Good news… From Thursday 5 July, the Brewery Bar will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays!

Thursdays will be 4pm-8pm. It’s a short burst so you can pop in, grab a pint after work or buy some bottles to take away. We’ll be putting on some fun stuff for Thursday nights.

Friday stays as 4pm-11pm. We’ve loved having Street Feast here so much that we’re going to have four food stands on the street outside every Friday and there’ll be lots of beer pouring from the taps inside.

Saturdays will be 12pm-8pm so you can come in during the day, have a beer or two, get some bottles, have some food and hang out. (The first Saturday opening is 7 July)

Brewery tours will be run on Thursdays at 6pm. They’ll last around 90 minutes and cost £12 to book, which gets you a look around the brewery and a taste of the Camden beers on tap. They start on Thursday 19 July. To book onto them, go here: http://camdentownbrewerytour.eventbrite.com/

We’re working on a plan of events to happen now that we’re open longer. What would you like to see here?

In 1908, London held the fourth modern games. It was the first in England’s capital and Great Britain won 56 gold medals, topping the leader board. But what beers were the spectators drinking in the pubs during the games? That’s what we wanted to find out at Camden Town Brewery…

As we approach the 30^th competition, and the third held in London, we wanted to make a beer to celebrate the summer and we wanted to brew a beer that represented London. So we decided to look backwards to bring a taste of history to modern beer drinkers in the capital.

From 1859 until it was sold to Courage Brewery in 1926, Camden Brewery was making beer a short walk from where our brewery is now. Though not related to us, we researched the old Camden Brewery and discovered that they owned a number of the pubs who we now sell beer to, including the Southampton Arms and the Exmouth Arms. We also found Camden Brewery’s old brewing archives, which showed us the beers they made and the recipes they used.

Working with the old brewing books and information from beer historian Ron Pattinson, we figured out what a pale ale from 1908 would’ve been like… Brewed mostly with English hops from Kent and Worcester, American hops from Oregon were also used at that time. Pale ale ranged from 4.5% to 6.5% in alcohol (IPA was weaker at 3.5%-5% ABV). Brewers would use a portion of sugar in the beer, which was there to keep the beer light in colour and body. Pale ales were deep amber in colour, well attenuated, so dry, and had a relatively big bitterness, hitting the high 30s (which is more bitter than our current Pale Ale).

Knowing this, we worked out our version, using modern steps and ingredients to best replicate the taste of 1908. We shot straight down the middle for 5.5% ABV. We took Golding hops from Kent, with a floral, spicy flavour, and Cluster hops from America, the original American hop, which has a big berry and floral quality. We aren’t using sugar because the malts we have are far better now and able to give us exactly the quality we want. It’ll be dry-hopped in tank, instead of in cask like would’ve done back then. We’re using a classic English ale yeast and the beer will be available in bottles and, going against tradition, in kegs (apart from a couple which we’ll have on the brewery bar…).

Camden 1908 is a one-off limited edition brew that will be released on Friday 27 July at the Camden Town Brewery Bar – expect a big party and look out for more details, coming soon.

Pale ale has changed a lot in 100 years. Drink the Pale Ale of now next to the Pale Ale of 1908. Taste history in the summer of 2012 with Camden Town Brewery.

We love Street Feast at Camden Town Brewery on Fridays. A whole bunch of amazing street traders come over here and cooks up incredible food. We’ve had two so far and have got two left until it moves on (don’t worry though, we’ll definitely be keeping a few traders here every week!). With the bar pouring brewery-fresh beer from 4pm and 11 street food traders serving from 5pm, it’s a perfect Friday night hangout.

But for the important stuff… what beer to drink with each trader? Here’s who’s cooking on Friday 22 June:

Pop Up Barbados makes delicious Caribbean food. Get some unfiltered Hells where the clean smoothness of the beer is so good with the spices in the food.

America and Korea combine with Kimchi Cult’s stacked burgers topped with fermented cabbage. One fermented thing likes another, so grab a Camden Wheat which has a smooth cloak of sweetness to smother the meat and kimchi.

Bare Grillz wraps great meat into brilliant packages. Get a Hells Lager or Camden Ink, both do different things with the food but both do it really well.

Broth, noodles and skewers of prawn, beef or chicken. So simple yet Hardcore Prawn make it so delicious. Have a Camden Wheat which has a subtle creaminess to match the soup and can cool the chilli heat.

My Sweet Tooth Factory bring cakes to the party and you can’t have a party without cakes. Camden Wheat likes cakes.

Mother Flipper flips some flipping good burgers. It’s got to be a Camden Pale to go with one. Juicy citrus cuts through the meat, cheese and condiment richness.

Horn OK Please is like a siren calling for Hells lager. A tongue-pleasing range of tastes, spices and textures is balanced by Hells’ soft, crisp lemony background.

Meatballs! That’s what The Bowler brings to the brewery. Get a Camden Ink. The dark, roasty depth shouts out for ‘balls.

Speck make some seriously good schnitzel. Schnitzel is not allowed to be eaten without lager, so grab a Hells.

Mama’s Jerk Station is hot, hot hot! Gentleman’s Wit has a fresh, lively lemon depth and a smooth, fire-cooling body. Hit that.

Big Apple Hot Dogs work with every beer. Fact.

See you later!

The photo at the top is from the Street Feast facebook page. Check out the album.

The next One Keg beer is ready to go and this one’s a little unusual, so might take some explaining…

It’s unfermented Hells as the base. Added into that is an additional mini-mash of malts (cara pils, dark crystal, melanoidin and roast malt) all mixed together in a cafetiere (seriously). Then Northdown, Hallertauer and Motueka hops went in and we added pale ale and wheat beer yeast. It’s a pretty crazy mix!

How does it taste? No one who’s tried it so far has come up with much more than ‘kinda saisony’ or ‘ a bit like a farmhouse ale’. Sounds interesting though, right? There’s only one way to find out what it actually tastes like and that’s by coming to the Brewery Bar on Friday 22 June! There’s only one keg of it, so get there early.

A footnote… The keg we use has been affectionately names Madge. Ben, who put this crazy concoction together, has called this one his party blend. He’ll be at the bar tomorrow drinking it. You can ask him why it’s called that if you see him.

And for those who haven’t seen this before, the idea behind the One Keg Project is to create interesting mixes of ingredients and make them in a keg which we’ve converted to work like a mini-fermenter. It’s our project to play around in the brewery and the beers will only be available on the Brewery Bar – there will only ever be one keg of each made.

This morning we were sitting in the Brewery Bar trying to work out where to go to watch the England vs Ukraine game tonight. Unsure whether to go to one place or another, we looked up, saw the big TV on the wall on one side of the room and the bar taps on the other wall… Let’s just watch it here! And let’s open the Bar for others!

So we will.

The Brewery Bar will be open tonight, Tuesday 19 June, and showing the football. Doors from 5pm and the game kicks off at 7.45pm. If you don’t want to watch the football then just come for a beer.

Street Feast is coming to Camden Town Brewery! On Friday 8th June we’ve got eight great food traders coming to cook while we pour the beers.

No doubt that when you get here, you’re going to be hungry and thirsty. So here’s some beer and food suggestions to help you out…

Anna Mae’s make amazing American-style mac n cheese. Get it with a Camden Pale. The juicy, citrusy American hops love cheese and add a fantastic fruitiness to everything.

When it comes to Mama’s Jerk Station you need to get a Camden Wheat. The wicked herbs and spices need something soothing and Wheat is exactly that – it’s like a fire fighter against spice.

Brewery Bar favourites Big Apple Hot Dogs are slinging here again. Hot dog and a Hells. Easy choice. Unless you want a Camden Pale which is just as good. Maybe even better.

Kimchi Cult make Korean-style fast food. It’s very good. And it’s even better when you have a Gentleman’s Wit with it. The lemony freshness in the beer sings the same song as the killer kimchi. Make it a combo of Korean, Belgian, British and American. Your mouth is a playground.

We’ve got pizza! Homeslice are up and to go with that you need to get a Camden Ink. The roasty depth is so good with pizza’s charred edges and kick ass toppings.

Horn OK Please make some of the most delicious Indian street food we’ve eaten (we spent all last weekend working next to them!). Grab a Camden Hells – it’s a cool, refreshing counterpoint to the spice in the food.

We have something sweet! Molly Bakes is bringing cakes. Get in. You need something with body to handle the sweetness, so get a Camden Wheat. The toffee and banana flavour is great fun with a cake.

And our good friends Byron will be cooking up their brilliant burgers in their Van. There’s only one beer to have with that: a Byron Pale Ale. Designed to be the perfect beer for a burger, it’s got an amazing citrus and tropical fruit flavour which rocks with the meat, cheese and condiments of the hamburger.

Hungry yet?

We’re open from 4pm today. Food is from 5pm.

(We also sell wine. No pairings available.)

We brewed it as a one-off beer at the end of last year but we liked it so much we decided to brew it again!

Gentleman’s Wit is a Belgian-style wit beer made with roasted lemons and bergamot. It’s kind of like eating a lemon meringue pie while taking afternoon tea in a Belgian beer café…

We made a couple of tweaks from the first recipe and got some more bergamot character in there (thanks to The Rare Tea Company for helping us out there!). It’s a pale, hazy gold, there’s fresh, sharp lemons and fragrant bergamot in the aroma, really bursting with freshness, then it’s clean, floral and lemony with a dryness which makes you want more. It’s exactly the beer we want to drink while the sun’s shining.

Gentleman’s Wit is out now. It’s a limited release so there isn’t much of it – get it while you can. It’ll be on at the Brewery Bar tomorrow!