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The Story of Pitfield
The story of Pitfield Brewery reads like a case study of the changes endured by British microbrewers over the last two-and-a-half decades. Small is beautiful, but more importantly small is flexible, and the ability to react to changed circumstances has ensured the survival of North London's only remaining brewery.
Pitfield was established by Martin Kemp (below, left) in 1982 in the modern heyday of cask ale and although it has moved premises more than once, it has remained a feature of life in Hoxton ever since. Success came early. Dark Star was introduced in 1985 and in 1987 it won the title of Best New Beer at that year's Great British Beer Festival and was runner-up in the Champion Beer of Britain competition. The following year the same beer won the overall Champion Beer of Britain title. Former Pitfield brewer Rob Jones took the beer and the name with him when he left to set up his own Dark Star brewery in Sussex – the current Pitfield incarnation has been renamed Black Eagle.
In those days Pitfield's main business was supplying draught beer to an extensive free trade but this market was to be gradually destroyed by the unplanned consequences of the Beer Orders during the early 1990s. In many respects Pitfield was fortunate to have The Beer Shop as a sister business. Bottled beer, which until then had been a side line, began to take increased prominence for the brewery and The Beer Shop gave them a guaranteed outlet with a transatlantic reputation.
However, it was identifying a new demand for organic beer that set Pitfield on a new course. Eco Warrior, a name chosen to reflect the then topicality of ‘Swampy' and other anti-roads protestors, was first brewed in the mid-90s and it proved to be so successful that it became Pitfield's flagship beer. In 2000 all Pitfield's beers were reformulated and certified as organic. This, along with the growth of interest in bottle-conditioned beers (which now accounts for about 40% of output), was to make up for the virtual exclusion of micro-brewed beer from the free trade in London.
Pitfield celebrated its 21st birthday in 2003 (left) by brewing a range of non-organic bottled-conditioned beers derived from historical recipes. Andy Skeen, Pitfield's Canadian brewer, is most proud of these brews – when pushed to pick a favourite of his own beers, he couldn't decide between the 1830 Amber Ale at 6% abv, the 1837 India Pale Ale at 7%, or the 1896 XXXX Stock Ale at a modest 10%.
Finding Pitfield beer is easy – The Beer Shop on Pitfield Street (020 7739 3701) stocks both the organic and the historical range in bottle-conditioned form. Diners at The Fish Shop, a restaurant on St. Johns Street in Islington, can also enjoy the bottled beers with their seafood. Finding Pitfield's beers on draught requires a little more dedication. Some still finds its way into the free trade - try the Oakdale Arms, N4, an occasional stockist.
Alternatively, they make an annual appearance at the London Drinker Beer Festival in March and at Catford in June, and more intermittently at other CAMRA beer festivals around London.
The majority of the cask beer sold by the two organic Singhboulton pubs (the Duke of Cambridge in Islington, and the Crown near Victoria Park, Hackney), comes from Pitfield, including their house bitter. These outlets cannot, however, be recommended to those with deep pockets and short arms.
Those on a budget are directed to the Wenlock Arms, N1 which is the nearest thing Pitfield has to a brewery tap. Here East Kent Goldings (4.2%) has a permanent place on the bar, but many other rarities make a brief appearance. As Pitfield has a brew length of five barrels but a palette of bottles is just over three and a half barrels, the surplus is casked and either ends up at beers festivals or the Wenlock. One such is Pitfield's latest organic creation, N1 Wheat Beer (5%), a hybrid brewed with a Bavarian wheat beer yeast, but which is spiced in the manner of a Belgian Wit beer. Cloudy, soft, fruity and altogether delicious, this beer may be sampled on draught by fortunate drinkers at the Wenlock whilst stocks last. If you miss it, then it's back to the bottle!
Keith Mapstone
CAMRA Brewery Liaison Officer for Pitfield Brewery
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 28.
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