Bro Brewery Continues on Quest to Monopolise ‘Craft’ Beer Drinking in London

Brew Dog, the giant, now-former ‘craft’ brewery, has secured premises in Dalston for its first pub in the trendy east London neighbourhood. Its acquisition of the Birthdays site — a decent basement independent music venue with a bar and restaurant upstairs — is the latest in a string of new “Brew Pub” openings in the capital.

MCA reports that the acquisition comes at the end of a seven-year search by Brew Dog for a Dalston site. Elsewhere in east London, the company has opened pubs in Shoreditch, the City, and Canary Wharf. Birthdays was owned by the same company which owns the Old Blue Last in Shoreditch, one of the original investors in the Vice Media group.

Brew Dog itself, in typically modest language, announced that it will be providing something that is “hard to come by” in Dalston. That being a “fresh, amazing pint.”

This eclectic North East community in London is full of amazing spots to eat & drink, however getting your hands on a fresh, amazing pint is hard to come by. Hence why we are so excited about opening an amazing spot on Stoke Newington Road.

Brew Dog now operates 42 pubs in the U.K. and, since its acquisition of the Draft House group last year, has a growing total of 11 sites in London. The company’s combined international portfolio now stands at 66, with its website announcing six sites “coming soon.”

MCA also reports that in 2018, despite frequently (and deliberately?) courting controversy — with a sexist marketing campaign, an initiative which targeted Trump supporters, and a legal battle with the estate of Elvis Presley — total sales across the Brew Dog’s bars increased by 100 percent.

The punks are here to stay.

• The Best Places to Drink (Craft) Beer in London [ELDN]