The Beer by the River festival is making a return to Ram Quarter, at the heart of Wandsworth, on Saturday, 4th September.
Visitors enjoy Beer by the River in 2019
After a pause in 2020, due to the pandemic, the festival is the first major event to take place at Ram Quarter in more than 18 months. It will be a chance for the community to get together and celebrate the area’s brewing past, as well as spending a great day out with family and friends.
A lot has changed at Ram Quarter over the past year and a half, and the event will show the best that the development has to offer, including the many new leisure and food and drink brands that have opened recently on site. There will be a range of activities for the whole family to enjoy, with live music, face painting and, of course, great beer.
The festival will begin at 11am. Sambrook’s Brewery, London’s oldest independent brewer, and Schooner Bar will be serving take-away drinks, including cider, cocktails, wine, and soft drinks, alongside beer. There will also be food from Machi’s Barbecue, Crust Bros, and Mai Thai.
Sambrook’s will be opening the doors to a new Heritage Centre, celebrating Wandsworth’s past as the home of London brewing.
What’s on?
- Live music from 12.30pm until 6pm, with bean bags and deckchairs for people to enjoy the performances
- Free ice-cream and face painting for children
- A chance to see the Young’s dray horses from noon until 4pm, like the ones which used to deliver beer locally from the old brewery
- Free tours of the new Ram Quarter Heritage Centre. Opening for the first time, it tells the site’s story as Britain’s longest continually running brewery.
Sambrook’s will be running additional ticketed events, including brewery tours for beer lovers, on Friday 3rd and Sunday 5th September. Tickets will include beer tokens and a commemoration glass. More details and prices can be found at sambrooksbrewery.co.uk.
Special day
The festival takes place on the bank of the River Wandle on the site of the former Young’s brewery, which Greenland has transformed into a retail and leisure destination. Ram Quarter holds the honour of being the site of Britain’s longest continuously-operating brewery. Beer-making dates back to at least 1533, when Henry VIII was on the throne.
Greenland’s redevelopment has restored some of the old brewery’s most distinctive features, including the beam engines and brewery coppers, and created space for restaurants and apartments in the listed building.
Duncan Sambrook, founder of Sambrook’s Brewery, said: “We can’t wait to get everyone back together for another fantastic festival. With live music, great beer, and all the action taking place in the beautiful and historic setting of Ram Quarter, it’s set to be a really special day for the whole family to enjoy.”
