Allsopp's brewery and Lorcan Spiteri partner to open The Blue Stoops pub in Kensington
Called The Blue Stoops, the pub will pay homage to the original Blue Stoops in Burton-upon-Trent, where owner Jamie Allsopp’s family brewed from 1730. Samuel Allsopp, Jamie’s seven times great-grandfather, is credited as the inventor of the India Pale Ale (IPA), which he first brewed in a teapot in 1822.
The bar will serve three Allsopp’s cask ales - Pale Ale, IPA and Best Bitter, with a fourth hand-pull reserved for ale produced by friends of the brewery. It will feature bespoke ‘beer engines’, with high ‘swan necks’, allowing the pumping by hand of the ales from the cellar.
Its food offer will comprise a menu of simple, seasonal English food, including a number of pub classic, which will be served in the pub’s bar and dining room. The menu will be overseen by Spiteri, founder of barge restaurant Caravel on the Regent’s Canal, who has also worked in the kitchens at Quo Vadis and Rochelle Canteen.
Charlie McVeigh, founder of The Draft House group of craft beer pubs, is assisting Allsopp with the building and launch of The Blue Stoops.
“It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to revive my family’s lost beers and I’m delighted to open our first pub in 90 years,” says Allsopp.
“Allsopp’s beers are incredibly drinkable, and they deserve their spot not just at the taps of The Blue Stoops, but in public houses across the country.
“As with any good pub, food is an integral part of the experience, and we are so thrilled to be working with Lorcan on the menu. He is rooted in British food, and is bringing a selection of true pub classics to our dining room”.
The Blue Stoops will open at 127-129 Kensington Church Street in September.