Brixton: Beer Passport journey part 2
Last time ( https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/looking-for-my-passport-i-m-going-drinking ) I explained the new discovery for me that is the London Beer Passport 2025. Let’s just say I am having a busy May. And one of the places that it led me was Brixton.
Some random facts first. Nobody knows exactly when and where the Saxon chief Brixis put down his boundary stone that gives the place its name. Electric Avenue is claimed as the first shopping street ever to have electric lights (Wikipedia says cautiously “one of the first”). The Labour Exchange on Coldharbour Lane happens to be the nearest one to the place where the newly arrived Empire Windrush passengers were given temporary housing, which is why many sought permanent accommodation in the area. It is now renowned as a place to seek out night time entertainment. It currently has a local councillor who glories in the name of Scarlett O’Hara. And it has four great brewery venues.
I began at the Harlem Brewing Company bar in Brixton Village Market. Harlem has a tremendous back story, going back to New York in 2000 when Celeste Beatty became the first black woman to found a brewery. Celeste initially worked in the voluntary sector, but seems to have become interested in beer during a visit to Africa where she discovered women brewing beer in traditional ways. Back in the US she was gifted a homebrewing kit and began to experiment. She was involved in running the Harlem Ben and Jerrys and saw how a business of this kind could be a galvanising force for good within a community. So she founded her brewery and made a great success of it. Eventually, in 2024 she formed a partnership with the Supercute brewery (of which more anon) for them to use Harlem branding for their Brixton bar and to sell beers produced to Harlem recipes.
Brixton Village was as noisy and lively as you would expect, even allowing for the fact that it was a Wednesday early evening. The guy behind the bar took the very helpful stance of “let me tell you what’s fresh”. He suggested the “He He” lager, which was indeed extremely fresh and went down well given that I had just got off my bike having cycled from Battersea. I followed this with the “Crybaby” Hazy IPA. Then, finally, the “Black is Beautiful” 7% hazy IPA - an old Harlem recipe - which was my favourite of the evening.
I saw “Supercute” branding so sought clarification. The barman explained how this was basically a Supercute bar, albeit one that brewed Harlem recipes. I was intrigued about Supercute so I looked them up. My research introduced me to Mr Hammant Patel Villa. The publicly available material is a bit short on facts and figures, but a vivid picture emerges of this gentleman who is clearly a leading light of the Brixton night time economy. He runs the “Courtesan” Dim Sum and Burlesque (now there’s a combination) venue. So far as I can tell, “Supercute” began as a brand for dance parties. The brewery dates back to 2015. Then, in 2024, at the same time as the partnership deal with Celeste Beatty, it acquired the two premises - the Brixton Village bar and a Coldharbour Lane brewhouse - from the brewery Friendship Adventure.
Mr Patel Villa greeted this expansion enthusiastically. “Supercute is a movement, not just a bar. Supercute embodies the spirit of rebellion and creativity… We’re dedicated to shaking up the norm and offer an uplifting experience that stands out in the urban landscape. Supercute wants you to dance!”. (The website Brixton Buzz reported his words in full as part of its news story, prefaced with the words “Here’s some of the hyperbolic marketing guff”. I wish more journalists would do that when given a press notice to include in an article).
I found CAMRA’s web page relating to Supercute. It gets straight to the point and says simply “no cask ale”. So that’s them told. Nothing to see here for the good honest CAMRA member (which, apparently, I am not).
I paid a separate visit a few days later to the Coldharbour Lane brewhouse. The Supercute branding - fonts and images - is very distinctive. I can see why some hardcore beer people might worry that more effort had gone into the vibe than into the beer. But the beer is very good. I accepted the recommendation of a pint of Renaissance Wit (excellent pun, incidentally): a Harlem recipe inspired by Celeste’s travels in Africa, “lightly hopped with rich coriander, cumin, grains of paradise [?], orange peel and natural orange flavours”. The Harlem website says that it goes well with fried Croaker. Unable to find a fried Croaker for love nor money in the vicinity, I settled for the generous bowl of popcorn that one receives with one’s beer in Supercute. After a bit of a conversation with the bar guy, I chose the very pleasant “Mama” Gluten Free pale as my second pint. I have stopped being surprised at the ever higher quality of Gluten Free brewing - see Siren Craft Lumina for an excellent example.
On a different occasion, I returned to Brixton to check out the London Beer Lab, and I am very glad that I did. To say that this is “all about the beer” is true but does not quite do it justice - this small scruffy place is a veritable temple to the science of brewing. They have their core range and some excellent guests. They also have the “nanos” - very small batch concoctions which you need to try immediately because next time they will have been replaced with something else. The “Lab” brand worked and you got the sense that the guys behind the bar were fully bought into it. I chose a couple of nanos for my Passport deal - a Pina Colada pale and a Fruit Sour (fruit sours can of course be garish but this was a good beer colour and a balanced flavour).
Then I went to have a look at what other nanos they had. They were delighted to offer me different things to taste. I was intrigued initially by their “Belgian Stout”. They encouraged me to try “The Devil’s Number” (6.66% ABV - geddit?) dark Belgian ale - so basically a Dubbel and absolutely delicious. (I would encourage them to seek a tie-in with Iron Maiden, but I think that Robinson’s “The Trooper” would take some shifting as the Maidenista beer of choice). I knew I only had one beer left in me that evening and I was determined to try the “Jean Claude Van Damn” dessert ale. 14.3% (!) and not an Imperial Stout - the guy behind the bar explained that they were seeking more the effect of a fine Pedro Ximinez sherry, and I would say that they were succeeding pretty well.
Subsequently I visited Bullfinch in nearby Herne Hill and enjoyed their two excellent Beer Lab collabs. Bullfinch is another venue I will return to - Bird House just up the road was a bit big and loud for my taste.
That left one place on my list - Brixton Brewery itself. Those who obsess about beer politics will know that there is a move to replace the word “Craft” with “Indie” as the mark of a good beer. I am slow to damn those who have secured themselves a large partner and this visit confirmed me in my view. Brixton began in authentic Craft fashion in 2011, with two couples (including the wonderfully named Xochitl Benjamin, who now sits alongside Hammant Patel Villa on the board of the Brixton Business Improvement District) meeting in a bar and deciding to give it a go. In 2018, they record on their website, “a surprise approach from the global brewer Heineken leads to a partnership and investment to build a much larger brewery in Brixton - the dream!”. Then, in 2021, “we decided to go into full partnership, selling the brewery fully with the founders still operating and leading Brixton Brewery independently”.
I arrived at their taproom wondering if it would be a large soulless corporate beer hall peddling the high volume staples. Au contraire. It had the slightly scruffy and laid back air of a small brewery. Again I was allowed to try anything I wanted, and then to opt for a flexible BOGOF deal of four halves for the price of one pint. I went for a very interesting collection - “Raita Passage” cucumber and mint lager, “Craftwerk” (Arbor collab) apricot Berliner weisse, “Spicy Larg” botanical lager and “Stack my Beech Up” smoked lager. Some great ideas, very well executed. I closed with a half of Reliance pale, which has nailed its position as the staple craft beer at the Oval nearby.
The guys behind the bar were passionate about the Brixton brand and their operational independence. One of them did actually say “f- Heineken”, but I am sure he was joking as he went on to acknowledge the value of Heineken’s investment at a tough time for breweries.
So yes, at the risk of labelling the point, my philosophy is that “Indie” ownership is not essential for good beer. My most disappointing experience of the tour so far - in terms of customer experience - was at the impeccably independent Salt. That said, I did go away disgruntled when I tried to visit the Camden Brewery beer hall and no, they could not serve me because the bar was shut shortly before closing time… anyway, much as I would love to blame AB InBev, I think it was just one of those things.
18 breweries done. Brixton has been the focus of this blog but it would be remiss not to give a shout out to Orbit in Kennington for their beautiful Lentebock strong lager, and to Werewolf in Camden for their Creepster American Brown Ale (and for being generally bonkers). To any that I have visited and not mentioned, my apologies. I have not had a single bad pint on my travels and I can't mention everyone. London beer seems to be in good hands.
[For the facts of what I have visited so far, read https://www.londonbiermeister.co.uk/blog/annex-beer-passport-the-story-so-far ]