The brewery
Tucked down an alleyway just next to the eponymous Five Points junction in Hackney, Five Points Brewing Company has been busting out a dazzling, instantly recognisable line of core beers for the last five years. Since 2018, it’s also been the owner of a classic Hackney boozer, too – The Pembury Tavern just over the road (more on that shortly).
The beer
Because of its compact size and the massive demand London has for its beer, Five Points focuses on a well-oiled range of core brews sold in colourful, minimalist cans. These include a pils, a pale, the tropically hoppy XPA, the super-rich Railway Porter and Citrus Pale, which has cats on the can (we like). The latest addition is JUPA, a juicy pale ale with bold notes of pineapple and mango backed up with plenty of body thanks to the addition of wheat and oats. That doesn’t mean there aren’t banging seasonals, too – a small barrel project sees aged releases of Railway Porter, while the annual series of super-fresh green-hop ales celebrates hops like Fuggles, Kentish Goldings and Bullion from the UK.
What else?
Five Points revamped the Pembury Tavern earlier in 2018, but not a great deal has changed at the characterful Hackney boozer: it’s still got a great pizza menu, it’s still got an excellent selection of beers on tap (some of them cask versions of Five Points classics), and – perhaps most importantly – it’s still got a bar billiards table for you to play on.
3 Institute Place, E8 1JE; fivepointsbrewing.co.uk
