Moo-ve over Apple Pay, there’s a new payment method in town: animal noises!
Yes, you read that correctly. To launch their limited-edition beer, URBAN ANIMALS, Brixton Brewery is giving away free cans in exchange for animal noises, in partnership with Vauxhall City Farm.
From 18-25 November, punters will be able to get their hands (or hooves) on free beer in exchange for an animal noise of their choice.
The event, aptly titled ‘Pay by Neigh’, will be held at Brixton Brewery’s taproom and is free entry.
However, recipients of a free beer are encouraged to make a donation towards Vauxhall City Farm, to fund the charity’s vital community work.
Vauxhall City Farm is just a 10-minute cycle from the Brixton Brewery taproom in the heart of Brixton and has had a difficult 18 months throughout the pandemic, almost being forced to close permanently due to a loss of 81% of its revenue.
Chris Platt, Education Manager at Vauxhall City Farm said: “We are an educational charity, and we are a farm. A lot of what we do is about the local community, either having a look around the farm or getting involved in the various educational activities we run. All of this was taken away when lockdown hit.”
However, with this new partnership with Brixton Brewery, things seem to be looking up.
Pratt added: “Although things were looking quite dark, we have managed to come out of lockdown looking better than when we went in, with lots of new initiatives and ideas.
“We hoped to come back with a huge bang, and this has been typified by this wonderful new partnership.”
The farm re-opened in April and wanted to find ways of using its gardens innovatively – and Pratt, being a bit of a beer man, had heard about breweries using this sort of space to cultivate hops.
He reached out to the brewery, and the idea spiralled from there.
Brixton Brewery, started in 2013 by two local couples and always looking for ways to support local businesses, saw this as a great opportunity to make use of the community garden by planting hops and brewing a new fundraising beer to celebrate the work the farm undertakes in the local community.
Co-Founder of Brixton Brewery Xochitl Benjamin said: “Hops are quite fun to grow because they are relatively low maintenance and yield well. We recommended a few and went down and planted the hops. And they grew fantastically well!”
Once ready, both teams got together to harvest the hops, carrying them directly from the farm – two stops on the Victoria line – to the brewery and straight into the brew.
Benjamin said: “They couldn’t have been fresher or more local.”
The beer is the brewery’s first green hop pale ale, and each especially designed can represents one of three different characters from the farm: Jerry the Alpaca, Cheryl the Chicken and Britney Spurs the Horse.
To get your paws on this new limited edition beer URBAN ANIMALS, simply pop down to the Taproom for the weeklong ‘Pay by Neigh’ event. But remember, you’ve got give the bar staff your loudest ‘BAA’, ‘OINK’ or ‘NEIGH”.
Or, as Pratt adds: “If you can make an alpaca noise, I’d be really, really impressed.”
If you can’t make it, but still want to try this great beer (inside and out) savvy social media savers can tag Brixton Brewery in a video of them making an animal noise on Instagram to be rewarded with a discount code to use on their online shop.
Pratt said: “I never thought I’d be in a position where beer was helping out. But here we are! By looking a bit vulnerable and being a bit silly, you can really help a local organisation.”
Benjamin added: “Practice up and come down. At worst you’ll get a free beer!”
All the proceeds from sales of URBAN ANIMALS will be donated to Vauxhall City Farm to fund training volunteers, upkeep of the farm premises and feeding animals.
Brixton Brewery Taproom, Arch 548 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PF
To purchase URBAN ANIMALS in aid of Vauxhall City Farm, visit Brixton Brewery’s webshop or head to their taproom in the heart of Brixton. The beer costs £2.65 per 330ml can, 6-pack £15, 12-pack £28, 24-pack £48.
Photo credit: www.thisiscow.com
