Brixton-Harlem beer exchange

All profits from a “beer exchange” between Brixton and Harlem in New York will go to the Norwood and Brixton Foodbank.

The exchange is part of the Brixton X Harlem festival, and will run from 3 to 7 August throughout the event which is designed build closer bonds between two communities which have so much in common.

Brixton Brewery has partnered with the Harlem Brewing Company to launch The Beer Exchange – the first ever “twinned” taproom, that will enable beer lovers in London and New York to buy one another a pint with the tap of a card.

The beer exchange was launched at the London brewery’s taproom on Brixton Station Road. It encourages patrons from both cities to thank their cousins across the Atlantic by sending a postcard of gratitude.

Participants will be encouraged to share a toast or a message (and their Instagram handle) with the future recipient of their beer on a postcard available at the bar – starting a new conversation and, the breweries hope, a new friendship.

Harlem and Brixton business improvement districts (BIDs) launched their twinning partnership in June last year.

Harlem Brewing Company, is the first Black, female-owned brewery in the USA and has worked with Brixton Brewery to create a limited edition beer, Common Threads.

It is a refreshing summer ale, featuring pineapple and hibiscus –and it’s pink.

If you can’t get to the taproom to enjoy one, cans of Common Threads can be bought online.

The four different can designs have illustrations by Brixton-based architects Squire & Partners based on iconic features of the two famous locations and highlighting ties that link the two communities: music, culture and heritage, activism, and art and design.

Celeste Beatty, founder of Harlem Brewing Company, will be at Brixton Brewery Taproom on 4 August for the beer launch event, which will feature a live DJ spinning a Harlem x Brixton playlist.

Xochitl Benjamin, co-founder of Brixton Brewery, said: “This is the collaboration of our dreams. Brixton and Harlem are such legendary and distinctive places and working with Celeste and the Harlem team has been an incredible experience.

“The exchange is our way of bringing people together through beer, which we hope will generate a few unexpected real-life exchanges between Brixtonites and Harlemites that will last beyond the festival.

“Celebrating what brings us together and all we have in common has never been more important. We’re also proud to be supporting the Brixton and Norwood Foodbank with every exchange.”

Celeste Beatty, said: “We’re really excited to be partnering with Brixton Brewery on this unique idea.

“What greater way to celebrate two iconic communities coming together than with a beer that represents what we have in common.

“The Common Threads beer collaboration and The Beer Exchange both tap into our shared love for community and culture.”

Instagram: BrixtonBreweryTaproom