East London brewery Queer Brewing — the UK's first queer- and trans-owned brewery — has announced it is winding down operations at the end of July.
In a video posted on the company's social media, founder Lily Waite-Marsden said: "This is the announcement that we never thought we'd have to make, but this is sadly the end of the road for Queer Brewing."
Explaining that the company has decided it is no longer viable to keep operating, Waite-Marsden added "We know that there's a certain irony in making this announcement at the start of Pride month, our busiest time of year, and we realise that this may come as a surprise."
Founded in 2019, Queer Brewing has become renowned for its superb range of craft beers, including a Queer Joy! Queer Power! stout, a Something To Put In You hazy pale, and a Glitter Veil IPA. The most frustrating thing about this news — both for Queer Brewing and the people who love it — is that business was good, with the brewery busier than it's ever been. "Everything seems like it's working," says the founder. Something in the brewery and pub industry has to give, because losing outfits like this one is in the interests of no one.
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The silver lining, Waite-Marsden says, is that by calling time now, the brewery can focus on going out in style over the next couple of months: "We can do what we want to with the dying breaths of the brewery. We can brew the best beer imaginable; the ones that have lived in Slack beer name channels for years."
As far as we know, the taproom in Leyton will continue to operate until the end of July, and perhaps there will be a party or two to bid farewell.
A recent BBC article explains that the number of beer brewing companies across the UK has peaked; in 2022, there were 2,594, but as of April 2026, that number's dropped to 2,320. Says the BBC: "London is the only English region which didn't see a net loss of companies last year." It could be that stat is about to change.
Meanwhile, amid an impassioned thank you to everyone who has supported Queer Brewing over the past seven years, its founder has another message: "If you know anyone who wants to buy a brewery, send them my way."
