Hop idol: how Robert Plant's son Logan is riding the new craft beer wave with Beavertown Brewery

Robert Plant’s son is brewing up a storm in Tottenham. He talks craft cans and rocking pub crawls with Rachael Sigee
Canned heat: Logan Plant with some of his Beavertown brewery stock
Daniel Hambury/Stella Pictures Ltd
Rachael Sigee28 October 2015

Whether it’s Hackney Wick or Bermondsey you can hardly move in London without stumbling over a microbrewery these days. And the popularity of craft beer means some of them are not quite so micro these days.

Since Logan Plant started home-brewing in his kitchen he has had to move three times to accommodate his growing business. From its first home in the kitchen of Duke’s Brew and Que in De Beauvoir Town, Hackney, Beavertown brewery has increased its production almost tenfold and relocated, via a stint on Fish Island, to an 11,000 sq ft space in Tottenham Hale.

Plant says: “To go from my kitchen to Duke’s and then to brewing at the current site and exporting to 20 countries in just three-and-a-half years is a pretty big jump.”

It should be noted that he is from ambitious stock, being the son of Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, and his love of beer was born from growing up in the Black Country. “Dad dragged me around the pubs when I was a kid and now we drink together and love beer together. In the Black Country the pub is an extension of the home.” Now Plant, 36, is based in Kensal Rise with his wife and two children.

Londoner: Logan Plant

The name Beavertown comes from the old cockney nickname for De Beauvoir and Plant is keen to point out that while his brewery might be growing it is still firmly connected to its London roots. “We’re really careful about maintaining our ethos — I’m lucky because it’s just me in charge, I answer to myself. It’s from the heart.”

Plant took a risk when he opted to transition from bottling his ales to exclusively producing them in cans. He acknowledges that cans jolt most of us back to teenage days in the park and watery lager. “There’s a real stigma about beer in cans in the UK but it’s perfect for our beer which is loaded with hops — which don’t like light. By putting them in a can you’re maintaining the beer as freshly as possible.”

These aren’t just any cans either. Beavertown has become well-known for its colourful designs featuring spacemen (the Gamma Ray American Pale Ale) or Day of the Dead-esque skulls designed to look like the original brewing team (Neck Oil Session IPA).

Beavertown Brewery - in pictures

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They are the work of creative director Nick Dwyer, who was originally a waiter in the Duke’s restaurant, bringing in sketches from his Central St Martin’s course to the restaurant. “I saw them and was just like ‘These are amazing!’,” says Plant. “So I just told him to go for it.”

If the canning production line sounds like it might be heading towards the mainstream, the Beavertown team are still encouraged to experiment. A selection of barrel-aged ales using casks from different wines and whiskeys are being produced in limited runs and their Stingy Jack Spiced Pumpkin Ale has returned for Halloween.

What’s more, the Tottenham Hale site has a tap room open from 2pm-8pm on Saturdays, with brewers on hand to answer questions from aficionados.

Although some may question how much longer the capital’s love affair with craft beer can last, Plant is confident that the new wave of brewers are here to stay. “I just want great beer to be drunk by anyone who wants more from their experience. I think that’s the case for a lot of our generation — my 22-year-old brother has become obsessed with IPAs. It’s not a trend anymore, now it’s a choice.”

And Robert Plant’s favourite? “The American Pale Ale, which is surprising because the hops used to bring him out in a rash.”

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