Discover London’s best independent breweries
When it comes to finding brilliant businesses for the Local Buyers Club to promote to its members, we find ourselves drawn to breweries! The pandemic was a devastating blow for the beer industry – in March 2020 beer sales plunged by 40% compared to the same period the year before and while off-trade (supermarket sales etc) increased by around 10%, it didn’t make up for the losses. Despite this, the number of UK breweries grew by 7.5% in 2020. And, with companies like Draught
Beer discovery club Draught Drop a boost for indie breweries
Beer discovery club Draught Drop is helping Londoners sample fabulous beer from the capital’s best breweries. The business is run by a husband-and-wife team Tom Struthers and Mell Lykourina Struthers and you’d be hard-pushed to find a couple with more knowledge and passion for craft beer. The Local Buyers Club spent some time chatting to Mell - a former beer buyer for Ocado and Sainsbury’s and a former employee of Brewdog and The Bottle Club. She said: “Tom had always loved c
From banking to healthy snacks – the story behind Manna Eating
Vanessa Austin walked away from a lucrative career in investment banking to launch a business that feeds the soul. Uncomfortable with the ethics of her former role, she followed her passion for fitness and flavour and launched Manna Eating – creating healthy, nutritious snacks that keep people going for longer. She explained: “I had always longed to be creative. I have a really good palette and originally my idea when I left banking was to run wine tastings. I worked for a bo
ORA: Meet the talented young brewer behind some of London’s most exciting beers!
The team at ORA Brewing have an eye for talent. When they took on head brewer Julia Huber, she was just 21 years old but her unique palette and determination to succeed in what is stereotypically a man’s world, shone through. Since then she’s developed their core range of beers - the Limoncello IPA, Giasone (a double dry-hopped IPA with Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra), Nonna (a Tiramisu Stout) and the Panaro (a West Coast pale ale). She's also brewed several special beers, includi