When stocks are sold Beavertown will no longer feature on our site.
Of the scores of fantastic breweries in London they were in a very small minority of about three that were a pain to deal with. Actually, we didn’t deal with Beavertown per se. Since we started operating three years ago they have refused to add us to their direct distribution list as “demand was too high to take us on” while they concentrated on brokering deals with supermarkets. Helping the little guy eh? Of course they have no obligation to help anyone but we towed the line because they sell lots of beer and they were part of my own craft beer education, certainly in London at least. The writing was on the wall.
The crux of it is Beavertown have never been a brewery that have been part of the fabric of what we are building here yet heroes like Pressure Drop, Kew, Five Points, Weird Beard and countless others have (like an Oscar speech I’m afraid I don’t have time to mention you all but it’s a lot). While I asked awkward questions in the early days to these guys like “do you deliver?” and “can I order just four cases?” Beavertown asked us to go through expensive and crazy distribution routes instead – London beer from north to south via Manchester ? Yes, as insane as it was frustrating.
I’m sure to this day Beavertown don’t even know we exist but that’s not the point. This all sounds a little bitter but I’m simply adding context to a one-sided break up. The ramblings are that of a jilted lover moaning to their best friend – I’m sad and mad and shocked. I love Beavertown and always have. From the beer to the artwork and everything in between they are awesome at making beer. I can just about forgive them the rest but you can see that we probably saw this coming based on their track record.
The craft discussion is a long trodden and much argued point but from where we stand we believe that the essence of craft beer is it’s independent roots. Heineken don’t care about the trends, love, attention and craftsmanship that most London brewers do. They see a slice of the market. End of. Sure we all want to build successful businesses but we don’t believe in the ethics and direction of the Big Beer giants. That’s not why most brewers get into brewing great beer, at least I think not and sincerely hope not. I’ve met too many people in London affiliated with craft beer breweries to think otherwise. It’s about creating something unique, special and with soul not banging out units. All macro breweries want, in my humble opinion, is to take over something that is standing on their toes. It might be with a mouse-like pressure but stand on their toes they are are. We would rather concentrate our time, money, effort and focus on people who have their heart in craft beer. I’d say good luck to Beavertown but I wouldn’t mean it. Again I hope there not too much bitterness in that statement, it’s not intended, I just think they had an amazing opportunity to expand under their own steam and think this is bad news for great beer. They could have kept the core and the credibility of their business alive without this dirty Heineken cash but they they clearly think they need it. You can’t take over the world without shaking hands with the devil and their new fiery partner now has a vice-like grip.
So long and thanks for some groundbreaking beer
Beer of the month: The Experiment Requires That You Continue by Pressure Drop Brewing and Verdant
Great beer. Even better breweries. This is my favourite beer in the last month to land on the site not because of how drinkable it is or how fantastically packed with flavour it is but more about where it’s come from and the two breweries that combined to make it.
On the one hand we have Verdant. The Kernow outfit that have been making massive (Cornish surfer style) waves with their incredible hop soups and modern beer.
On the other we have Pressure Drop. An expanding north London set up who have come into their own in the last two year and are now firmly chasing down some of the best in the capital.
For my personal tastes these two releasing this beer and coming together is almost the perfect partnership – and that’s why it’s my beer of the month.
Falmouth is hardly the brewing capital of the UK, it’s hardly anything to think of it in terms of beer so when new brewery Verdant started to get rave reviews on social media outside of their home county the people of the UK pricked up their beery ears and started to seek out these new hop-forward beers. Hens teeth does not come close. Selling out in seconds and always in demand this brewery have dominated craft beer drinkers “must-try” up and down the UK and remains so years on. Their widespread appeal and demand is more quaint the more you look at their background. Falmouth is more maritime than monster IPAs but that’s exactly what Verdant started to do and have not deviated from since. From nowhere in 2014 to one of the most sought after beers in tap rooms and beer delivery boxes up and down the land the breweries main players Adam and James have created exactly what they set out to do. “we had decided that hoppy beers were what we wanted to be drinking. Think juicy, hoppy, unfiltered hazy beers and always vegan!”
Since then the beers have flowed thick and fast – sometimes way too fast for them to keep up with demand – but when you see Verdant on the label you always know you’re going to get high-hop, high flavour, high craftsmanship in that can or bottle of beer. So when the chance to take them onto the site came along I jumped at it when they announced their partnership with Pressure Drop.
Pressure Drop have not enjoyed quite the meteoric rise that the west country boys have managed but that’s not to say their output is any less impressive. Their beginnings are just as humble as the aforementioned Falmouth warehouse. 2013 saw a shed and a few friends give birth to an idea that is now very impressive Pressure Drop brewery. Armed with a very solid and very suppable core range (Pale Fire, Bosko and Street Porter etc) the unit are now one of the main players in north London after expanding into new premises in Tottenham.
Their beers, core and otherwise, are always very well rounded and smooth and have a somewhat playful edge to them. From the slightly 70s wallpaper style artwork to the zesty and punch tasting notes of Wallbanger Wit and Cast Iron Billy you know you’re onto a good thing with a Pressure Drop beer. What most excited me however about this beer collab was that Pressure Drop have recently been nailing the hop-forward beer like there’s no tomorrow. Stepping up a level from the go-to Bosko IPA is Domino Topple. You can go up a gear again to Alligator Tugboat and them mellow off again with the recent Parachute DDH. The main thing here is this brewery know exactly what to do with hops and when it comes to making a moody, cloudy hop-swamp of a beer then you’d be happy to let them take charge. Add into the mix the earlier protagonists and their affiliation with modern hop flavours and you have a marriage made in heaven. Two hop-forward, knowledgeable breweries coming together to brew something they both clearly have a passion for and are exemplary at doing. The result is a wonderful blend of two great minds and one great beer. A hazy New England style IPA – I think deserves to be dropped in every Craft Metropolis box this month.
In case you missed it we added a load of new beers this month – here’s a selection of the best sellers in July
I’m not sure if it’s the belting weather but this has been the biggest seller of the month so far. A brilliant collab between our very own Weird Beard and Port Street Brew house in (Manchester) and Lervig (Norway). Frog is not too heavy on the fruit and the gooseberry is subtle and slightly bitter. Behind that there is a solid classic modern pale ale flavour with a tart tang and a smooth an somewhat creamy finish. Classic summer suppin’. We are down to our last case of this so grab your while you can.
I can’t lie the other beers shifting in rapid fashion in July have also been Weird Beard-tinged. Little Things has made a return and has been a solid favourite while Cardinal and Darkside have been steady Centennial has been lapped up by you. One of our personal beers of the year – super strong and with the front flavours of melting Refreshers it’s great to have it back!
Another newbie filling the boxes has been this untraditional offering from Walthamstow. It’s the only beer they do but it’s sooooo good. So so easy to drink this is a must-try for lager fans and beer fans in general. “Clean and crisp “is an often over used term but this is exactly that. But it has a grassy freshness that really lifts it and marks out out as a brilliant beer for this weather. Again another top notch beer for sinking in the sun.
Last but not least are the Bianca Road range. A really interesting set of beers here and doing well. There’s a definite modern edge to them but they are very understated and hold lots of nods to classic styles. They’re not quite punch-you-in-the-chops out there in terms of tasting notes but seem more than happy to sit there and deliver strong and perfectly balanced styles. One to watch out for.
Cheers for buying beer, listening to our rambles and being awesome in general.
Oli
Founder, Craft Metropolis
Craft Beer has always prided itself on being a fight against mass-produced breweries that have traded quality for quantity. However as craft beer has gained popularity, once independent micro-breweries are growing into international multi-million pound businesses. Brands like BrewDog are now setting their sights on reaching the same heights as the very brewers they once fought against – even though they may not admit it. What’s more is those very same mass-produced multi-national breweries have now clocked on to the craft beer market, and are starting to brew craft beer of their own, or how they market as “craft beer” anyway. So is BrewDog now sacrificing quality to take a seat with the big dogs?
BrewDog started brewing in the UK back when craft beer was seen as a small obscure trend that would at best turn into a quirky niche. They used shock tactics, a ballsy carefree approach and smashed through all expectations, managing not only to become the biggest producers of craft beer in the UK but also managed to bring craft beer into the mainstream. You could argue that they were perhaps what Nirvana was to the Grunge movement, they brought the movement to the masses, whilst being shunned by the movement itself for being too mainstream.
BrewDog remains very popular amongst the general public however writers of craft beer such as, Jack Peat have been highly critical. In the London Economic Jack wrote a pretty damning article about Brew Dog where he criticised the brewery for capitalising the words “craft” and “punk” against the very ethos they represent, citing an incident where they forced to change its name for using the word “punk” in its name as they owned the trademark to the word.
It’s not the first time that BrewDog has made a questionable legal dispute with an article in Beer Today discussing how a small independent craft beer bar by the name of The Wolf fell into conflict with brewery over the use of its brand Lone Wolf. Jack goes on to point out the irony that whilst BrewDog shaped and defined what British craft beer is, it now destroying the very meaning of what “craft” is and is instead joining the multinationals of whom they set up to fight against.
However whilst many craft beer enthusiasts continue to criticise BrewDog, BrewDog themselves continue to maintain a fight against the multi-national breweries that acquire small independent breweries. On their website’s blog they wrote an article about the sale of Camden Town Brewery to AB InBev arguing that this would result in a drastic reduction in the taste and quality of the beer, maintaining a strong stance towards the independence of craft beer which Renegade Brewery applauded.
Despite BrewDog’s impressive growth they remain an independent brewery that is philosophically devoted to craft beer and although their taste may be viewed by some as more generic and now mainstream without them the beer scene in th eUK and the flavour of the beer we love wouldn’t be what it is today. They found a way of selling craft beer to the mass market and everyone copied to some extent. But now as a larger company themselves they need to be more honest as to where they are and where they are going. No more faux-punk. To truly take their brand to the next level it’s not about sales (they will come) but they need to seize the power they have created and remain an important ally against the multi-nationals that have little interest in craft beer other than the lucrative profits it delivers. BrewDog’s ethos will continue to be questioned as they adapt to being a larger brewery that once prided itself on being small, but their commitment to good quality beer will never end.
Just a very quick blog post to wish all our much appreciated customers a very merry Christmas and a brilliant New Year. 2016 has been a bit of a brute in one way or another – so here’s looking to a rosy and productive and fun 2017.
From a Craft Metropolis point of view we are now into our second year of online trading now and still standing so that’s something – and one in the eye for 2016! Personally I’ve never been so busy, had a head full of ideas and reminders or been so challenged in every way. It’s certainly been a harsh but eye-opening learning experience. What I do know is I love craft beer world and selling craft beer almost as much as trying it and drinking it! If it’s one box of ale for the festive period or a lifetime of amazing beer posted to your door – we want to thank you one and all for helping us through another 12 months of beer related fun. Onwards and upwards into year two but it’s not with dread or worry we step into 2017 it’s with excitement – it has to be.
Thanks again to one and all who have helped, supported and added anything to our passion for better beer.
See you in 2017 beer lovers!
Step 1
We trawl the globe tasting great beer
