Following six sold-out public cruises in 2019, the London Craft Beer Cruise enters its third season with an expanded programme.
The London Craft Beer Cruise is the UK’s first craft beer festival to be curated entirely by Beer Sommeliers. Every cruise is organised and run by three accredited Beer Sommeliers who have partnered to champion the best in independent beer, from the capital’s top breweries to exceptional examples from further afield.
They have handpicked the breweries and beer lists for each sailing to showcase a variety of tastes and styles and will be supported by a staff of beer enthusiasts and representatives from the breweries on board. Passengers will be encouraged to ask questions and learn about beer while enjoying a scenic cruise down the Thames, passing some of London’s most iconic sights.
This year’s breweries include: Anspach & Hobday, East London Brewing Company, Hackney Brewery and The Five Points Brewing Company with plenty more to be announced.
In addition to fantastic beer, guests can look forward to sampling products from other carefully chosen independent producers of craft products, such as: cider from Nightingale Cider Co in Kent, handmade cocktails from Long Flint, cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy, plus wine and mead.
On every cruise, food will be offered from one of our rotating pop-up guest kitchens. London Craft Beer Cruises has partnered with some big names on the London street food scene, such as barbeque masters Prairie Fire, and Bian Dang with their fresh and tasty Taiwanese dishes. Guests can also enjoy entertainment from music, DJs and live PAs.
Following a successful partnership in 2019, London Craft Beer Cruises is once again working with Foodism, London’s largest food and drink magazine, to promote this year’s schedule.
Beer Sommelier and founder of the London Craft Beer Cruise, James Kellow, explains the concept behind the cruises: “The idea was inspired by my own craft beer-focused exploration of other cities combined with my love of all things nautical. I thought ‘if someone offered me the chance to explore the beer culture of a city, drinking the best beers from that city while seeing all the sights from a boat, I’d bite their hand off!’”
Beer Sommelier and marketing manager, Rebecca Pate, adds: “We had such a successful 2019 season that it only made sense to see what heights we could reach in 2020. I’m so excited to be working with James again and to bring even more fantastic craft beer to guests while giving them an unforgettable day out on the Thames.”
The #BetterOnABoat hashtag reflects this, as does the hugely positive response from passengers to date. Beer is popular across all ages, cultures and lifestyles and the London Craft Beer Cruises aims to be just as inclusive.
Feedback from 2019 cruises:
“We had so much fun- these guys did an amazing job putting it all together. Amazing beer, amazing people. I will definitely be recommending the cruise to all the craft beer lovers I know!” – Pauline (July 2019 guest)
“A really great day out! Lovely views of the thames, great beer selection and lovely people! Would highly recommend this to all beer lovers!” – Lucy (August 2019 guest)
“Bought as a Father’s Day present, had a wonderful afternoon – very friendly staff, good selection of beers, delicious food and great music choices! Would do again and recommend to friends.” – Holly (August 2019 guest)
“Great day! Really well organised event and good variety of beers and lovely food! Will definitely go again!” – Adam (September 2019 guest)
The cruises are aimed at every beer drinker from 18 to 80+.
Cruises will take place on the first Saturday of the month from April through to September 2020. There are six cruise dates in 2020, but each day will have two sessions: one embarking at midday, followed by second mid-afternoon sailing.
Cruises depart from Lambeth Pier (Westminster Tube).
The London Craft Beer Cruise dates for 2020 are:
Saturday, April 4th (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Saturday, May 2nd (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Saturday, June 6th (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Saturday, July 4th (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Saturday, August 1st (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Saturday, September 5th (12:00-14:30 & 15:15-17:45)
Tickets are £44 each and include a souvenir glass and five beers. They are available here. Vouchers are available here.
We would love to offer members of the BGBW a £20 discount on tickets for our first four cruises of 2020 (April and May sailings). There are a limited number of these discounted tickets available and they can be redeemed by using the code 2020BGBW here: https://
London Craft Beer Cruise socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ldncraftbeercruise
Twitter: @Brews_Cruise
Instagram: @londoncraftbeercruise
Hashtag: #BetterOnABoat
Images that can be used to promote the London Craft Beer Cruise are here.
The London Craft Beer Cruise Beer Sommeliers:
James Kellow
James Kellow is a London Beer Sommelier with six years of experience giving tastings and talks on the subject. Previously working for Crate Brewery in Hackney Wick, James ran tastings, tours and training for the brewery. James is the owner-operator of the London Craft Beer Cruises. James is qualified through the IBD Beer Academy, is a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers and the Guild of Beer Sommeliers. When not busy on board his craft beer cruises, James works for Mr & Mrs Smith boutique hotels, UK Brewery Tours and he offers private tours, tastings and consultancy on beer-based events and festivals.
Rebecca Pate
Rebecca Pate (Bex) became an Accredited Beer Sommelier in October 2018 with The Beer & Cider Academy (Institute of Brewing and Distilling) in London. Bex has judged for The World Beer Awards, the Quality Food and Drinks Awards and The Global Beer Competition. She is a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers (BGBW) and was shortlisted by the BGBW for Beer Citizen Communicator in 2017. In 2018, she was shortlisted for Beer Blogger Geek in the BrewDog Beer Geek Awards and again by the BGBW for Best Young Beer Writer. In 2017-18, she worked in-house with Hackney’s The Five Points Brewing Company and now works as a freelance marketing consultant, specialising within the drinks industry.
Sarah Hyde
Sarah has been working in the beer industry for over six years and gained her Sommelier accreditation in 2018. Sarah’s passion for great beer has led to an exciting and varied career path. Heading up the tour and beer education department of one of London’s leading breweries (Meantime Brewing Co), Sarah welcomed thousands of guests through the doors, each of them leaving with a bit more knowledge about the work that goes into every pint of beer. Making the big move up north to Manchester, Sarah has continued to share her knowledge of all things beer, leading and coordinating tours for UK Brewery Tours in the North West of England and launching a walking tour of the breweries of Liverpool in 2019. Sarah is also a “semi-professional” brewer and heads up the brewing schedule for Surplus, a food waste initiative that aims to “feed bellies not bins”. The beer brewed utilises fruit, vegetables and bread that would otherwise have gone to waste.
/ENDS
For further information, contact Rebecca Pate on bex@londoncraftbeercruisecompany.uk