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Stout-sippers, lager-lovers and beard-havers, it’s our pleasure to announce that London Beer City is back this weekend.
The city-spanning nine-day festival brings hop-forward happenings to some of the city’s best breweries and drinking joints, as well as special one-offs brews, tours and just a dash of weirdness.
You can see the full schedule here, but below we’ve listed the six events we’re most psyched about.
Opening Party at Five Points Brewing Company
No less than 16 London breweries will be represented at the fest’s opening shindig, happening at Five Points in Hackney. Tickets for tastings with Beavertown and Fourpure have sold out, but general entry is only a fiver and includes your first beer.
Sat Aug 6, noon–8pm. 61 Mare St, E8 4RG. £5 – get tickets here.
Photo: Luana Failla
The Beer Shop Street Party & Market
Pocket-sized Nunhead pub The Beer Shop boasts one of the best-stocked fridges in south London, so it’s no surprise that it’s going all-out for LBC’s opening weekend. As well as a trio of exclusive collaboration brews (with Bullfinch, Old Kent Rd and the pub’s own home-brew club), there’ll be DJs, market stalls, street food, brewer Q&A sessions and a home-brew competition judged by the head brewer at Bermondsey’s Fourpure.
Sat Aug 6, noon–8pm. Brock St, SE15 3QF. FREE.
London Craft Beer Festival
After maximum booze for your buck? Grab tickets for this sprawling beer festival, where over 250 brews are yours for the tasting. Tickets ain’t cheap, but breweries tend to be liberal with samples at such events, and often pack a few rarities and one-offs, too. For Camra types, there’s also a cask selection curated by west-London legends Fuller’s.
Fri Aug 12, noon–midnight. Oval Space, 29–32 The Oval, E2 9DU. From £25 – get tickets here.
Hop Burns & Black presents Chilli Karaoke: Hellzapoppin’ Edition
Peckham-based bottle shop Hop Burns & Black brings together its three raisons d’être (beer, chillies and bangin’ tunes) for this sphincter-searing challenge: simply pick a song, neck an absurdly spicy chilli and try to finish the track without passing out. Kiwi brewers Yeastie Boys will also be in attendance with new chilli beer Hellzapoppin’. Best put the bog roll in the fridge now.
Fri Aug 12, 8pm–11pm. The Beer Kat, 207 Holloway Rd. FREE.
Porters, Peers & Pilgrims with Des de Moor
Few people are quite as familiar with London’s beer scene as Des de Moor, author of several Camra guidebooks. Join him for a leisurely five-mile stroll through the city’s brewing history, finishing at the history-steeped George Inn, where it’s rumoured a certain William Shakespeare used to wet his whistle.
Sat Aug 6 and Sun Aug 14, 10.30am–1.30pm. Old Street station, EC1Y 1BE. £10 – get tickets here.
Photo: Will O'Neale
Try the official London Beer City beer at Fourpure
As we reported last month, for the first time ever, four London breweries (Beavertown in the north, Five Points in the east, Fourpure in the south and Fuller’s in the west) have come together to collaborate on a single brew, which just so happens to be the official beer of London Beer City. In the interests of trying this mega-hopped pale ale at its freshest, we recommend heading to Fourpure’s taproom in Bermondsey (where it was brewed). Fifteen other Fourpure beers will also be on tap, with grub from hot-dog specialists Oh My Dog!.
Fourpure, Bermondsey Trading Estate, SE16 3LL.
Got a thirst on? Check out our pick of London's best craft beer pubs.