London Fields Brewery

London Fields Brewery

Trade name	London Fields Brewery
Industry	Manufacture of beer (UK SIC Classification 2007)
Founded	2011
Headquarters	London, E8 United Kingdom
Owners	Grace Land Group
Website	https://www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk

London Fields Brewery was a brewery ^[1] in the London Fields area of the London Borough of Hackney, London. It was founded in 2011 with significant success riding the wave of new craft beers, though by December 2014 the company had fallen into trouble following the arrest of co-founder Julian de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson, on suspicion of tax evasion. In 2017, London Fields Brewery was purchased in a joint-venture by Brooklyn Brewery and Carlsberg UK with plans to bring brewing back onsite. ^[2] In 2023 Grace Land Group acquired London Fields Brewery from Carlsberg. ^[3]

History

The brewery opened on 27 August 2011, at 374 Helmsley Place. ^[4] It was the first commercial brewery to open in Hackney since the 19th century. ^{[4] [5]} Five beers were produced, named: Hackney Hopster, London Fields Bitter, London Fields Session Ale, London Fields Gold and Love Not War. ^[4] Love Not War received especially favourable press due to its significance in relation to the London riots. ^[6] It was promoted as "first brewed barricaded in the brewery during the London riots". ^[7]

Alongside a wide and highly successful distribution of its products throughout London, the brewery itself worked alongside numerous entertainment companies and helped produce events in London. ^[8] These included Background Cinema, Elsewhere Festival, and Festifeel. ^{[9] [10]}

The brewery was founded by Julian de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson and Ian Burges, around the time of the 2011 London riots, with approximately £10,000 of capital. ^[11] Prior to founding the brewery, Whiteway had been jailed for 12 years for his part in a cocaine smuggling organisations. When founding the company, Whiteway still owed the Crown £3.2 million, including £1.2 million in interest. ^{[12] [13]}

The court granted Whiteway permission to create the company as a way to repay the courts whilst rehabilitating into a legitimate career, however, he was ordered to pay back £500 a month throughout this time. Whiteway's lawyer argued that a stay in repayments would allow his client to grow his capital more quickly, and asked the court to allow the company to fulfil export orders to 14 countries. As of December 2014, neither of these requests had been granted. ^[12]

On 3 December 2014, Whiteway was arrested on suspicion of cheating HMRC in respect of VAT. On the same day, the brewery was searched, and a forklift truck was used by HMRC to remove equipment and stock. ^{[14] [15]} According to Whiteway, by 2014, both he and his wife were joint shareholders in the company, but presiding District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe was not convinced of this, asking to see evidence of "ownership and set-up", as promises of future payment "were often not fulfilled". ^[12]

In July 2017, London Fields Brewery was acquired by a joint venture between Carlsberg Group and Brooklyn Brewery for a reported £4m. ^{[16] [2]}

On 7 December 2021, the brewery announced that it was closing down immediately with a view to selling the business. ^[17]

In May 2023, Grace Land Group acquired London Fields Brewery from Carlsberg. ^[3]

See also

• List of microbreweries

References

1. "London Fields Brewery closed and put on market by Carlsberg – Eastlondonlines".
2. "London Fields Brewery acquired by Carlsberg UK". Carlsberg. 3 July 2017.
3. Mason, Jessica (18 May 2023). "Carlsberg sells London Fields Brewery to Grace Land Group". The Drinks Business. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
4. "London Fields Brewery opens in Hackney with a party for all". Time Out. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
5. "Pint of Hackney Hopstar, Please". The Evening Standard. London. 26 August 2011.
6. Godwin, Richard (27 February 2013). "Raise a glass to the riots". The Evening Standard. London. p. 15.
7. Coleman, Jasmine. "London Fields Brewery opens as first commercial brewery in Hackney for 20 years". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
8. Taylor, Vicky (14 July 2012). "My Olympic London - Or What to Do When Stranded by the Rain or Tube" (Blog). The New York Times Blogs. IHT Rendezvous. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
9. Cohen, Sarah (8 August 2013). "Open-air cinema in London this summer; Over the last few summers, outdoor movies have become as common in London as open-air concerts. Catch a classic film under the stars at one of these alfresco cinema events". The Evening Standard. London.
10. "Mike Skinner and Actress to appear at new London festival Elsewhere". New Musical Express. 19 March 2014.
11. Slavinsky, Amanda (14 May 2014). "'Love Not War' – brewery's message to Hackney". East London Lines. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
12. Bentham, Martin (10 November 2014). "'Mr Big' gets more time to repay cocaine profits ... so he can make money from his new brewery". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
13. "Cocaine gang jailed for 36 years". BBC News. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
14. Bentham, Martin (5 December 2014). "Cocaine smuggling boss of London Fields Brewery held in VAT raid". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
15. "London Fields Brewery raided by HMRC". Imbibe.com. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
16. Beeson, James (22 February 2018). "London Fields Brewery relaunches following Carlsberg acquisition". Morning Advertiser. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
17. @LdnFldsBrewery (7 December 2021). "It is with regret that we have taken a difficult decision and propose to close London Fields Brewery with a view to selling the business..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

• London Fields Brewery at OpenCorporates

51°32′19″N0°03′29″W / 51.5387°N 0.0580°W / 51.5387; -0.0580