This weekend sees the changing of the clocks (we like to think they’re changing from Beer Summer Time to Gin Maybe Time) and the journey to the darkest part of the year is well underway. At Beerblefish HQ, we reckon it’s time to cosy up with something delicious to drink by the fire or snuggled up on the sofa under a nice warm blanket.
We’ve got plenty of beers in stock or coming soon that fit the bill. We’ve a fresh batch of our 1892 IPA bottled up and ready to go – that will be on our online shop later today – as well as 1820 Porter. Both of these beers go really well with hearty autumnal dishes like stews and roast dinners, and the porter is especially good with a rich, chocolatey pudding.
On the horizon, we’ll have our new Gingerbeerble spiced beer into bottles and onto the shop pretty soon too – you can’t get much more cosy and autumnal than that – and a new batch of its Blackbeerble stout cousin is also coming soon!
We’re also in the midst of getting our Christmas offerings up and running. We’ll have gift packs going live on the webshop over the next few days which you can have sent directly to whoever you want (within the UK) – we can help you to spread a little Christmas cheer, even if you might not get to see everyone you would want to this festive season.
“Once upon a time, in a land far, far away (oh, OK, Winchmore Hill), there was a dashing knight named Richard who roamed the land on his trusty steed (yep, we know, it’s a bike) to visit all the magic potion sellers (micropubs) within these shores. On his quest, he met a little green dragon, who told him that he, too, could be a magic potion seller. So he went back to Winchmore Hill with the little green dragon, set up a magic potion shop and lived happily ever after.”
In the third of our series on our regular stockists, brewery manager Glenn talked to Richard Reeve, the founder of The Little Green Dragon Ale House in Winchmore Hill, Enfield, North London to find out all about this local gem!
Spotlight on… hatching the dragon’s egg
Richard’s background is working in IT where he managed to work around the world (although, sadly, mostly in places like Stevenage and Coventry). He was always interested in beer, even before it became fashionable. Then in 2014 a friend recommended that he check out a new thing called a “micropub” in Margate. On googling “micropubs” he found that there were a few others around too.
Spotlight on… fledgling pedal power
Fast forward a few months and Richard decided to cycle around all of the micropubs, of which there were about 100 in 2015. He incorporated a fundraising element by raising money in support of those affected by Alzheimer’s.
Around three-quarters of the way around, Richard had a Eureka moment and realised he could do something similar. Although his background wasn’t in running pubs, he had helped at beer festivals, so he wasn’t flying completely blind. He started to piece together the necessary equipment and was keeping an eye out for an appropriate space.
Richard with his wife, Sujal, and their daughters Jasmin and Anya
Richard says, “Somehow, small but concrete achievements such as obtaining my personal alcohol licence and accumulating equipment seemed to help psychologically, and reassure me that I would make it happen and it wasn’t just a pipe dream.”
Spotlight on… taking flight
A local pub called “The Green Dragon” had closed and Richard wanted to preserve its heritage by incorporating the name into his pub. A few people questioned his rationale for starting up a micro pub, and the concept itself, but Richard had done his research and firmly believed that the community would enjoy the new format
The Little Green Dragon will be celebrating its third birthday in August. The pub was crowned CAMRA’s Greater London Pub of the Year in 2018. Richard feels that a big part of his success is the great community feeling that he has helped foster, although we think that his excellent beer selection is also critical.
Spotlight on… the magic potion
Richard enjoys dark beers, especially a dark smoky porter. Richard was worried that customers might not share his taste in beer, but the local community gets behind his selections.
“I wanted to offer something different to the mainstream pubs. This begins at the beer menu (which features some local breweries as well as beers from larger regional players), but homely furniture conveys the feeling that you’re in a friend’s living room. Strangers walk in and feel comfortable here. We rotate our beers, although we do get some beers back on a regular basis. Our biggest selling beers are sessionable pales and bitters.”
Richard says, “I like dark beers so it will be no surprise that my favourite Beerblefish beer is the Blackbeerble Stout!”
He thinks that younger people are starting to explore traditional ales, but isn’t sure if this is a natural evolution of their taste in beer or whether traditional styles have evolved and now appeal to younger drinkers. There’s also a lot of interest in sour beers, which seem to be particularly popular with the pub’s women customers.
Glenn asked Richard what the coming year holds for The Little Green Dragon. “Your guess is as good as mine! We miss the community that we’ve built up so we will keep on with takeaway and delivery, we’re restarting onsite sales and we’ll also look at doing outdoor events.”
Spotlight on… dashing knights and beautiful maids
We always like to ask if any romance has blossomed at a venue. Richard says, “Haha. Loads of people have met others and have become good friends, although I’m not sure on the romantic side. It would be really nice if a couple met at The Little Green Dragon”.
Spotlight on… fairy tale endings
Richard told Glenn that the Little Green Dragon is featured in a movie about the rise of micropubs, although the launch date has been postponed due to Covid-19. A local poet and a local singer have both incorporated the Little Green Dragon into their work.
The Little Green Dragon is gradually reopening its doors after the lockdown and has a range of different events going on from fundraising through to guided beer tastings, so keep an eye out on the pub website and social media for all the latest.
We would like to thank everyone who came down and made this event such a great day for everyone, and to the organisers who made it all possible. There were great people, food and of course great beer.
The number of times I heard, “but I don’t like stout”, or “I only like Pale”, to have people walk off with a half or pint of Stout or ESB was very exciting. Expanding people’s beer horizons was a great experience and being able to explain why it tasted the way it did was very rewarding. Thank you again to all you new found Blackbeerble Stout fans out there!
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