Gipsy Hill Brewing Company has opened its micropub, The Douglas Fir, located on Anerley Road, Crystal Palace, about a mile from the brewery itself on Gipsy Hill.
The micropub will be selling all the Gipsy Hill core range and showcasing special brews, alongside a rotating drinks menu.
The bar itself has been hand crafted by Gipsy Hill’s head brewer from a five-metre-long piece of Douglas fir timber and is a sight to behold. The south London venue was previously a hair salon, and has been transformed in to a cosy and inviting venue that looks like it has been a part of the local furniture for years.
Gipsy Hill makes a core range of no-nonsense, full-flavoured, medium-strength beer. Marketing manager, Michael Huddart, said: “The Douglas Fir is an extension of our brewing ethos. It’s a place you can drink and talk to people.
“Our focus is to showcase some of the great produce being made right now. We love our local community. Without them this project may have fallen at the first consultation hurdle. It’s been important for us to create a space that captures this.
“We want to be able to share our expertise and the love we have for brewing beer with everyone that walks through the doors of the Douglas Fir, and hope that this proves to be a great success and a warming sanctuary for a long time to come.”
Gipsy Hill core beers
Beatnik: the flagship, cunningly light pale ale that showcases US hops above an uncomplicated malt base, the intention being to demonstrate how much flavour can be achieved in a sub-4% beer.
Dissident: roasted malt flavour dominates. Some chocolate sweetness resides behind the earthy richness. There’s some spice and molasses from the Pilgrim hops and it signs off with a dry bitterness.
Hepcat: a strong line-up of Mosaic, Citra, Equinox and Motueka hops combine to produce an intensely tropical-citrus hit. Its inviting orange hue speaks of what’s to come.
Southpaw: here, the brewer chose the hoppier end of the amber spectrum, once again using all-American hops and plenty of them. The malt composition is fairly complex, bringing sweetness, roasted notes and overall balance.
