
Demand for house beers has been so strong that they are now mainly cuckoo brewed at Bianca Road and Distortion, though in spring 2024 the brewery is planning to add its own larger kit so it can produce at more commercial scale.
Own beers are in keg and can, with the facility to can beers also available to other users.
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London’s Best Beer
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