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Crate Brewery, Hackney Wick, E9

Pub added by Bucking Fastard
White Building, Queens Yard
E9
E9 5EN

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about Crate Brewery

A good sized taproom adapted from on old warehouse, plenty of seating inside and outside next to the canal, there were six or seven beers on mostly from Crate as you would expect but I went for a guest beer from The Kernel.
Well worth the visit.

On 18th June 2022 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about Crate Brewery

Moderately busy on our Tuesday afternoon visit, which was a bonus as the barman spent some time with us explaining their ale selection and also handing out a good few samples, including a 9% ale which was far too strong for my palette.
There was a selection of six ales from Crate on handpump and a collaboration ale with Howling Hops next door on keg named Howl, so I went for that. This brew house was more upmarket than next door, had brighter lighting, a modern and trendy bar area and counter and I especially liked the rhombus patterned timber table tops.
Another feature here was their tasty and good sized pizzas at a reasonable price. The Brewery was also well staffed on our visit. Large tables are situated along the canal side and the graffiti artwork along the canal buildings is well worth viewing, especially the big mouth near the canal bridge and the Banksy dog with snorkel and mask.

On 5th November 2016 - rating: 9
[User has posted 3378 recommendations about 3378 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Thuck Phat left this review about Crate Brewery

A hugely trendy - or pretentious depending on your viewpoint - bar housing the Crate Brewery.
They've done a good job of making this former warehouse comfortable with chunky wood tables, sofas, a bar and pizza kitchen alongside the brewery itself which is segregated from the bar.
The outside terrace adjoins the River Lea and was very popular on our visits which alleviated any potential crush inside.
Service was friendly enough but, unlike at Howling Hops next door, the bar staff clearly didn't have a clue about beer, struggled to pull a pint of real ale but were quite happy to serve several pints of London murky through which the sun was never going to be seen now matter how bright.
Pizzas are the specialisation here and they were pretty good and not too expensive.
Inevitably, there were plenty of craft offerings available including one or two from Crate, although they seem to be sensible enough to realise that offering their full range to the exclusion of all else would lead to a drop in popularity.
Cask beers on during a lunchtime visit were Crate GPA, Oakham Green Devil IPA, Moor Nor Hop and Burning Sky Aurora. A great selection. An evening visit a couple weeks later also found a good selection but the bar staff were unable to pour one of the offerings and another made the neighbouring River Lea look like the clearest of Hampshire chalk streams.
Worth popping in for the experience, the pizza and the beer but the latter isn't dependably consistent.

On 20th September 2016 - rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]


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Bucking Fastard left this review about Crate Brewery

ORIGINAL REVIEW Sept 2012.
Situated on the ground floor of an old canalside warehouse,you enter from a wide waterside terrace which has external bench seating into an open plan bar.To the right is the brewing equipment,some upstairs while in the main body of the bar there is a pizza kitchen at the left rear wall with a serving counter in front with five handpumps.These feature the house brews,a golden ale and a strong IPA on my visit.The micro also produces a craft keg lager and several bottled beers.There are a selection of other craft keg beers ,and more assorted bottles.
The interior decor and furniture mark this place out as "craft" and the distressed refectory tables,unsanded timber artifacts,minimalist feel is almost a cliche.Being on duty meant I was unable to sample the ales,I will correct that situation at a later date.
The canal bridge opposite had some pretentious graffiti which has been wonderfully altered by a local cynic,it's now a classic piece of street comment which will please old farts everwhere.

UPDATE

The most noteable change here from a real ale fans point of view is that ,although there may be a few brews to sample from the Crate Brewery themselves,they also offer some outstanding guest ales which included on my trip Oakham Green Devil IPA and Burning Sky Aurora which is a very welcome development as I'm not sure that Crate beers are all that great.However service at the bar was disorganised with hipsters being served ahead of middle aged boozers who arrived first,whatever happened to age before beauty ! An evening visit found a very inexperienced barman who couldn't pull a pint of real ale to save his life,and on asking for a pint to be topped up,the glass was returned with even less beer in it ,after manic jerking of the handpull.
The large wooden benches along the canalside terrace were in a natural sun trap and proving very popular with the Copper Box as a backdrop on the other side of the canal.
The interior is now a bit more designed than when it first opened,pizzas are still the order of the day if you want to eat and being a stones throw from the Howling Hops Tank Room makes this a real ale mecca on this part of the Hackney Riviera.I will be back,but beware of variable bar service and sometimes not tip top ale quality.

On 2nd September 2016 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve of N21 left this review about Crate Brewery

Have also been back a couple of times over this summer as we have had reason to be in the nearby Victoria Park and it’s a good way to finish with a stroll down the Hertford Union Canal to the Crate Brewery for a couple before picking up the overground at Hackney Wick.
Still functioning well and some new outside tables makes drinking outside by the canal more comfortable. But the biggest improvement has been the introduction of guest beers as described below. For my latest visit Blackjack Brewery Keyworth Mid at £4.80 and a very fine but wallet hurting Salopian Oracle (£5) were available, although the breweries own GPA and Golden were £4.10.
And I’m sure the quality of the graffiti on the canal side has improved since my first visit as well to the level of being contemporary art, a clear sign the area is on the up. It was certainly better looking at this personal expressionism than the terrible defacing that has sadly take place to the outside of the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, or the London Stadium, or whatever they are calling it this week.
All in all I’ve enjoyed my recent visits here, and although the service can still be a bit laid back and pretentious at times, I’ve got use to that and expect it. So time to increase the rating by a point.

On 23rd August 2016 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about Crate Brewery

I last visited on the first week it opened and don't see many changes to the interior.The beer is better and it was very busy on a warm night.Nice outside seating by the canal.Canoe hire available.3 Crate beers on cask and 4 keg.Tried one which was decent and the Saltaire -trio pale which was better but £4.80 a pint.indecent price.

On 20th August 2016 - rating: 8
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


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Steve of N21 left this review about Crate Brewery

Stumbled upon the Crate Microbrewery when heading from the Olympic park towards Hackney Wick station. Its water side location is a real plus point and is best approached from the Olympic Park side as, although this area of East London is definitely on the up driven by local bohemian artisans moving into a lot of the former derelict premises, it takes more than a bit of funky graffiti to improve a place and the walk to here from Hackney Wick station is certainly one even I would feel uncomfortable to do in the dark. Hopefully that will be fixed as the Olympic park redevelopments roll out further and this place benefits from its location a short walk from the Copper box.
On a fine weather day the wide waterside terrace which plentiful external bench seating is the best spot. Internally, the main space is a bit bohemian as mentioned by others with its distressed refectory tables and sofas that look like they’ve been reclaimed from skips.
The Pizzas looked good and plenty of people were trying them, but we were here just for the beer and the breweries Golden Ale and Best Bitter were decent pints on a sultry evening.
As mentioned below there is something magical being able to have a decent waterside pint a few feet from where it was brewed and the only complaint I could levy is that the service levels were a bit pretentious. I was given the impression that we should be honoured that they were willing to serve us some of their products rather than any pleasure in providing a good experience, and managing who should be served next at a busy bar seemed below them. Hopefully I just struck unlucky in this respect as others do not seem to have picked up on it. And it won’t stop me being back here next month when attending an event in the Copper box.

On 22nd August 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about Crate Brewery

This place has got a nice location in an old canalside warehouse, ideal for picking up passing walkers, cyclists and of course boaters, but walking here from Hackney Wick station involved traipsing through some rather grim streets bearing all the hallmarks of industrial decline. This brewery bar is thriving though and the good weather had attracted a sizable crowd who filled up the canalside seating and enjoyed the al-fresco barbeque. The bar itself is a small concrete floored room with the servery positioned diagonally across the middle of the room, with an open kitchen behind. The walls are bare blockwork and there are big windows at the front and rear that allow a good amount of light in. Long canteen style tables and benches are arranged along the front wall and down the left hand side of the bar and all were occupied on my lunchtime visit, with many customers enjoying pizzas from the concise menu. There is a large brewing vessel next to the front door and the actual brewery can be seen through the doors and windows on the right hand side of the bar. Decor is fairly limited, with a single decorative lamp hanging from a huge industrial sized hook above the servery being the only concession to decoration that I noticed. Music was playing quietly throughout my stay but posters suggest that there are DJ nights on Saturdays, when things presumably get a bit livelier.
Four house beers were on handpull when I arrived – Best Bitter, Pale, Golden Ale (all £3.50) and IPA (£4.00). I tried the Best Bitter which I thought was a pretty good effort. Keg taps offered the likes of Crate Lager, Kent Pale, Moor Rye Pale Ale, Grain Blonde Ash and Hardknott Cool Fusion as well as Orchard Pig Reveller Cider. A fine looking range of UK and US bottled beer was displayed in fridges behind the bar and handy menus on the bar counter helped numerous punters decide what to choose.
There’s something very enjoyable about drinking beer a few feet from where it was made and as such I found this a very satisfying place to stop off for a drink. I’m not sure that Crate’s beers match up to those of the top microbreweries in London right now, but it certainly has one of the best microbrewery bars and I’d happily return for a few more waterside pints.

On 1st August 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Gill Smith left this review about Crate Brewery

Wondered where we were going as we went to this pub. It was really popular and we were lucky to get a table. Seating inside and outside filled up ever so quickly and there was a good atmosphere. Walkers coming in from the canalside. The bar was busy with beer orders and pizzas too, and they looked fantastic if a little pricey. We stayed to enjoy all 4 of the Crate beers on offer. Golden Ale, Best Bitter, Stout and IPA. Not too bad to get to from Hackney Wick station.

On 24th November 2012 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]