Launching & establishing a new brewery always comes with its own set of challenges. But the team at London’s Drop Project Brewing Co are letting their beers do the talking, & making a name for the young outfit as a result.
“Brewing beer is easy, but producing good beer takes real skill,” explains John Taylor, co-founder of London’s Drop Project Brewing Co. “I’ve brewed more lager in my career than anything else but now, I’m brewing a lot of hazy styles. They look great, they taste great and I disagree with anyone that says they’re an easy type of beer to brew.”
And Taylor, known to his friends as JT, knows a thing or two about beer. Formerly head of production at Gipsy Hill Brewing Co, he played an integral role in an ambitious growth and expansion pro-ject at the South London business.
“They are on a large growth arc. Last year, when I was there, we put out 53 new beers. A lot of your time is taken up with managing rotas and deciding what is going in which tank,” he recalls. “But now I’ve got my boots back on and of course, it’s refreshing to be making beer again.”
JT is a third of the trio that makes up Drop Project Brewing Co. Along with Joe Simo and Will Skipsey, the team have set out with a clear goal in mind.
“We want to creating the freshest, premium flavoursome beers with consistent high-quality results,” says Simo. “We’re pushing creative boundaries and creating the beers that both inspire our passions for the industry and our lifestyles. We don’t cut corners and you can taste it.”
And the market reaction to those early beers has vindicated that approach. The majority of Drop Project’s output to-date has centred around a number of hop-forward Pale Ales and IPAs.
Shifty is 5.2% DDH New England Pale fermented with Vermont yeast, and packed full of Citra and Mosaic, while Vanguard is an 8% DIPA collaboration with Yakima Chief Hops.
Double dry-hopped on active fermentation with their house New England yeast, the beer features experimental Cryo blend YCH TRI2304CR, Mosaic, Citra, Azacca and Ekuanot.
Elsewhere, Cruiser is 5.2% Pale Ale showcasing Citra and Simcoe, while BS Salad is a 7.2% West Coast IPA brewed with Simcoe, Centennial and Cascade.
Launching their first beers to market last year, JT is frank in his assessment of the team’s early months in business.
“It’s exhausting!” he laughs. “It was an interesting time to launch a new brewery, and 2020 has changed things once again.”
The decision to step away from their day-to-day lives and start their own operation came after JT had facilitated a conversation between his would-be fellow co-founders.
“I think we all knew we could make a real go of this. However I did so without realising which direction any of this could go, but here we are,” says JT.
Simo, who knew JT from his own time working in sales at Gipsy Hill, is described as the “perfect facilitator” by Skipsey.
“Running my own business, I’ve worked and been friends with Joe for years now,” he says. “We spoke for months regarding what this new project could look like but one thing was clear, Joe had to be part of it!”
The trio would go on to take that leap of faith and Drop Project Brewing Co was born in the Autumn of 2019. Launch events at beer institutions such as The Rake in Borough Market would introduce eager drinkers to their Shifty New England Pale Ale alongside Lip Smack, a 5% Fruited Sour with Raspberry and Blackberry.
“We wanted to hit the market with a a bit of a hammer,” says JT. “By launching with a DDH Pale and a Fruited Sour, I wanted to show people that we can make beer, and make it well.”
He adds: “In my experience, craft beer is a very insulated world. So launching a new brand is a big challenge. There were lots of doors shut early on and it can be tough to open them, but you need to stick at it.
“We have faith in the beers we make. I’ve been in this game a while now so there was no denying things would be hard at the start. But I firmly believe these beers stand up to the competition.”
“We have faith in the beers we make. I’ve been in this game a while now so there was no denying things would be hard at the start. But I firmly believe these beers stand up to the competition,” JT, Drop Project Brewing Company
The Drop Project team sees Simo handling sales and Skipsey heading up business management responsibilities. JT looks after brewing, production and cellaring, which currently takes place at Missing Link Brewery based in West Sussex.
JT says the team needed somewhere that suited their needs more than a simple contractor.
“There is no doubt without the brilliant support and willingness to work with us, we would not have been able to have the success we have to date,” he says. “Jeremy and the entire set up at Missing Link have been top class from the start, and we can all say it’s been a pleasure working with them.”
JT adds: “We effectively rent the kit from them – brewing, packaging, the lot. We wouldn’t do it any other way though, as there’s no fun if someone else is making the beer for us.”
While Drop Project currently leverage Missing Link’s facilities, they remain on track to start their own operation in due course.
“We’re probably the best-equipped brewery without a brewery!” he laughs. “We have a lot of kit ready to roll out of storage however the pandemic has put us back slightly, but we will get there.”
And when the time comes to open their own facility, it will have followed a testing time for the business, which has had to navigate the choppy waters of recent months.
“It’s been an interesting time for a new brand like ours,” says Simo. “You’re faced with a situation where you have a massive downturn in demand but thankfully, followed by a huge uplift.”
He explains: “Before the pandemic hit, we were primarily wholesale with little to no business done online.
“60% of what we sold was in keg with the remaining 40% in can. Now, that’s pretty much flipped to 100% sold in can, most of which is done direct online.
“There is obviously a lot more work required to move as much volume but the margins are higher as a result.”
Despite the incredibly challenging conditions that have faced brewing, hospitality and countless other industries the team are not deterred in their goals.
“We’re now hitting our stride as a brewery,” says JT. “I’m in love with brewing again, and we’re in no mood to look back.”
