Mobile micro brewery fits neatly into shipping containers
by Liz Terry | 23 Nov 2015
Big changes are coming to London's Dalston in the next few decades.
The area – an up and coming part of East London – will have the city’s new Crossrail network laid in, transforming the transport network and there are major plans for a redevelopment on the site of the local Kingsland Shopping Centre.
In the face of so much uncertainty, the local council has struck a short-term lease for the siting of a new micro brewery on a former public car park.
To stay relocatable, the entrepreneurs behind The 40FT Brewery have set up the operation in a pair of shipping container which combine to be – you guessed it – 40ft long.
Craft beer – currently pale ale, lager and porter – is served directly to the public each weekend straight from the tank, with a brewery tour and food also available.
"The location has a short rolling lease due to a redevelopment plan for the area," co-founder Andreas Pettersson told Fast Company. "By using shipping containers, we thought we could use this derelict place to brew and serve great beer and then if we need to move on, we can pick up our brewery and relocate it to a new plot of land, because we own the brewing equipment and the containers."
The company’s Steve Ryan said: “The 40FT – our everyday workspace – is converted into a tap room at weekends. Empty kegs become seats and tables and we serve our beer directly from our maturation tanks.
“It’s a place where customers can taste our beers at the source, see where and how it’s made, meet the brewers and try out new test brews.”
Since opening, the team has added two more 20-foot containers, and is planning to bring in another two 20ft containers early in 2016.
Pettersson concluded. "So far it’s worked out well, although ‘never a dull moment’ has become our motto.”
Of the design, he said: “We couldn’t find inspiration from other shipping container breweries out there, so it was a risk to see if it would actually work in practice. It’s been a steep learning curve from day one."
A derelict car park is the temporary location for the brewery, which is building a great reputation with local retailers, as well as opening at weekends as a tap room Credit: 40FT Brewery
Local retailers stock and promote the product line Credit: 40FT Brewery
The new 40FT Brewery porter was launched in November 2015 Credit: 40FT Brewery
Big changes are coming to London's Dalston in the next few decades. The area – an up and coming part of East London – will have the city’s new Crossrail network laid in, transforming the transport network and there are major plans for a redevelopment on the site of the local Kingsland Shopping Centre. In the face of so much uncertainty, the local council has struck a short-term lease for
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