A short write up of Croydon Craft Beer Festival.

4 years ago I moved to Croydon for work. Admittedly, Croydon wasn’t on my radar. Very quickly I grew to love the place, the only thing missing was a decent pint. There were two standout pubs, “The Oval” and “The Green Dragon”. I knew I could pop in and be served good cask ales.

Croydon is on the cusp of a craft beer revolution. With two breweries, a craft beer bar and a gem of a bottle shop hidden amongst a grocers shop. Also rumours of more pop up bars and beer-shops coming this summer with the introduction of Boxpark. It’s an exciting time to be a Croydonian beer lover!

6 months ago and again this weekend Cronx, Croydon Council and Freshfields teamed up to launch the ‘Croydon Craft Beer Festival’. The festival involves so many of the local businesses. Whether it’s stocking some bottles for the weekend or putting some casks on. It feels like it’s about bringing the community together over a good brew – and we dig this! The festival has its hub in Braithwaite hall with a wall of casks, all sourced from within London and huge selection of cans and bottles for the more worldly drinkers.

Hoodoo’s and the BRGR & Beer boys (based in Matthew’s Yard) invited us down to run a pop up bar for the weekend. If any of you have yet to visit Matthew’s Yard, then sort it out! Tucked away just off of Surrey Street Market, you walk into a hub of great food, beer and community projects (theatre groups, Croydon radio to name a few.

With new events like this, we often don’t know what to expect. But the love in Croydon is huge. Over the weekend, we talked beer and community with so many of you. Charlie set himself up in a glorious orange “brewer” t-shirt and wandered the hall answering any eager questions. We agreed at the end of the weekend it was more than about beer, it was people who have big aspirations for the area, themselves and value local business.

In our opinion, this should be the future of beer festivals. Community orientated, involving local businesses and creating a diverse way to have a decent beer.

We’ll be back very soon Croydon, keep an eye on some of our plans with the BRGR & Beer boys. Thanks for having us.

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