London branding agency Underscore is working with London’s Beavertown Brewery to launch what is described as a “traditional yet maverick” range of beers.
The brand is the brainchild of Logan Plant, musician and brewer, and Byron Knight, an expert in food and beverage from the USA. It takes its name from the old Cockney name for the site on which the brewery now stands, De Beauvoir Town. It’s an area with a rich heritage and was famed across Victorian London for its ale houses, breweries, rich characters and infinite revelry.
These were the key ingredients for the rock ’n’ roll Beavertown branding, created in close collaboration with the brewery’s founders. It features at its heart a burning sun, representing the founders’ creative energy, spiritual vision and “a fire that could not be contained”. An Olde English typeface is used to complement and support a distressed, slightly Americanised typeface, a nod to the origins and future of the brand.
The brewery is housed and on show at Duke’s Brew and Que (33 Downham Road, De Beauvoir Town, Hackney, N1 5AA), where the brand formally launched on Thursday.
Beavertown currently make three beers. The Smog Rocket is a smoked porter inspired by the Industrial Revolution and working class masses that made Britain great. The Eight Ball is a Rye IPA, packed full of rye with juicy American hops, lighter and better suited to sessions. The Neck Oil is a session best bitter, with its origin firmly in Logan’s Midlands roots.
Each carries its own bespoke label, lovingly crafted with as much care as the brews themselves, and offering a hint into the inspiration for and history of the brew within.
Further works to develop the brand and product range are continuing. The website is now live, showcasing the product range and telling the brand story. They are also active on social media, and will continue to work with Underscore to grow the brand ahead of a potential retail expansion later in the year.
Underscore managing director, Neil Stanhope, said: “Microbreweries are popping up all over London, especially in the east of the city where there is a rich heritage harking back to the Victorian era. We created the Beavertown brand to reflect the founders’ passion for this period in history, their personal heritage, the locality of the brewery and, of course, to support the character of the individual brews they have created.”
