Pinter on the Blackhorse Beer Mile

Since the craft beer revolution, a series of exciting beer trails have emerged around the country. One of those is the Blackhorse Beer Mile, whose 1st birthday party took place at the end of April - an event that Pinter staff took little convincing to attend in support of our local friends in one of the nation’s craft beer nuclei.

The Blackhorse Beer Mile has really grown in popularity over the past year and is a community full of innovation that means a lot to us. This E17 beery trail is a perfect example of the craft beer community’s unique take on competitors - rather than fearing it, it is often highly welcomed; not only does clustering help to increase footfall at everyone’s respective venues but it develops a space for exciting collaborations with one another, including Pinter, offering us the chance to further our innovation and have great inter-E17 relationships! Being in amongst the Blackhorse Beer Mile means we live and breathe all things beer, hence why it was a no-brainer for us to buddy up with Signature Brew, an ever-shining star in the community, with future partnerships to come with other brands.

Since we were attending 8 different venues throughout the day - 7 brewery taprooms and one winery - we were hopeful that the weather would be as kind to us as the tasty refreshments on offer. The day kicked off in the bustling environments of Big Penny Social, Signature Brew, where we, of course, enjoyed some original Roadie on tap, and our next-door neighbours, Pretty Decent Beer Co. The three breweries are each located a minute’s walk from one another. We were certainly into the full swing of things by then, as we moved on to the second part of the trip and onwards. Huge queues emerged from Exhale, and Beerblefish, who have a modern take on traditional styles. In hindsight, since this was a marathon, not a sprint, the queues were only a positive thing to slow us down and keep us in tip-top shape.

At that point, we had reached the final stage of the Blackhorse Beer Mile pilgrimage with only Wild Card Brewery, Hackney Brewery, and Renegade Urban Winery to go. The sun was still shining and the crowds were showing no sign of settling down. With a few hours to spare, we crossed the finish line.

To celebrate not only our achievement but also being knighted with the very special Blackhorse Beer Mile bespoke pint glass after getting our 8 stamps, we decided we’d take one more trip back to our next-door friends at Pretty Decent to christen the glassware and relax following what was a full-on day. During such difficult times for small businesses around the country, it was especially pleasing to see how packed out every venue on the trail was. Anyone can do the Blackhorse Beer Mile any weekend - here’s the recommended route.

Blackhorse Beer Mile… completed it mate.

The research didn’t stop there! On the following Friday we had the chance to expand our palates towards other industry stars at the London beer festival, Brew LDN. This was a similarly busy and exciting day for us all, where we not only were tasting some of the hottest beers in the country but also investigating future breweries we could partner with ;) Any guesses..?

Riaz - Community Engagement Representative