Hackney Brewery scales up production ahead of launching new beer, Kapow!

Last summer the Gazette questioned whether brewing could be Hackney’s fastest growing industry. Now one of the first ever breweries to set up shop here – Hackney Brewery - may well have the answer, as they set about increasing their brewing capacity ahead of launching a new beer called Kapow!

Founded just five years ago, the business which runs out of a railway arch in Laburnum Street, Haggerston, has invested £57,000 in new fermenting vessels and a chiller.

This will scale-up brewing capacity by 20 per cent, meaning they will be churning out 240 beer casks each week.

The new equipment will also improve control of the brewing process meaning they can up the quality of the beers too.

Co-founder Pete Hills said: “Competing on quality and authenticity has always been our plan – concentrating on producing distinctive tastes with local and ethical ingredients.

“State-of-the- art equipment will power that mission to a new level, allowing better control of every step of the process.

“As we’ve steadily expanded our range of different beers, brewing capacity has always been the only factor limiting the array of recipes and experimentation we can offer, and investing in new technology and capacity will let us reach more customers with an even greater range of flavours.”

Hackney Brewery was one of three craft beer breweries which launched in Hackney in 2011 within the space of a fortnight.

Since then there has been an explosion of growth in the industry. One in five of breweries in London call Hackney “home”, and last year there was a 24 per cent rise of craft breweries opening in the capital.