Brixton Brewery has announced that, having outgrown its site off Milkwood Road in Herne Hill, it is moving most of its production to Enfield in North London.
In a statement published on the brewery’s website, managing director and co-founder Jez Galaun said that to facilitate rapidly growing demand for Brixton Brewery beers, “we have taken the difficult decision to begin to move production away from our dedicated main brewery on Dylan Road”.
He said “there is no space to expand where we are, and with the expiry of our lease coming up, we need to plan the future of our growing business”.
Galaun and three friends started the business in 2013 in a single railway arch on Brixton Station Road. In February 2021 the massive brewer Heineken fully acquired Brixton Brewery.
“We are incredibly proud of what we’ve built in Brixton, and the way we’ve worked hard to stay true to our roots as a community-based brewery,” said Galaun.
“It’s exciting to see more and more people discovering Brixton Brewery – we recently became the UK’s fourth largest craft brewery – but that success has meant we are now having to manage production across multiple brewing sites to keep up with demand.”
He said the winding down of the current production brewery means the company will be able to start producing most of its beer in a single state-of-the-art brewery in Enfield, North London, which is also home to Beavertown Brewery.
Beavertown was founded by Logan Plant, son of Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, and was bought by Heineken in 2022.
“As our popularity has grown in recent years, we’ve been unable to meet the demand for our most popular beers at our brewery in Brixton,” said Galaun.
“To address this, our brewers have already been producing beer with the team at Beavertown, and will continue to do so, ensuring a smooth transition in our brewing process.”
He said facilities in Enfield have been built to the highest efficiency standards, meaning increased levels of sustainability and reduced environmental impact.
Galaun said the brewery is working hard to ensure that it gives everyone impacted excellent professional and/or personal options and support, with roles available for those interested at the new brewery.
For a significant number of staff (mainly non-production teams), there would be minimal changes to employment conditions and their roles would continue to be based in Brixton.
A new meeting facility and workspace has already been completed next door to the Brixton Station Road Taproom and original small-batch brewery, which would continue to produce the brewery’s Ltd Edn beers.
The company has also started a search for a local warehouse to continue to support direct deliveries and technical services in future.
“Our dedication to supporting our customers and local community will remain an incredibly important part of our ethos, and a key focus for us,” said Galaun.
“Without Brixton, there would be no Brixton Brewery. We will continue celebrating everything we love about the energy, diversity and joy of this community through our work with local artists and causes, our Electric Collective, and our broader campaigns, such as Yes We Cans, which encouraged voter participation and provided free photos to meet new voter ID requirements.
“Finally, we would like to close with a huge thank you to everyone who has been a part of the journey so far as we enter the next chapter of Brixton Brewery.”
