Happy New Beer!
Welcome to the inaugural Beer Passport newsletter! We hope that 2023 is off to a fantastic start for all of you. And to those of you doing Dry January, we raise a respectful glass and look forward to seeing you back in the taprooms on 1st February.
Back to work…
It’s been a busy start to the year, here at Beer Passport HQ, setting everything up for your beer adventures in 2023. Our big news is the launch of Taproom Trails, giving Passport holders an itinerary of taprooms to sample a variety of beers and get a few stamps in your passport. Check out our Blackhorse Road, North Bermondsey trails here. And we have a few more Trails in the works as well, so keep an eye out for those on our social media channels.
Date for your diaries…
We’ve also been organizing our next Beer Passport community event. Plans are still being finalized but we’re aiming for Saturday 25th February, most likely in Hackney. We’ll confirm everything and share the details on social media soon.
Importance of work-life balance…
It hasn’t all been work though because Phil and Mike have managed to get to 4 taprooms so far this year. A couple of weeks ago we went to Deptford to visit SALT and Villages, and last week we headed south to visit Brixton Brewery and London Beer Lab. These are 4 great taprooms, all new to Beer Passport for 2023.
Phil tends to go for Lagers and Session IPAs, so recommends SALT Jute and LBL’s Kaiser Pils. Mike is more of a Pale Ale man, the hazier the better, and was keen on Rodeo (from Villages) and Brixton’s Electric IPA. Be careful with that last one though – 6% beers on a work night might affect your productivity in the morning! But we both thought that the pizzas at SALT were excellent, so you should absolutely coincide your visit there with lunch or dinner time.
Not all good news…
Unfortunately, we do have some disappointing news to share with you. One Mile End and Solvay Society – two long-time Beer Passport friends – have been forced to close. It’s a tough time for the brewing industry, with rising raw material costs, energy costs, and a cost-of-living crisis for customers. One of the best things you can do to help out is to go straight to source for your beers by visiting your local taprooms. And of course, it helps that this is where the beer is always freshest.
And finally…
We are delighted to announce our 2022 Beer Passport competition winner – Laura Prescott!
Laura managed to visit a phenomenal 48 out of the possible 50 taprooms – and would have hit all 50 but for some unfortunate closures. It’s a spectacular effort, so massive congratulations from Beer Passport HQ.
Laura said: “Thanks to the guys at Beer Passport who have set up this fantastic idea of visiting London breweries. We’ve been to some amazing breweries throughout the year that we’d never even heard of, and they’ve all been brilliant! I’d highly recommend it for anyone who likes drinking beer and saving money at the same time!!!”