Winter Berry Sour, 7.2%

2018 has been a special and poignant year for us. From settling in to our bigger production site in Deptford, a huge Taproom renovation, welcoming more staff in to Team Brick and making more beer than ever before we’ve been a bit busy! Releasing a new sour beer every 4-6 weeks into our Sour Series for the past year, it seemed perfect to round off 2018 and coordinate our birthday beer with a special sour release.

Our Winter Berry Sour is a Flanders-red style perfect for the occasion. Additions of dark fruits; sour cherries, elderberries, blackcurrants and blackberries post-fermentation with oak and cherry wood to create a vinous and complex blend of rich berry fruit, sweet vanilla and caramel malt notes. At 7.2% this is the highest strength sour we’ve done so far to suit the celebratory event.

We also transferred some of the beer into barrels for a bit of ageing, 1 version of which will be pouring throughout our Birthday Tour this week and our Taproom birthday party on Saturday 8thDecember. Aged in a Côtes du Rhônes barrel has added even more vinous notes, with spicy hints of pepper and wood. The other 3 barrels (muscat, port and bourbon) will be ageing away nicely for other special occasions and maybe our 6th birthday next year!

In creating the label for this beer, we had a chat with the label artists, Katrina Russel-Adams and Tom Kellet, to get to know them a bit better. Both South East London-based, Katrina and Tom have worked collaboratively on this label and used their talents to create a bold and provincial design. In keeping with Katrina’s style and use of shapes. The design is inspired from various buildings and structures around Peckham, with the colours representing the deep and rich ingredients in the beer.

Katrina Russel-Adams is a Peckham-based artist and printmaker, creating bold and bright abstract art through screen-printing, sculpture and murals. Taking a screen-printing course 4 years ago kick-started Katrina’s art and since then the hobby has grown into a career, boosting her confidence and creativity and brightening up any space her stunning work is found. Camberwell- based designer Tom Kellet runs design company Elves Design Studio which specialises in graphic design, furniture and set design. Tom helped bring Katrina’s label design to reality by transforming it into the graphic.

Here’s a little bit more about them:

What are your backgrounds and where did you grow up?

Katrina: I grew up in the Midlands, however my parents met and married in Peckham and the family goes back 6 generations of birth, living and working in SE15. My children attend the same primary school that my dad went to in the 1950’s.

Tom: I grew up in South East London, studied at Ravensbourne. During my gap year I had experience with Terry Murphy Scenery Company off the Old Kent Road while being mentored by artist, Peter Midgley. With years of working in the design and music industry living in Camden I moved back to Camberwell a decade ago just before having our second child. In the last year I have setup my own design company (Elves Design Studio) working across the design field in graphic, furniture and set design.

What does a typical day look like for you…

Katrina: If I’m not working on a project onsite such as a mural then I’m in the studio; I take the children to their schools / nursery, walk to the studio and settle with a large mug of tea and check my emails. I then have a long ‘to do’ list to work through; often that could be doing research or working on a design for something specific either in 2D or 3D. I may need to go to the DIY shop for paint or other materials. I only work school hours and it’s a short day, so I very much get my head down and crack on. Though I’m very good at procrastinating and distracting Kate and Sophie who studio share with me.

Tom: Always starts with coffee. Sometimes I’m up and out early, others I’m working in my studio.

How do you like to work?

Katrina: With company and while listening to BBC Radio 6.

Tom: As I’m one for detail, I take time to consider the clients requirements, best materials, styling and finish. I like to work both digitally and on paper. I still enjoy learning about new techniques and materials as I’ve always believed design is a cyclical process and its always easy to go back again after exploring ideas. Obviously, deadlines don’t always permit this, so I will try to explore ideas in my studio and implement them when I can.

What or who inspires you and your work?

Katrina: I’m inspired by spaces, places, architecture, community and history. I love the work of Alexander Calder, Ellsworth Kelly and Bauhaus is also a big influence.

Tom: I think of myself as an emotional designer. This comes from my own personal reaction to art and design throughout the 20th century from Bauhaus to classic Americana.

Where are your favourite spots in South East London?

Katrina: Peckham of course, it’s where my roots lie.

Tom: Since having kids and a dog I’m a huge fan of the local parks and woodlands. I also have a soft spot for Manzies pie shop in Peckham.

Where to find it…

The Winter Berry Sour is now packaged and ready for release. Before we put it out for general sale, we are off on a week-long tour around the UK to celebrate its release and our 5thbirthday before returning for our Taproom birthday party on Saturday 8thDecember! Find out where we are headed on our tour here and more about our Taproom birthday party here.

Winter Berry Sour 330ml cans are available from our online shop from 10thDecember:

Winter Berry Sour 330ml cans available for trade direct or via Eebria Trade from 10thDecember:

Take a look at Katrina’s other work:
https://katrinarusselladams.com/
https://www.instagram.com/katrinaradams/

Brick’s Birthday Tour

We’re setting off on a week-long tour to various venues across the UK. We’re so excited to be hosting events at venues outside of London who have supported us in many ways over the past few years!

All venues will be showcasing our newest beer; Winter Berry Sour and an exclusive Barrel Aged Winter Berry Sour version- of which there are only 1 keg for each event! Members of the team will be attending each event to chat, play games (of which there are many prizes up for grabs!) and generally celebrate our 5th birthday at these awesome venues.

Check out our Facebook events page for more details on each event:

Tuesday 4th December: Meet the Brewer Tutored Tasting @ Nord Bottle Shop, Newcastle (Ticketed)

Wednesday 5th December: Tap Takeover @ Arcade, Huddersfield

Thursday 6th December: Tap Takeover @ House of Trembling Madness, York

Friday 7th December: Tap Takeover & Beat the Brewer Evening @ Bison Beer Crafthouse, Brighton

Saturday 8th December: 5th Birthday Party @ Brick Brewery Taproom, London

Brick Brewery Birthday Tour

Tuesday 4th– Friday 7th December

Various Venues

Our 5th Birthday Party!

We are rounding off our week-long birthday tour with a massive party at the taproom on Saturday 8th December. Come and join us as we celebrate turning 5 years old!

12pm – midnight // Free entry // Family friendly // Dog friendly

DJ from 6pm – bring your dancing shoes!

Launching our latest sour to celebrate our birthday – Winter Berry Sour – a 7.2% Flanders red-inspired beer with additions of elderberries, sour cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants. PLUS a special Barrel Aged version which has been sitting in Côtes du Rhône barrels for a good few months (there is only 2 kegs of this reserved for the party and is sure to all go so don’t miss out!)

FREE tasting sessions at 2pm & 5pm of our Winter Berry Sour – led by the boss man, Ian!

Slow Richie’s will be flipping their usual amazing burgers with the special addition of a Birthday Burger for ONE DAY only! Using berries from our Winter Berry Sour for a special spicy chutney and anyone who was lucky enough to taste their macaroni cheese special last year may be in for a treat…

We’ll be running games and competitions ALL DAY (including some kid-friendly activities) and be in the chance of winning various prizes.

We’ve been digging through the photo archives to display a special photography exhibition showcasing Brick Brewery’s journey over the past 5 years.

PHEW! That about it? We think so… for now!

Lock in Saturday 8th December and come join us for a proper shin dig. The whole Brick Brewery team will be in in attendance… WE CAN’T WAIT!

You can book your space on the FREE Tasting sessions here

Saturday 8th December

Brick Brewery Taproom

 

Brick Beer Price Increase

We are coming up to our fifth year birthday and we are thrilled we continue to be an independent part of such a vibrant community.  The support we’ve had from day one has been inspiring and as we’ve grown we’ve learnt so much along the way.  Growth presents all manner of challenges not only from the logistics of getting more beer to more people but also from the boring stuff; the back-office management of the business.  By understanding in detail how your business functions allows you to prioritise how you grow the business whether that’s from investing in the right people (which we believe we have nailed) to producing beers that are both accessible but also challenge the everyday drinker to discover beers they thought they may not thought to have tried.

When I started the business I was brewing, selling, delivering and running the taproom; I was on my feet and out there all day every day.  With the help of our amazing team I can now focus on making the changes that matter to the quality and consistency of the product and analyse the growth potential and longevity of the brewery.  So with the added bandwidth I delved deeply in to the workings and more importantly the profitability of what we do. I looked at each beer, how it was packaged and what we were selling each unit at.  In truth, the findings surprised me.  Some performed better than others but the overwhelming conclusion was we couldn’t sustain the current way we were supplying our beers.

Like many brewery before us we saw cask beer to be the most difficult form of packaging for a brewery producing “expensive” hop-forward beer and selling to a marketplace with the expectation of low cost pints at the pump.  Yes, we know Cloudwater and Brewdog are once again to start to cask their beers but Brewdog have the global efficiencies and national negotiating clout and Cloudwater will be producing and delivering to only a select group of customers who understand the value of cask beer in the UK market.  I also saw how much the sheer rise in cost of pretty much everything we use and touch as part of our process has cut into our margins and while we remain a solid business we must take steps to facilitate growth and continued stability.

Why has this happened?

In the last 5 years since our foundation, the cost of our raw ingredients has risen. As has our electricity, water and gas.  Even the Bank of England puts inflation at 2.2% on average for goods and services year on year and the ONS recently posted a 2.4% increase on consumer prices. Rent has increased, duty has gone up, even the cost of diesel has had an impact.  We constantly strive to be more efficient, look at ways to save money without compromising the beer but we can only go so far.

In our five years of existence we have not once raised our prices!  Now with the analysis and data from five years of trading we are, unfortunately, left with no other option than to increase our prices marginally.  So, from this week we have a new pricing structure.

We believe these increases to be fair in light of all of the above and whilst we have done everything we can to try to avoid this through other efficiencies, it is something that we need to implement.

If you wish to talk to us about this news then I am happy to answer any questions you may have so please drop me a line at ian@brickbrewery.co.uk or phone on 020 3903 9441.

Brick at 1251 Restaurant

 

Brick Brewery at 1251 Restaurant

Many of you fellow foodies out there have hopefully been watching Great British Menu over the past few weeks; where this year sees chefs from across the UK battle it out to cook at a banquet in honour of 70 years of the NHS. One of the chefs on it this year is James Cochran of 1251 Restaurant in Islington. Last night’s episode saw James cook a delicious and innovative mushroom starter dish to reach the final and cook at the banquet.

James is a fellow Peckham resident and we were delighted to be contacted by him earlier this year to be the sole beer supplier for his amazing 1251 restaurant, which opened in September. The menu is a diverse offering of small and sharing dishes with Jamaican, Scottish and South-East Coast influences; a nod to James’ heritage and upbringing. We were honoured to be invited to try a teaser menu of the food before the restaurant opened and can say it is absolutely delicious!

The beer offering is only Brick beers; all of our Foundation Range plus rotating specials. We have been working closely with James and the fantastic Front of House team to ensure they can expertly pair the best beers to complement the food.

We are also currently working on an exciting project with James and the 1251 team which is to be revealed and launched in the upcoming weeks so keep your eyes peeled on our social media for that!

Read Jay Rayner’s recent great review of 1251 here

Get yourself booked in to 1251!

Photo by: Jessica Jill Photography

Blackcurrant & Sumac Sour

Our next sour is ready, being packaged and off to hit the shelves next week (W/c 17th September 2018), this time taking inspiration from our favourite cordial and a hint of the Middle East to create a juicy sour that packs a punch on taste as well as on the eyes!

Using blackcurrants and the unusual ingredient of sumac to produce a sweet and jammy sour, balanced perfectly by the tangy lemon flavour of ground sumac which will naturally enhance the tartness of the beer. The ingredients have of course also imparted an amazing colour into the beer also. Made from dried berries, sumac has an appealing lemon-lime tartness that can be widely used in Middle Eastern and North African cooking. In Iran, they use it as a condiment, putting it onto the table with salt and pepper. The sumac also adds a slight tart salinity, that doesn’t quite push it towards gose territory, but helps to lift the fruitiness.

Welcoming a new designer for this beer’s artwork, Danielle-Louise Watt is a Peckham resident and full-time creative working from a studio in Shoreditch. We love Dani’s use of abstract shapes and colour that compliments the bright and colourful beer perfectly. For this particular label, Dani was inspired by the colours and shapes of the Middle East, using the ingredients as the colour palette and a stunning tiled effect so well-associated with that area of the world. Get to know Dani a bit better from the interview below…

What is your background and where did you grow up?

To most people’s surprise, I’m from Essex! Born and bred. I don’t really sound like it, but after a few beers the accent starts to come out. Being from Essex also means I come from a pretty standard working-class background. My dad’s a carpenter, his dad was a tiler, and his mum was a French polisher, so I grew up around pretty talented and practical people. For years I planned on being a carpenter like my old man, but then one day I realised I could actually make a career out of making art which seemed a little more exiting. So I went on to be the first Watt in the family to go into further education!

What does a typical day look like for you…

I work full time in a studio, so I normally jump on my bike at the crack of dawn, dive into Shoreditch from Peckham, spend about 8 hours working with clients and my wonderful team on advertising campaigns and editorials, then I head back home to draw into the night (usually with something like Eastenders or Love Island on in the background). I spend approximately half an hour on the phone to my dad each night, unless I’m at a friend’s house cooking dinner, or out for drinks in Peckham. I try to head back home now and again to see my ‘Essex mates’ but that gets harder and harder lately as I juggle full time work + making art. I suppose that’s what comes with turning 30, the work life balance battle ensues.

How do you like to work?

As mentioned, with some kind of tat on the tv in the background. Ideally, I like to work in natural light so I do a lot of my drawing outside of the computer at the weekends when I can see the colours of my materials properly. Other than that, probably on the floor or on my bed. I need a lot of flat space when working with pastilles for commission, but a lot of my work lately has been from my computer and Wacom at my desk in the evenings which is a lot less messy.

What/who inspires you and your work?

Colour. I am such a sucker for a brilliantly chosen colour pallet. For a long time I was scared of working with colour, but now it’s the thing that keeps me interested and wanting to make something so gorgeous but also sometimes garish I can’t stop looking at it. I also look back to the Greats if I’m lacking in inspiration, there’s nothing a day amongst my Picasso books or a museum filled with other such legends that won’t get my brain working again.

What’s your favourite spot in South-East London?

I’ve lived in South East London for so many years now that I have a lot of favourite spots (Mr Bao, Brick Brewery (obviously) Miss Tapas, EDT, South London Gallery, Warwick Gardens, Forza Win, Codfellas – shout out to those legends – I could go on…), but to narrow it down I’d say for the one place I go when I’m feeling a little off kilter and I need to be reminded that everything’s ok would probably be The Prince Albert on Bellenden Road, on a Saturday or Sunday when the football is on. I’ll probably have done my Lidl shop and in need of some respite, so if a game I want to see isn’t on the telly I’ll head down to one of the only pubs in the area that might be showing it, pick a chair close to the screen, and just take solace in that little piece of what feels like home. Either that or reading the newspaper in any of SE’s gorge parks, but that only applies if the suns out, which apart from this summer is usually never!

You can see more of Dani’s work here

https://www.d-l-watt.com/

https://www.instagram.com/daniellewatt/

To mark the occasion and launch, we are holding an exclusive tasting session at the Taproom this Friday 14thSeptember at 6pm to try the sour for the first time before it hits other shelves and taps. Lead by our Headbrewer, Pete, come find out a bit more about the beer and ask him any beery questions on your mind!

Keep an eye on our shop as the cans will be ready to buy from Tuesday 18thSeptember.

 

Raspberry & Thyme Sour

Raspberry and Thyme Sour: 3.6%

For the latest release in our Sour Series, we were inspired by the ample fruits and herbs found in English woodland during the summer by using raspberries and thyme to create a tart, sweet, yet slightly herbal sour.

Tart and sweet from the natural flavour of raspberries, it has a clean and refreshing body, bright pinky/red colour from the fruit additions. The unusual addition of lemon thyme has the soft herbal thyme flavour you would expect, along with a subtle essence of lemon sherbet, all without any of the bitterness you sometimes get from regular thyme.

We worked with Lauren Vaughan again to create another stunning label design, check out more of Lauren’s work on her website: http://laurenvaughan.co.uk/

Enjoy the Raspberry and Thyme Sour at our Taproom and around the UK right now!

 

Enter our Home Brew Competition

 

Peckham Festival 2018

In its 3rdyear, Peckham Festival will once again be descending on the streets of Peckham from 14th-16thSeptember. A hyper-local festival with a single aim of celebrating creative and cultural Peckham. They exist to to promote artists, makers, creators, and community groups with a particular focus on an inclusive approach to the BME, youth and LGBTQI groups within the area. Having been involved in previous years with a mobile bar, we wanted to bring the festival into the Taproom with a creative event focussed on what we know best: beer.

On Saturday 15thSeptember we will be holding, in association with London Amateur Brewers, a home brew competition to be judged partly by the public. To enter, the brews must use SE London ingredients or be SE London themed and be able to supply around 10L of their beer. We are constantly inspired by our surroundings, flavours, ingredients and abundance of culture in Peckham and South East London and try to input our experiences into our beers as much as possible, and we would love to see you do the same!

We will be curating a fun, interactive and creative way of our customers and the public to vote on their favourite beer throughout the day, stay tuned for more details on that!

Are you a home-brewer and want to get involved or find out more? Get in touch with Trudie, our Taproom Manager, on taproom@brickbrewery.co.uk

New exhibition

The Beautiful Game Photo Exhibition

Next week sees the launch of another art exhibition on our Taproom wall. After the Into Art mural (which you can read more about here) brightening the wall for the past 3 months it was time to bring a new display to the wall from another talented local creative.

We are proud to be displaying a photo exhibition, The Beautiful Game, following Dulwich Hamlet F.C through the 2017/2018 season through the lens of local photographers; Duncan Palmer (official DHFC photographer) and Sam Mellish.

As I am sure most of you know, Dulwich Hamlet F.C had a season of two halves, which began at Champion Hill. The South London team have played on or around the current site since 1912. The season started brilliantly until the team were evicted (just days after a famous away win at moneyed, eventual champions Billericay Town) from their home of over 100 years by Meadow Residential, the American property developer who now own the land. Suddenly homeless, Dulwich were in danger of sacrificing their season and their hopes of promotion until arch rivals Tooting & Mitcham United gallantly offered to share their KNK stadium. Following a steady run of home and away wins The Hamlet were still in with a chance of winning the league until a few weeks before the season ended. After securing second place, and as if the tension wasn’t enough, the ‘pink & blues’ went on to win the play offs to seal promotion to the National League South via a penalty shootout.

The exhibition beautifully captures the unfaltering support for the club throughout the season through the many faces of its fans.

The exhibition will be opening on Wednesday 1stAugust, with the photographers in attendance from 7pm-9pm to have a chat with! Come down for a few drinks in celebration of Dulwich Hamlet and the work on display.

Find out more about the photographers here:

https://www.sammellish.com/blog 

http://www.duncanpalmer.com 

New Sour beer!

 

Gooseberry and Elderflower Sour: 3.4%

For the latest release in our Sour Series, we wanted to create a super refreshing, light and drinkable sour with the fresh and seasonal ingredients of Gooseberry and Elderflower to enjoy in what has been an incredible summer so far.

Lip-puckering from the natural tartness of the gooseberries, with added floral and herbal notes from the distinctive flavour of elderflower. Ever in abundance during the month of June across parks, riversides and countryside across the UK, the elderflower was also hand-picked by our brewing team from across South-East London. Inspired by hazy, hedonistic summer days spent in the countryside we insist for this beer to be enjoyed during lazy, long afternoons with friends in the sun.

Meet the Artist: Lauren Vaughan

Working with a new artist for this Sour; we connected with Lauren Vaughan, a current student at Camberwell College of Arts, to create the can artwork. Lauren Vaughan is a freelance designer and printmaker specialising in decorative patterns, composition and colour within brand identity, typography and data visualisation. We have loved working with Lauren who has a modern, fresh and enthusiastic approach to our Sour releases and has encapsulated the beer inside the can into the artwork beautifully.

What is your background and where did you grow up?

I grew up in Hampshire then moved to London when I was 19 to study Graphic Design at London College of Communication and now I’m currently studying a masters in printmaking at Camberwell College of Arts.

What does a typical day look like for you…

Every day is different depending on what projects I’m taking on. My days will range from being in the printmaking workshop at Camberwell College of Arts experimenting and creating new work for my fine art practice to freelancing on a wide scope of projects from branding to data visualisation, working with small independent businesses or larger organisations.

How do you like to work?

I quite like having a varied work schedule as I feel it keeps things diverse and interesting as well as being able to bridge my fine art and design practices together.

What/who inspires you and your work?

I’m mesmerised by Eduardo Paolozzi’s screenprints, I could stare at them for hours! Every time I see his work I discover new elements that inspire me.

Kenneth Martin’s work has always influenced my practice. I’m specifically drawn to his use of the grid as a structural device contrasting with contingent elements; building formal visual aesthetics. Currently my practice has taken me towards the idea of form and I have been continuously inspired by architectural styles and ornamentation such as Brutalism and Islamic geometric patterns.

What’s your favourite spot in South-East London?

Essentially, I’m more of an East Londoner as I’ve worked and lived there for the past four years but whilst studying south of the river, I’ve had the chance to explore some really cool places like The Peckham Pelican and Franklins. I’m a secret foodie.

Check out Lauren’s work on her website: http://laurenvaughan.co.uk/

Enjoy Gooseberry and Elderflower Sour at our Taproom in Peckham now, with cans to be released at various in-store and online venues from next week.