Hopworts Brewing Co.

Hopworts Brewing Co. is a new magical craft brewery located in Bermondsey, London. It officially opened in December 2011. Pollux Thursby is one of the owners and the head brewer. Its address is Arch 22, Druid Street.

The brewery is located inside an old stone railway arch underneath the elevated train tracks in Bermondsey. The neighborhood, which was once mostly industrial, has recently begun a second life as a kind of hipster market. Several other Muggle breweries have also opened in the area, as well as a collection of old-fashioned specialty shops. Hopworts' neighbor in the railway arch to its left is a vegan butchery, and the shop on its right is a Muggle cheesemonger.

The entry to Hopworts itself is concealed within the back of the cheesemonger. Patrons can ask the Muggle clerk to use the restroom, and then make their way to the bathroom at the back of the cheese shop, where they step through a large, floor-length silver mirror to enter Hopworts. The brewery also has a back summer patio that can be used as an apparition point; however, its staff strongly encourages customers not to apparate after drinking.

Hopworts is an operating brewery first, with all of the inherent equipment: bags of grains and hops scattered about on wooden pallets, a stainless steel boiler, a brite tank and two medium-sized fermenting vessels, a gigantic wooden foeder, and several barrels stacked on racks.

The front area is outfitted as a tasting room, which is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 9 and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 to 11. It has an industrial look to it, with an arched brick ceiling, a raw wooden floor, and long wooden tables interspersed with barrels and high stools. The staff chose to light the taproom with electrical lights because they liked the Muggle ambiance; however, the hanging lamps tend to flicker frequently, overwhelmed both by incidental magic cast by patrons below and trains passing overhead. Bottles are sold to go from magical cooling cases along one of the walls. A model train that looks like the Hogwarts Express runs on a miniature track mounted near the ceiling, weaving its way in and out of the tasting room on a complicated circuit.

If a customer is inclined to drink outside, they can walk through the brewing area to the back patio, which is located in a dead-end brick alleyway. There, one will find sofas made out of stacked wooden pallets, barrels with metal stools, and a small raised garden bed, where the brewery crew appears to be growing different varieties of hops, several different types of hot peppers, and some other questionable-looking vegetables.

Beer Offerings

Hopworts has started to sell four beers year-round, although it plans to offer other specialty seasonal releases throughout the year.

Its core lineup of beers includes:

• Minerva McGonagale, a traditional Irish red ale.
• Filius Flitwit, a wheat beer.
• Pomona Stout, a dark oatmeal stout.
• Severus SnIPA, an American-style IPA with a rotating hop series.

In addition to normal Muggle craft beer, Hopworts has started to experiment with magical beers, which have enchantments added during the brewing process. However, none of these have been officially offered on draft yet.

Along with beer, Hopworts also offers a selection of sausages from the vegan butcher next door.