Ozzy hops for hipsters’ tipple: London Fields Brewery opens

August Bank Holiday weekend saw the official launch of the London Fields Brewery

If a dip in the lido leaves you feeling parched, try this for a thirst quencher: five bitters and a clean, crisp lager… though perhaps not all at once.

The first new brewery in Hackney since the 19th century threw open its doors to drinkers for three days over the long weekend last month. As well as a range of ales with names like Hackney Hopstar and Love Not War – a variety staff say they cooked up while barricaded inside the brewery during the Hackney riots – the London Fields Brewery boasts an exclusive London Fields lager.

The venture is the brainchild of partners Ian Burgess and Jules Whiteway, who met only met a few months ago after being introduced by a mutual friend after Ian returned from a holiday in Australia inspired to take up brewing. Ian already runs Climpson and Sons coffee shop in Broadway Market, where a tonne of coffee is roasted per week. He and Jules realised they shared ideas and attitudes and decided to study the brewing process in detail with the aim of setting up London Fields brewery together.

They employ traditional brewing techniques with an Antipodean twist; they source their hops from Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Ian said that he was excited with the new business, adding: “We are working in a growth area.” There are currently four independent microbrewers working in the wider east London area from Leyton, through Hackney to Bethnal Green.

The brewery is tucked away down a quiet little back street, Helmsley Place, a hundred metres from the railway side of the London Fields. Ian explained the brewing process, from the raw ingredients; hops, barley and malts, to the end product; finely crafted beer. That involves the brewing – which takes six to seven hours, fermenting, and lastly the conditioning, which has to be at least two weeks. The whole process can be finished in as little as three weeks.

Currently the brewery is only producing small quantities, but Ian is confident that by the end of the year they will have progressed to a 12-barrel brewery system. This will allow them to make up to 40 casks at a time – that’s 2,920 pints of beer.

A large and airy space with a yard at the front, inside the brewery is clean and light with brightly painted kegs stacked up at the front. It’s equipped with several stainless steel barrels for the lager and large wood panelled vats for brewing bitters.

London Fields Brewery
374 Helmsley Place
London Fields
E8 3SB