Hopt and Redchurch Brewery Masterclass Review
Hopt and Redchurch Brewery Masterclass
Reviewed by Dee Ryz
Located in trendy Shoreditch Box Park, Hopt is a wonderful treasure trove of craft beer, wine and spirits. The brainchild of Tommy, Trevor and Tim, the concept of Hopt is to offer the best selection of craft alcohol to fulfil your alcohol needs – and as an added bonus, if you’re based in East or Central London, they offer a 1-hour drink delivery service via their website!
As you can tell by the name, the Hopt focus is predominantly craft beer. With a huge variety of beers from all over the world, from USA to Belgium to local delights such as the Redchurch Brewery, the selection of drink available changes multiple times a month.
I was genuinely impressed with their offering and after chatting to the team over the course of my visit, I could tell that they love what they do – they aren’t out there just to make money as ‘another craft beer shop’, they’re there to share their experience and knowledge. The team have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for what they do which is definitely reflected in the small details of Hopt, from curated 6 packs of beer catering for every taste or occasion from ‘Brewmance’ to ‘Great with Grub’, to the ‘staff picked’ beers which have individual labels with handwritten comments from specific staff members detailing the taste and why it’s their flavour of the week – a truly personalised service.
As mentioned, in stocking local produce, Hopt have introduced tasting events with their suppliers to celebrate some of the important calendar dates and as luck would have it Wednesday night was International Beer Day, so the lovely Karen from Redchurch Brewery was in attendance.
Based in East London, Redchurch was ‘born out of passion for great beer’, and they didn’t disappoint! As more of a ‘gin and tonic’ person, my knowledge of beer is somewhat lacking so I was pleasantly surprised by Karen who was able to tell me about the brewery and, more importantly, helped to identify which beer I might like. After tasting and discussing a variety of their offerings, from Bethnal Pale Ale to Hoxton Stout, Karen helped me figure out that there is definitely a beer for everyone, and mine just so happened to be Shoreditch Blonde – a light and crisp continental style beer. I can honestly say I left Hopt feeling like I knew a little bit more about Redchurch Brewery, and even had a few beers in my bag to enjoy later.
I would definitely recommend heading along to their next event, to quench your thirst for alcohol knowledge – whether it’s for beer, wine or spirits. There’s a rumour that Hopt will be holding a special Rum tasting to celebrate National Rum Day, and I can tell you now, I’ll be front of the queue.
Rating: 5/5 
For more information visit www.hopt.co.uk and www.theredchurchbrewery.com or visit the Hopt shop at Unit 8, Boxpark, 2-10 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6GY.
