Balham Birthday Blowout, Brick Bangers & a Wild Card Collab Preview
H E L L O
C L A P T O N C R A F T
F A N S !
Well who'd have thought it, our Balham baby turns the big one this week! To celebrate it's fair to say we've got quite a lot in store for you SW12 goers, so scroll on down for the full details. In the meantime there's Peckham-produced perfection from Brick, plus the first details on a rather outrageous collab with Walthamstow wonders Wild Card. Across the shops there's picks from Howling Hops, Lost & Grounded, Mackmyra and more. Finally, there's freshies from Affinity and Gipsy Hill tagging onto another dose of internet-located hype. Think your Cloudwater, your Tilquin, your Gravity Well, your Siren. But first, it's onto one of our OG brewing besties...
B R E W E R Y
O F T H E
W E E K
Born back in 2013 Brick have built their brilliant reputation from the ground up, so much so that not a delivery goes by without us cracking something open from the team. Blending an inimitable core range including their crispy Pils perfection, and New England Session IPA stunner with specials galore, they've not only become masters of seasonality but also format and finesse. And, to celebrate their efforts you can grab 10% off any six or more online, with double loyalty points in store. With a trio of fresh fun below, it's a bit of a no-brainer...
Of course, most of you will know Brick for their sour sorcery first and foremost, so you bet we were quick to snag a few tantalising tarts. Mimicking a Tequila Sunrise their Pomegranate & Orange Peel is the perfect place to start. Dry, tannic, and citrusy, they recommend 'sipping it, staring slowly across the sky'. Next up, Two Ways, a Sour IPA with rising stars Pastore. Bringing together their two approaches for souring and fermenting this intense Yuzu and Gooseberry effort is then dry-hopped with Motueka, Nelson Sauvin, and Citra. Shaking things up just a touch is Black Light. A low-roast, tropical Black IPA brewed with their friends at Neon Raptor this blends malt magic with fresh hop vibrancy. Floral, unique, and as autumnal as it gets there's never been a better time to try something new alongside their fridge-filling essentials.
B A L H A M
T U R N S
O N E !
Having kicked off our Balham celebrations last night with natural wine pals Gnarly Vines, it's been a joy to start celebrating our youngest shop. Opening a handful of months before Lockdown Numero Uno hit, it's one of our first opportunities to host an event proper. This afternoon we welcome local legends Drop Project and Mondo for a tap takeover showdown, with prizes and free Yard Sale Pizza being dished out. Rounding things off on Saturday we have the team from El Rayo showing you (and us) the hipster's G&T killer, the tequila and tonic. Make sure you swing by to cheers Dave and Chippy, who'll be serving out good vibes and serious drinks from 5pm onwards on both days for a BYOC affair (bring your own cake)...
J U I C Y J O Y
W I T H
W I L D C A R D
In what's set to be quite a hectic run of collaborations (no regrets... bar perhaps searching for petrol), we were overjoyed that hometown heroes Wild Card agreed to work on something with us. Getting stuck in at their new site, it was immediately apparent at their nearly entirely manual brewing facility, just how skillful the team is. Relying nearly wholly on their senses Jaega and co have truly raised their standards to impressive new levels. Jumping at the chance to create one of their favourite styles (and ours, predictably) this NEIPA aims to push the limits of oat-goodness with a thick and luscious malt bill that literally overflowed out the mash tun.
Fans of their Enigma IPA we've opted to use the underrated hop alongside Ella. The former offers up fresh red fruits, with crisp, refreshing white wine notes similar to Nelson Sauvin, while the latter is all prickly, floral grapefruit. Not quite content with enough hype hops we've also added the brand new (and unnamed) varietal HBC 630. Promising complex and fruity berry notes, along with sweet candy-like esters and lactones giving creamy notes of peach - we hope to add enough intrigue to the eternally juicy New England equation.
Aiming for a release in the next two weeks, we absolutely can't wait to see the fruits of our labour, and you bet we'll be sure to keep you posted as soon as it enters the world!
M A N A G E R
P I C K S
T H I S W E E K
ELLA - WOOD ST DEPOT
🃏 WILD CARD 🃏
Triceratops - Fresh, tangy & saline blackcurrant, lime & sorrel Sour.
Pterodactyl - Crushable, zingy 4.4% Pale w/ an all-star cast of hops.
Parasaurolophus - Dank IPA w/ coconut & lime peel-forward hop Sabro!
FRANKLIN - KENTISH TOWN
🇸🇪 MACKMYRA 🇸🇪
Mack - Fruity, floral single malt whisky w/ hints of vanilla and toffee.
Ek - Spicy & bourbon-like w/ notes of oaky caramel, pepper & dried herbs.
Rok - Smoky, peaty & complex whisky. Ideal for Islay fans!
HANNAH - FINSBURY PARK
🐺 HOWLING HOPS 🐺
House IPA - Vibrant mango & pineapple feature in an all-time core classic.
Famous Blue Cagoule - Zippy & dry Citra-Nelson Session Pale.
San Luis Peak - Mountain IPA, tropical juice meets w/ piney, bitter passionfruit.
DAVE - BALHAM
🐦 THE BEAK 🐦
Parade - NEIPA w/ fresh bubblegum notes alongside a ripe, oily mouthfeel.
Popple - Unctuous Pale w/ notes of peach, mango & pine sap.
D'est - Unfiltered, naturally carbonated Czech Pils fizzing w/ noble hop flavour.
LARA - FOREST HILL
🇩🇪 AUGUSTINER 🇩🇪
Helles - An essential, the OG crispy boi lovingly referred to as 'liquid bread'!
Pils - Hoppy Lager balancing floral aroma w/ a clean, bracing bite.
Dunkel - Typically malty, spicy Dark Lager w/ a sweet, nutty finish.
OPHIE - CLAPTON
❄️ LOST & GROUNDED ❄️
Sunshine State Of Mind - Quenching Czech Pils w/ subtle honey malt notes.
Lasso My Heart - Classic, clean & citrusy West Coast IPA.
Spring Protagonist - Robust Bitter w/ a delectable, lemon-marmalade character.
MEL - WALTHAMSTOW
🏖 POLLY'S BREW CO 🏖
Smooth Groove - Old school resin meets freshly cut pineapple & sticky tangerine in a best of both worlds IPA!
EXP 630 - Intense DDH Pale w/ aforementioned hop HBC630 for a sweet raspberry & tropical thickshake.
W E B S H O P
WONDERS
T H I S W E E K
⛰ GIPSY HILL ⛰
(AVAILABLE IN ALL STORES!)
Botany - Vibrant NEIPA w/ spiky gooseberry & overripe stone fruit flavour.
Terrestrial - Clean Dry Hopped Sour w/ red berries & citrus fruit aromas.
Kollektor - Doughy, malt-forward lager, w/ soft biscuity brilliance.
Squashed Blackberry & Blackcurrant - Brambly blend of tart, smoothie sumptuousness.
✨ AFFINITY ✨
(ALL STORES NEXT WEEK!)
Coda - Single hopped Mosaic Table Beer. An all-day smasher.
Crystal Palace IPA - Bold, bitter & tropical West Coast belter.
🌧 CLOUDWATER 🌧
Somewhere Within - US meet NZ hops, bright & brimming w/ juicy, vibrant fruit.
Hoppy Little Lager - Refreshing, light, bright & zesty session Helles.
Step Up - Dry, roasty stout celebrating diversity & the full spectrum of flavour.
Helles - Crisp, delicate & well balanced, this is refinement personified.
🚨 SIREN 🚨
Memento - Earthy & herbal, a superbly balanced Modern Best Bitter.
Cacao & Hazelnut Broken Dream - Indulgent, confectionary spin on their classic.
💫 ORBIT 💫
Blackberry Gose - Light, pink-coloured quenching Sour w/ a dry salty finish.
Hefeweizen - Frothy banana classic w/ spicy esters & a light citric tartness.
🍾 TILQUIN 🍾
Mirabelle A L'Anciene - Rare Lambic fermented on 240g/litre of Mirabelle plums.
🪐 GRAVITY WELL 🪐
Top Quark - Ultra green Session IPA. Punchy w/ a remarkable body.
Searching For Wimps - Pillowy soft & peachy hazy Pale.
Thanks for joining us again folks, and have a great weekend whatever you're doing!