For all craft beer’s success, it is still a surprise that London doesn’t have more specialist shops selling the stuff for home consumption. There have been some exceptions, early adopters of the craze who have been selling for a while (Utobeer for example) but generally it has only recently taken off. And trust an East London outfit to be the newest outfit distributing artisan beer to the city.
Clapton Craft opened in April 2014. The moderately sized shop is filled with a vast selection of rare, locally produced and hard to find beers. Shelving covers half of the shop, there is a small refrigerator for the ready to drink take-away tipples and then there is the growler machine. Dispensing fresh brews from the barrel into airtight bottles – or growlers – this is one of Clapton Crafts main attractions. Everyone wants beer from the barrel once in a while and this way you can enjoy it at home. Prices aren’t cheap for growlers or by the bottle but this is a treat rather than your everyday place to shop for beer. The brewery barrels that fill the growlers (up to 12 different beers at a time) are on rotation so you can expect to find something different on each visit. It could be the Camden Hells Lager, The Clapton Craft beer or The Kernel. The four-pint bottles cost anything from £8 to £18 depending on the strength and the specialty.
Bottles also range in price. There is no denying that you’ll be spending much more than in the supermarket, but sourcing, importing and selling rare beers from far flung places isn’t cheap. You’ll find the likes of Mikkeller, Brew by Numbers, Partizan, London Fields, Duvel, Orval, Pressure Drop, Goose Island, Anchor Brewing Co. and many more. Buying here no doubt ups the price of a night in but when you’re drinking the finest beers from all over the world surely it’s justified?
