Brewing comes back to south London

3rd April 2009, 12:43pm

Quality English ale is once again being brewed in South London following the official opening of Sambrook's, the capital's newest brewery, based in Wandsworth.

The brewery, which also launched its first bottle-conditioned ale, is sited just minutes from the old Young's Brewery site and is the brainchild of ex-accountant Duncan Sambrook and David Welsh, former Ringwood Brewery owner.

At the opening, attended by customers and suppliers, Sambrook commented: "Brewing took place in Wandsworth for the best part of 500 years until 2006, so we feel privileged to be restoring that element of the borough's heritage. We're delighted with the reaction to Sambrook's from the publicans who are selling our beer, the customers who are drinking it and the local community who are supporting our business."

Sambrook's currently supplies around 30 pubs within Greater London. Stockists include a number of high-profile outlets including The Betjeman Arms at St Pancras International station, Tom Conran's The Cow in Westbourne Park and food pub The Westbridge in Battersea. 

Current production at the brewery stands at around 20 barrels a week, though the team has expansion plans, as Sambrook explains: "We're brewing under capacity at the moment, which means we can go out and grow sales without having to worry about how we then meet that demand. Sadly, a lot of microbrewers fail at the point where their business is taking off, because they can't expand quickly enough. We've designed the brewery to avoid that pitfall."

He adds, "That doesn't mean we're guaranteed success, but all the signs are looking reasonably good. Cask ale is outperforming the total beer market and localism is a growing consumer preference, so as a cask brewer selling to a local market, and using local ingredients, if anyone's going to come through despite these difficult market conditions, then we should." 

Stephen Brady, The Betjeman Arms, St Pancras International Station: "We've put Wandle Ale on the bar for a few of our Ale Festivals and it's always been a top-seller. The fact that it's brewed in London is its USP, and gives it appeal both to our local regulars and the many travellers from the UK and abroad who come in here for a drink or two."

Related Articles:

• 03 Apr 2009 - Juice Brewery scoops Fresh Idea Award
• 02 Apr 2009 - Gap in the market for organic beer
• 24 Mar 2009 - Cask Ale: A lifeline for licensees
• 23 Mar 2009 - Smoking ban to blame for pub industry failures
• 23 Feb 2009 - Greene King first UK brewer to win Red Tractor certification
• 27 Jan 2009 - Adnams brewery hit by pub sector slump
• 10 Dec 2008 - Roll out the barrel

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