If you have read my blog before, then what I am about to write will come as no surprise. I’m a big fan of local pubs, and I reckon having in a few pints in a local is just about one of the finest ways to spend a couple of hours. Luckily, Walthamstow not only has some really great pubs, but also a fair few micro breweries, of which Wildcard Brewery is one. Wildcard opened it’s taproom on Ravenswood Industrial a few years ago, transforming an old industrial unit and adjoining car park in to one of my favourite spots for a drink. If like me you like Wildcard beers, and like what they have done at Ravenswood, rejoice, because they now have a second site, and I went along on Saturday to check it out.
The new site is on Lockwood Way just off Blackhorse Lane, and like Ravenswood, it is on an industrial estate. Ravenswood of course is also home to Gods own Junkyard, Mothers Ruin and Pillars Brewery, so it feels a little less industrial than Lockwood, which is still very much a working industrial estate. That’s not a bad thing of course, it just means that Lockwood feels a little less frilly than Ravenswood does. The general concept is pretty much the same as the first site, a space to brew, a tap-room, and a cluster of trestle tables and benches outside in the forecourt. There is one main difference though, the new site is humongous!
Formally a ladies wear manufacturers, the new site is basically a double height warehouse with a sectioned off office towards the front of the building. Lockwood is still a work in progress, the bar is a trestle table, and the brewing kit looks like it still needs plumbing in, but the scale of the place is really impressive, and of course it is serving the same great Walthamstow brewed beer that Wildcard are known for.
Having followed Wildcard since they started up as cuckoo brewers (brewing at someone elses site), to the opening of Rvenswood, which has become a staple part of the Walthamstow pub and music scene, I can’t wait to see what the team do with Lockwood. I assume the additional space will allow them to brew and store more, which is essential as their business grows (they now export to Russia). And I guess having another site will allow them to re-jig the Ravenswood brewery and tap-room. What ever is next for Wildcard and their two sites, I’m looking forward to coming along for the ride as this great local business continues to thrive.
If you fancy visiting Wildcard two, you’ll find it at Unit 2 Lockwood Way, Walthamstow E17 5RB. You can read more about Wildcard on their website.
walthamstowdiary 
It’s good to see enterprises like these starting up. A key factor in brewing is of course, the water supply. I am not aware of any springs in the area so I wonder how they maintain consistency in the clarity and natural chemical/mineral make up of the brewing water?
Not sure about that. Interesting fact for you, the wells that fed the old Essex Brewery on St James Street are still there. There are three of them, two are covered with man hole covers on Bruner road, and the other is in the basement of the old Artful Dodger pub
I love Wild Card & love their beers ( & know two of the “principals” )
BUT
One disadvantage – the appallingly high noise level inside.
A “feature” that is becoming all too common in many pubs & bars.
See also:
The first two written pages ( 3 & 4 ) of this
Sooner or later, it will be realised that half the country’s bar-staff are going deaf, through “Industrial exposure”
Local residents now have to suffer from the noise pollution created by these bars – often well in to the hours of the early morning. This used to be an industrial estate with normal hours – the council have allowed it to become hipster party central.