Brewpubs, long regarded as anachronistic throwbacks to the past are evolving into an eclectic mix of diverse outlets, catering for a wide range of modern drinkers.
Crate, a bar deep in the heart of hipster-heavy Hackney Wick, doesn’t feel much like a brewpub. It’s a bit too trendy, for a start: the surroundings – including a grey-brown canal - are fashionably post-industrial, the furniture is artfully constructed from old crates, and the menu stretches to exotically-flavoured pizzas (sweet potato, stilton and walnut, anyone?). But look: there in the corner is a tiny brewery, pumping out a variety of ales.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Beer is undoubtedly the drink of summer 2013 (check out the glut of beer events in the eastern half of the capital this summer), and brewpubs are the inevitable next step. Indeed, London has seen a small but impressive growth in brewpubs over the last few years, from the likes of Crate, Tap East and Duke’s (whose beer, produced under the Beavertown banner, has proven so popular that it is now brewed off-site) in the East to The Lamb and the Botanist out West. Outside of the capital, there’s the likes of The Foundry in Canterbury and The glorious Sheffield Tap.
What connects these disparate spots is how different they are to the traditional spit-and-sawdust image many people have of brewpubs. As recently as the 1990s, a brewpub meant somewhere resolutely, deliberately unhip, with variable-quality beer and maybe a burger or a plate of fish and chips in terms of food. The classic example would be the Firkin chain, which made a virtue out of its attempt to be as traditional as possible: wooden furniture, cask ale (the most famous beer, which has been revived by Gadd’s Brewery in Ramsgate, was called Dogbolter), actual sawdust on the floor in some cases.
Things have changed. Just up the road from Gadd’s is the aforementioned Foundry. It’s a modern, welcoming spot with good food and a huge variety of beers. Co-owners Jon Mills and Gary Sedgwick opened this place two years ago, and while it might be an exaggeration to suggest its gone from strength to strength, it has been at least a qualified success: the pair recently took on more fermenting space to allow them to brew twice a day.
Mills says he is happy despite his initial expectations of a quick return on his investment having been dashed. “We’re surviving and we’re still here,” he says. “It’s been the toughest and most enjoyable two years I’ve ever had. I’ve found what I want to do for the rest of my life. We’re beginning to get there. It’s not the road to riches, but if you want to be happy and passionate about something … I’d encourage people to do it.”
The 44-year-old believes it is crucial to keep your customers onside, even if you produce – as The Foundry does – a disparate range of beers that takes in barrel-aged brews and high-strength, American-hopped ales. “You can brew what you want to brew, because your customers take that journey with you,” he says. “They get excited about what you’re brewing.”
At the Sheffield Tap, the owners had a head start when they installed a brewery at the start of the year. By that time, the pub – which can be found on platform 1 of the city’s railway station - had been open for more than three years and had established a reputation as one of the best places in the UK to drink beer. The brewery has been a predicable success. “The beer is flying out and we can only brew enough to satisfy three out of the eleven handpulls [on the bar],” says Jamie Hawksworth, co-owner and head brewer.
The venue for the brewery – the magnificently-restored first-class dining room – could not be further from the traditional ambiance of a brewpub. “When I realised the derelict dining room was available then it seemed the only solution was to install the brewery there,” says Hawksworth. “It’s such a lovely interior and inspirational space, which has subconsciously had a positive effect on our recipes and beer quality - just the perfect environment to be creative.”
Customers are delighted by the brewing kit, Hawksworth, 36, adds. “There is a great “mystery” and hocus-pocus [to] the theatre of brewing, which is enhanced by the variety and size of vessels required,” he says. “The beauty of a brewpub with a showcase brewery is that not only can you see the many stages of brewing through all these vessels, but you also see the raw ingredients and smell the process - from conversion of fermentable sugars by enzyme reaction within the malted barley to the blow-off of aromatic oils contained within the hops.”
Conor Donoghue, brewer at The Lamb in Chiswick, West London, says customers love to interact with the brewers, and are more likely to buy beer brewed on the pub’s 1,000-litre kit than beers made elsewhere. “The public aspect is a big part of the attraction,” he says. “It gives people a chance to get involved. It has its drawbacks as well: sometimes people ask questions when you’ve reached a crucial stage, but generally people understand that you’re working.”
The Lamb, which opened in September last year, had a brewing break earlier this year when a new kit was installed. “Within a week of putting the brewery back in, sales jumped,” says Donoghue, 26. “You can put in some of the best craft-beers from around the world, but people want to drink what’s being brewed six feet away from them.”
Of course, a handsome brewery doesn’t come cheap. Hawksworth estimates that it costs at least £70k for “good-quality equipment”, with the installation and fit-out costs on top of that. “But the rewards are high if you produce good beer,” he adds. “You can brew beer in a plastic bucket which has a very low set-up cost but this doesn’t look very good and the beer tends to be poor quality.
“There is no warehousing, wholesale, transport or management costs to add to the beer, which generally means you can brew beer for 50 per cent less than you would otherwise buy from a brewery or wholesaler.”
Britain is not alone in having embraced the brewpub. The current movement, like so many in the world of brewing, began in the US, where – as of March this year – there were more than 1,100 in operation. Mills says he takes regular visits to the US to ensure The Foundry is living up to the standards being set across the Atlantic.
“We try to get to the States once a year, not necessarily to copy what they’re brewing but to copy the customer service,” he says. “It’s the presentation, the attention to detail. That’s what we’re interested in. That gives us a good kick up the arse every year.”
For Hawksworth, it’s the quality of the beer that makes brewing on site so worthwhile. “The most understated benefit is that of quality and freshness,” he says. “I knew a dairy farmer and I swear that the milk I drank from his tanks was the best I’ve ever experienced. The same goes for beer in a brewery. On-site brewing is the only way to ensure that the beer is served at its freshest and has travelled a spitting distance from brewery to cellar.”
