Things were pretty manic when I stopped by Weird Beard Brew Co. recently. They were cleaning down after brewing a yuzu-infused IPA called Tsujigiri, which will be fermented with sake yeast. Over in the warehouse they were packaging their recent collaboration with New Zealand's 8 Wired Brewing, a Pale Ale brewed with highly-sought-after New Zealand hops. Straight out of the fermenter we tried their new Imperial Saison that they'd just dry hopped with Sorachi Ace. Weighing in at 10.5% ABV and a bizarre flavor combination of banana, lemongrass, and mango juice, it’ll be divisive—but I wouldn't expect anything less.
In a rare moment of calm, I managed to take owners/founders, Gregg Irwin and Bryan Spooner out of their comfort zones to pose for this shot. Despite knowing them for a couple of years, I'd never actually managed to get them to stand in the same place at the same time before.
Weird Beard is just one of several exciting breweries in London’s thriving scene.