Did You Know That Coca-Cola, Mead And Vodka Are All Made In London?

Will Noble
By Will Noble Last edited 61 months ago
Did You Know That Coca-Cola, Mead And Vodka Are All Made In London?

Every man and his drunk dog know that London's craft beer scene is positively fermenting — the city now clocks up over 100 breweries. But in the nooks and crannies of those industrial sheds and railways arches, it's more than just beer that's being concocted for your supping pleasure...

Mead — made in Peckham

Mead: isn't it some sort of medieval Lucozade, quaffed chiefly by knights, post dragon-slaying workout? Anyway, that's what we thought until Gosnells came along. Now, you can find the fermented-honey-elixir poured cold from the tap, at this Peckham industrial estate, which neighbours a place that sells neon rainbow doe spines (well, you can never have enough). Gosnells' is lighter than traditional meads — and their varieties include dry hopped and barrel aged. Ask nicely, and they'll tell you how to make a Peckham Lemonade cocktail.

Gosnells, Unit 2, Print Village, Chadwick Road, Peckham, SE15 4PU

Sake — made in, er, Peckham

Possibly the creepiest cup holder we've ever laid eyes on

It began with a wedding. Actually, it began with a hazy night out in a Farringdon tiki bar. It was here that Tom and Lucy hooked up, which led them to get married. At their wedding, they served up their home brew sake. "It was surprisingly not terrible," remembers Tom — a ringing endorsement that inspired the pair to establish London's first sake brewery, Kanpai (it means 'dry your cup'). The somewhat laborious task of turning rice, water, yeast and koji (a 'magic mould') into liquid deliciousness takes place on a Peckham industrial estate. All that's required of you is to rock up at the weekend, pull up a stool and relish it. Kanpai!

Kanpai, Unit 2A-2, 133 Copeland Road, Peckham, SE15 3SN

Vodka — made in Hackney Downs

The London ether is again redolent with the whiff of juniper: gin is king once more. As for vodka — you'll have to head waaay east to find that. Not quite as far as Moscow — we're talking Hackney Downs. Nestled under the station here is Our/London's micro-distillery, where they craft vodka with British wheat, using a unique yeast originally found in wine production. Take a tour, then sink an icy vodka martini, while cheersing Anglo-Russian relations.

Our/London, Arch 435 & 436, Spurstowe Road, Hackney Downs, E8 1LS

Wine — made in Enfield, Brompton, Bethnal Green and Battersea

London Cru

Medieval Londoners planted vineyards in London, the richer folk quaffing the stuff from gold-lined coconut shells. Sometimes diluted with vinegar, it was probably more mouth-puckering than that abomination you once bought from Tesco for £2.70. Since then, our vino-making credentials have slipped even further into the abyss, i.e. we stopped making it altogether. That is, until the past few years when a few London wineries stepped forwards.

The lavish Forty Hall dialled back the years by opening London's first vineyard since medieval times. At 10 acres, the operation is a community affair — run and managed by locals. If you want to get hands on with the grapes, the vineyard is always on the lookout for volunteers.

At last count, there are four more wineries in London. Brompton's London Cru, hand-selects grapes from European vineyards, magicking them into small batches of wine, down an alleyway in SW6. To add to the Londony vibe, they're named things like Barbican Barbera and Baker St Bacchus. Renegade London Wine in Bethnal Green is named as such because 'they don't play by the rules'. By which we mean they don't play by Europe's appellation rules. The results of this flouter mentality are delicious vegan and vegetarian wines.

There are TWO wineries in Battersea, as well — Blackbook (a nod to Dylan Moran's vino-guzzling character in London-set sitcom Black Books?) and Vagabond Wines.

Forty Hall Vineyard, Enfield, EN2 9HA

London Cru, 21-27 Seagrave Road, Fulham, SW6 1RP

Renegade London Wine, Arch 12 Gales Gardens, E2 0EJ

Blackbook Winery, Arch 41, London Stone Business Estate, Broughton Street, SW8 3QR

Vagabond Wines, Unit 12 Circus Village West Circus Road West Phase 1 Battersea Power Station, SW11 8EZ

Cider — made in London Bridge

London's recent relationship with cider has been sour: pubs dedicated to the apple nectar, like the Cider Tap and Chimes of Pimlico, closed down. Could it be that the drink is just too wholesomely rural for us urbane lot? Enter Hawkes — self-professed 'Saviours of Cider' — and creators of Urban Orchard, an ineffably quaffable brew, crafted in their cidery beneath the railways arches on Druid Street. Come for a tour, stay to pour the contents of an apple tree down your neck. If you happen to be cider-wary, order a Hawkes Lovechild — it's a beer-cider hybrid.

Hawkes, 96 Druid Street, SE1 2HQ

Coca-Cola — made in Edmonton and Sidcup

This chap can't believe they make his fave beverage in London. Image: Shutterstock

I know, I know. We always thought that Coco-Cola was made by Santa, then personally delivered in a fairy light-strewn articulated truck, too. But it turns out that the highly-moreish syrup juice is made in plenty of places, two of them in London. Edmonton's Coca-Cola factory has been in business since 1974, churning out 50 million cases of soft drink each year (other fizzy elixirs they make include Diet Coke, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Lilt and Fanta). Sidcup's setup is ever older — it started cranking out coke in 1961. Also making Cherry Coke, Schweppes and the controversial Vanilla Coke, the Sidcup plant fills up over 80 cans/bottle every second. Neither factory is open to the public — your teeth will be relieved to hear that.

Last Updated 13 February 2019