London Fields Brewery

London Fields Brewery is a brewery in the London Fields area of Hackney, East London, in the United Kingdom. It was the first commercial brewery to open in Hackney since the 19th century. As of December 2014, the company fell into trouble following the arrest of co-founder Julian de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson, on suspicion of tax evasion. In 2017, London Fields Brewery was purchased in a joint-venture by Brooklyn Brewery and Carlsberg UK with plans to bring brewing back onsite.

London Fields Brewery
London Fields Brewery
TypePrivate
IndustryManufacture of beer (UK SIC Classification 2007)
Founded2011
HeadquartersLondon, E8
United Kingdom
Websitehttps://www.londonfieldsbrewery.co.uk

History

The brewery opened on 27 August 2011, at 374 Helmsley Place.[1] It was the first commercial brewery to open in Hackney since the 19th century.[1][2] Five beers were produced, named: Hackney Hopster, London Fields Bitter, London Fields Session Ale, London Fields Gold and Love Not War.[1] Love Not War received especially favourable press due to its significance in relation to the London riots.[3] It was promoted as "first brewed barricaded in the brewery during the London riots".[4]

Alongside a wide and highly successful distribution of its products throughout London, the brewery itself worked alongside numerous entertainment companies and helped produce events in London.[5] These included Background Cinema, Elsewhere Festival, and Festifeel.[6][7][8]

The brewery was founded by Julian de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson and Ian Burges, around the time of the 2011 London riots, with approximately £10,000 of capital.[9] Prior to founding the brewery, Whiteway had been jailed for 12 years for his part in a cocaine smuggling organisations. When founding the company, Whiteway still owed The Crown £3.2 million, including £1.2 million in interest.[10][11] Despite much legal manoeuvring, this would continue to heavily impact the ability of the company to operate.

The court granted Whiteway permission to create the company as a way to repay the courts whilst rehabilitating into a legitimate career, however, he was ordered to pay back £500 a month throughout this time. Whiteway's lawyer argued that a stay in repayments would allow his client to grow his capital more quickly, and asked the court to allow the company to fulfil export orders to 14 countries. As of December 2014, neither of these requests had been granted.[10]

Most recently, on 3 December 2014, Whiteway was arrested on suspicion of cheating HMRC in respect of VAT. On the same day, the brewery was searched, and a forklift truck was used by HMRC to remove equipment and stock.[12][13] According to Whiteway, by 2014, both he and his wife were joint shareholders in the company, but presiding District Judge Elizabeth Roscoe was not convinced of this, asking to see evidence of "ownership and set-up", as promises of future payment "were often not fulfilled".[10]

See also

References
  1. "London Fields Brewery opens in Hackney with a party for all". Time Out. August 26, 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  2. "Pint of Hackney Hopstar, Please". The Evening Standard. London. August 26, 2011.
  3. Godwin, Richard (February 27, 2013). "Raise a glass to the riots". The Evening Standard. London. p. 15.
  4. Coleman, Jasmine. "London Fields Brewery opens as first commercial brewery in Hackney for 20 years". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  5. Taylor, Vicky (July 14, 2012). "My Olympic London - Or What to Do When Stranded by the Rain or Tube" (Blog). The New York Times Blogs. IHT Rendezvous. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  6. Cohen, Sarah (August 8, 2013). "Open-air cinema in London this summer; Over the last few summers, outdoor movies have become as common in London as open-air concerts. Catch a classic film under the stars at one of these alfresco cinema events". The Evening Standard. London.
  7. "Mike Skinner and Actress to appear at new London festival Elsewhere". New Musical Express. March 19, 2014.
  8. "Spreading Boob Love at Festifeel". The Sun. London. June 24, 2014. p. 7.
  9. Slavinsky, Amanda (14 May 2014). "'Love Not War' – brewery's message to Hackney". East London Lines. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  10. Bentham, Martin (10 November 2014). "'Mr Big' gets more time to repay cocaine profits ... so he can make money from his new brewery". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  11. "Cocaine gang jailed for 36 years". BBC News. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  12. Bentham, Martin (5 December 2014). "Cocaine smuggling boss of London Fields Brewery held in VAT raid". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  13. "London Fields Brewery raided by HMRC". Imbibe.com. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

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