Brixton - beer, craft ale and brewery news and discussion

[CH1]

I felt moved to post this snippet from last Tuesday's Standard - which illustrates the continuing consolidation and manipulation in the real ale market.

Roger Protz - the doyen of beer fanciers has a detailed anaysis: https://protzonbeer.co.uk/comments/2020/05/23/merger-will-marston-s-lose-its-pedigree

All this could affect beer choice in Brixton. I don't know much about the more expensive pubs, but from what I've seen the Effra Social for example carries Martson's real ale brands. Wetherspoons pubs generally have a fair quota of Marstons on hand-pump, particularly at the Fox on the Hill.

Also important - at least to me - is choice in the bottled ale market. Tescos, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons all sell a lot of Marstons bottle ales (under all sorts of names. Marstons unusually took over other breweries and kept many of them open and trading. Unlike Greene King, which asset stripped its targets - except Bellhaven. As Roger Protz points out Greene King was itself taken over by a Hong Kong hedge fund last year).

 

[CH1]

Lidl has started stocking this in their "craft ale" cans section. The reviews below done by typical beer fanciers talking of "grassy notes" etc dispute the definitions - ie it's not what is says on the tin! (though the tin got a German design Award 2020)
Reviewer no1 is quite damning, but no2 likes the taste very much. I thought it was pretty good myself.

SteamBrew ( Lidl ) Session IPA

 

[nick]

Here's one that I hadn't heard of: Friendship Adventure
Beer Selection

Coldharbour lane - and they give a small amount to Baytree Centre with every order - which is better than nothing

 

[CH1]

Here's one that I hadn't heard of: Friendship Adventure
Beer Selection

Coldharbour lane - and they give a small amount to Baytree Centre with every order - which is better than nothing

Gramsci reported on their licensing hearing Loughborough Junction chitter-chatter

 

[nick]

Bloody gramsci with his bloody finger on the bloody pulse.
How can the rest of us hope to contribute news if he is always there first ?

 

[CH1]

I went to a meting at the Crown and Sceptre today [former Wetherspoon top of Brixton Hill].
Service was quite efficient - but in order to choose a beer I actually had to saunter over to a roped off bar to look at the pump clips.

My choice went to Twickenham Naked Ladies. I've had it before at the Peckam Wetherspoons pre covid.
Really good beer - unusual hopping. Perhaps a bit like Adnams Ghost Ship, if people are familiar with that.

Twickenham brewery seems worthy of support from the real ale crowd. Glad to see the owners of the Crown and Sceptre still keeping these local real ale brewers on.

 

[CH1]

This surprised me at the Fox on the Hill today

Portobello Brewery "session ale". No American hops. Tasted like a more refined version of Sam Brooks Pump House.
As a former employee (of Decca) I had to try it. It is what it is. No notes of "The Rolling Stones" or "Götterdämerung" however.

 

[Callie]

Anyone had any Dogs Grandad beers? Think they have a place on Brixton Station Rd?

 

[alex_]

Anyone had any Dogs Grandad beers? Think they have a place on Brixton Station Rd?

Their tap room is good - they have some interesting beers on - their own, but a good range

 

[Torpid Scorpion]

The (dogs grandad) black ipa was quite good.

 

[CH1]

The (dogs grandad) black ipa was quite good.

sounds worth trying.

 

[alex_]

Their tap room is good - they have some interesting beers on - their own, but a good range

Though to be fair best tap room in Brixton is london beer lab.

 

[CH1]

There is a nice centre page spread in the latest Brixton Bugle about local brewers - including asking each which beer they like from their competitors. Nice to see a non-divisive approach.
The one BusLanes sampled is mentioned but not reviewed or interviewed
The pictures on Google make it look rather grand Craft Metropolis - Brixton · Arch 263, 241 Coldharbour Ln, London SW9 8RR

 

[CH1]

I thought this comment by a YouTuber on the NEW Carlsberg Hobgoblin Ruby Ale ought to be parked somewhere, where better than here?

 

[CH1]

Shocked and awed to find two non-Sam Brooks guest ales in the Beehive last night.
Wild Card Brewery - from E17. Their website looks a bit more equal ops than might be expected from a real ale brewer About Us
As far as I can see what I had were:

and then

I'm afraid I fetched up at the Beehive about 10 pm en route from the tube station to the Gresham Rd bus stop - having just left the Prom at the Royal Albert Hall.
I was running on an empty stomach, so after those 2 pints had to send myself home.
They were delicious though.

 

[CH1]

Spoons beer prices are 10% up across the board in Holland Tringham - whose prices the Beehive normally tracks.
Guest ales now £2.83 and Abbott £3.06
This is supposed to be because of a scheduled HMRC increase and a change to a system more based on strengths as measured in abv (said to be disadvantageous to wines).

Rates of duty (per litre of pure alcohol) from 1 August 2023​

Beer​

Alcohol by volume (ABV)	Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product
0 to 1.2%	0.00
1.3% to 3.4%	9.27
3.5% to 8.4%	21.01
8.5% to 22%	28.50
Stronger than 22%	31.64

Maybe there will be new beers coming out at 3.4% abv or less - a considerable tax advantage there.
NB there are supposed to be lower alcohol duty rates available for small producers and brewers selling their own - but the website is too fiendishly difficult for me to interpret.

Check if you can pay less Alcohol Duty on draught products

If you trade in draught products, find out if you could pay a reduced rate of Alcohol Duty.

www.gov.uk

Note 2: tax on SPARKLING WINE (Prosecco presumably) is DOWN according to the BBC website - which also says draught beers have not gone up.

All in all this 10% Wetherspoon price rise looks like another ploy by Tim Martin to claim the drinker is being rooked by Rishi Sunak whereas in actual fact Martin himself is increasing his margins.
Anybody know if Brixton venues generally have put prices up from 1st August?

 

[jimbarkanoodle]

Maybe there will be new beers coming out at 3.4% abv or less - a considerable tax advantage there.

Carlsberg recently were found to be (they somehow failed to officially announce this major change) reducing their already laughably weak lager from 3.8 to 3.4% from August 1st. This stuff is drank in 140 countries all over the world, everywhere else it is 5% except the UK

 

[skyscraper101]

I'll bet actual money on John Smith's smooth reducing their 3.6% to 3.4% soon.

 

[RoyReed]

Spoons beer prices are 10% up across the board in Holland Tringham - whose prices the Beehive normally tracks.
Guest ales now £2.83 and Abbott £3.06
This is supposed to be because of a scheduled HMRC increase and a change to a system more based on strengths as measured in abv (said to be disadvantageous to wines).

Rates of duty (per litre of pure alcohol) from 1 August 2023​

Beer​

Alcohol by volume (ABV)	Amount of duty in £ (pounds) for each litre of pure alcohol in the product
0 to 1.2%	0.00
1.3% to 3.4%	9.27
3.5% to 8.4%	21.01
8.5% to 22%	28.50
Stronger than 22%	31.64

Maybe there will be new beers coming out at 3.4% abv or less - a considerable tax advantage there.
NB there are supposed to be lower alcohol duty rates available for small producers and brewers selling their own - but the website is too fiendishly difficult for me to interpret.

Check if you can pay less Alcohol Duty on draught products

If you trade in draught products, find out if you could pay a reduced rate of Alcohol Duty.

www.gov.uk

Note 2: tax on SPARKLING WINE (Prosecco presumably) is DOWN according to the BBC website - which also says draught beers have not gone up.

All in all this 10% Wetherspoon price rise looks like another ploy by Tim Martin to claim the drinker is being rooked by Rishi Sunak whereas in actual fact Martin himself is increasing his margins.
Anybody know if Brixton venues generally have put prices up from 1st August?

But the new taxes exclude any tax rises on beer in pubs.

Tax jumps on wine and spirits but falls on fizz

A shake-up of the duties levied on alcoholic drinks will push up the price of stronger drinks.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[CH1]

But the new taxes exclude any tax rises on beer in pubs.

Tax jumps on wine and spirits but falls on fizz

A shake-up of the duties levied on alcoholic drinks will push up the price of stronger drinks.

www.bbc.co.uk

The bit Tim Martin wanted (from your link) was this
"Tax on draught beer in pubs will be up to 11p lower than tax on supermarket beer as a result of the changes - a measure that was announced in the Budget earlier this year."

But has this happened? Morissons Camberwell says yes - there are no bottled beers at less than £2 except loss leading specials such as Hobgoblin Fire Eater 3.5% £1
On the other hand Lidl and Aldi srill have lots of bottled beers @ £1.45-£1.59.

PS popped into the Beehive tonight
Guests are £2.78 Abbot £3.00 Ruddles still £1.71 (as opposed to £1.88 in Holland Trirngham)
Also Shipyard - keg "craft ale" Wetherspoons own brand is £2.78
Monday Club - £2.50
Worthingtons 3.6% keg £2.49

I think I saw Guinness £4.07 (and Stella etc) so I guess they are segmenting their customer base.
I think Leffe - 6.6% for chronic alcoholics is £4.59 - seems cheap!

 

[nick]

They have a beer called Monday Club ?
Is that a joke by someone in wetherspoons that remembers late 20th century right wing pressure groups ?

 

[CH1]

They have a beer called Monday Club ?
Is that a joke by someone in wetherspoons that remembers late 20th century right wing pressure groups ?

Never thought of that - Monday Club is a discounted price on Mondays on some drinks, normally a quiet day.
They have Curry Club on Thursdays when you could have a curry including a pint for a (now not so) bargain price.
Also Steak Club on Tuesdays. All part of the churn to titillate the fancy of customers.

 

[jimbarkanoodle]

Pubs will still put the price up on draft beer and blame it on the latest tax rises. Many put the price up by £1+ after the lockdowns even though they received various government grants and furloughed all their staff. The excuse was they needed to make back the money they lost for being closed for months, but that money was made back pretty quickly with the inflated prices, but of course the prices didn't then revert to what they were. Pure greed by pubcos (rarely by individual managers) and breweries supplying them who constantly hike the price of kegs whenever their is a whiff of an excuse to do so.

 

[CH1]

Pubs will still put the price up on draft beer and blame it on the latest tax rises. Many put the price up by £1+ after the lockdowns even though they received various government grants and furloughed all their staff. The excuse was they needed to make back the money they lost for being closed for months, but that money was made back pretty quickly with the inflated prices, but of course the prices didn't then revert to what they were. Pure greed by pubcos (rarely by individual managers) and breweries supplying them who constantly hike the price of kegs whenever their is a whiff of an excuse to do so.

Which Pubco is Bread and Roses?
Last month I was in there for a regular monthly event and the only drinkable beer as Brixton Brewery Atlantic @ £6.40.
If they operate on a 10% increase like Wetherspoons have it'll be over £7 per pint next time!

 

[jimbarkanoodle]

Which Pubco is Bread and Roses?
Last month I was in there for a regular monthly event and the only drinkable beer as Brixton Brewery Atlantic @ £6.40.
If they operate on a 10% increase like Wetherspoons have it'll be over £7 per pint next time!

I thought they might have been independent. Not been there in a while but I recall the San Miguel was always reasonable enough in price. The hefty price on the Brixton Brewery beer is more likely due to Heineken charging loads for the keg which they keep increasing. I also think if they did put their prices up to £7 for it people would pay it, as its an affluent area. The pub a little up the way 'The Clapham Tap' I think it's called, looks pretty posh from the outside and stinks of £7.30 pints of 'Neck Oil', made by Beavertown which is another London brewery snapped up by Heineken for big bucks.

 

[sparkybird]

Which Pubco is Bread and Roses?
Last month I was in there for a regular monthly event and the only drinkable beer as Brixton Brewery Atlantic @ £6.40.
If they operate on a 10% increase like Wetherspoons have it'll be over £7 per pint next time!

It's an independant run by the Workers Beer Company Workers Beer Company - Event Bars | Festival Bars

The Bread & Roses is an award-winning free house right in the heart of Clapham. Owned by The Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council (BWTUC) and run by the Workers Beer Company, part of BWTUC Trading, it prides itself as a pub with a social consciousness​

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Which Pubco is Bread and Roses?
Last month I was in there for a regular monthly event and the only drinkable beer as Brixton Brewery Atlantic @ £6.40.
If they operate on a 10% increase like Wetherspoons have it'll be over £7 per pint next time!

If you have B’n’Roses pale ale it’s fairly cheap for Clapham. Pints do seem to be heading for £7 in many places in London.

Why is sparkling wine reduced in price in the bbc list?

 

[CH1]

If you have B’n’Roses pale ale it’s fairly cheap for Clapham. Pints do seem to be heading for £7 in many places in London.

Why is sparkling wine reduced in price in the bbc list?

No idea. I think the BBC probably work on Chancellor's budget speeches. I'm sure I remember one Chancellor or another putting a tax on Prosecco.
This 2021 explainer from the Manchester Evening News (of all papers) deals swith Proescco and fruit cider in section 3 - but doesn't say where the premium tax rate originated.

Alcohol tax system overhaul - what it means for the price of booze

Changes to alcohol tax will see the price of Prosecco and fruit cider drop, and the cost of a pint in a pub reduced by 3p

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[CH1]

It's an independant run by the Workers Beer Company Workers Beer Company - Event Bars | Festival Bars

The Bread & Roses is an award-winning free house right in the heart of Clapham. Owned by The Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council (BWTUC) and run by the Workers Beer Company, part of BWTUC Trading, it prides itself as a pub with a social consciousness​

Yes well on their website it say "In 1985 the annual GLC Jobs for a Change festival was looking for a bigger venue. BWTUC had already booked Battersea Park and agreed to use it for the GLC event. Over 250,000 people descended thirstily on BWTUC-run bars and a serious amount of money was raised for the labour movement. At the September BWTUC general council meeting, it was decided that a proper trading company should be set up to manage this flourishing fundraising activity. It was inaugurated in time to run a bar at the GLC Christmas Party for the Unemployed in Finsbury Park. There was a working title for this new organisation throughout the planning that somehow just stuck – the Workers Beer Company was born."

It's still a very expensive pub.

 

[zedr]

Yes well on their website it say "In 1985 the annual GLC Jobs for a Change festival was looking for a bigger venue. BWTUC had already booked Battersea Park and agreed to use it for the GLC event. Over 250,000 people descended thirstily on BWTUC-run bars and a serious amount of money was raised for the labour movement. At the September BWTUC general council meeting, it was decided that a proper trading company should be set up to manage this flourishing fundraising activity. It was inaugurated in time to run a bar at the GLC Christmas Party for the Unemployed in Finsbury Park. There was a working title for this new organisation throughout the planning that somehow just stuck – the Workers Beer Company was born."

It's still a very expensive pub.

having worked there they were very hostile to attempts to unionise the bar staff and pay a living wage. fortunately we got furloughed over the first lockdown on the living wage (only thx to local union members and branches sending the owner angry emails), but i dont think its unionised yet. would take any of its claims about having 'social consciousness' with an enormous pinch of salt.

still, always liked drinking there and a (mostly) nice set of regulars. got a good set of regular gigs and the small theatre upstairs does some interesting bits tho thats not really my thing.